My legal life: Nataliia Savonik, Shell

I left Ukraine on 6 March because the situation was unbearable. Every day and night we heard air sirens blaring and switched our lights off in the hope that they wouldn’t bomb our homes.

We were all terrified, almost all of the time. So, I decided to flee with my 10-year-old daughter to Latvia, where we took refuge at a friend’s house. But, after two weeks, it became clear that being unable to speak Latvian would prevent me from continuing my career as a lawyer. My daughter was also really struggling at school because she could not understand half of the lessons.

People need to be able communicate freely with each other – it’s a basic human need. My daughter has studied English since she was four years old and I studied English throughout school and university. So, I decided that we both had to move to an English-speaking country. Luckily for me and my daughter, a friend of one of my Ukrainian friends put me in contact with Helen Savory, a British solicitor living in London. Helen sponsored us to come to the UK in April and she has been helping us ever since.

It has been very hard to deal with all the turmoil in my life over the last few months. Before I left Ukraine, I was running my own law firm and employing seven people. We covered several areas of law and represented a range of clients – both individuals and companies – across the Ukrainian court system.

It’s a terrible feeling to suddenly have to flee to another country and then try to make a new life without family, friends or colleagues to share experiences with. That’s why I decided to set up a Telegram group for Ukrainian lawyers in the UK who had fled the war. I wanted to create an environment where we could support each other through this difficult time.

I wrote a post on Facebook to announce the group. Within 24 hours, around 200 lawyers from across Ukraine who have sought refuge in the UK had joined the group. Since then, I have tried to give them more confidence about their futures. I have shared my belief that achieving our goals takes one step at a time. We will get back to the top of our stairs, one day.

Helen shared my story with Donny Ching, Shell’s Legal Director. As a result, Shell has funded an online course for up to 200 displaced lawyers, provided by the Cambridge Law Studio, aimed at developing their legal and business English and preparing them for work in English-speaking countries.

As the chair of General Counsel for Diversity & Inclusion, Donny invited Helen and me to participate in a session in July where we encouraged law firms and other companies to identify roles that could be suitable for displaced legal professionals. After climbing several steps of their own, at least 10 Ukrainian attorneys in our group have already found professional work in the UK. I believe that this is only the start.

Before applying to Shell, I sent many CVs to different law firms in the UK and secured three interviews. Helen suggested that I should also apply for roles in Shell’s Trading business. One of the hiring managers recognised my skills and experience and offered me a position as coordinator in the contracting department.

Two months in, I feel that I’m thriving in this new role and in this new country. I know that terrible feeling when your world is crushed and you are scared about tomorrow. Now that I’ve begun to feel more confident about my tomorrow, I want to help other Ukrainian lawyers to find work and brighter futures.

I hope all the Ukrainian people who have left Ukraine in this terrible time can find an opportunity to live happily in a different country. I am proud of my country and its people. Ukrainians are well-educated and hard-working. We can and will make positive contributions to UK society.