Tishchenko Nataliya
Arbitration manager,
managing partner of
Nobili Law Firm
“One of the most important rules for me is to always stay positive”
– Natalie, what do you focus on now at work?
– As a long-time arbitration manager, I often face one problem – business knows little about bankruptcy. The bankruptcy instrument is highly developed and popular in Europe and the United States as a progressive way to restore solvency and stabilize the company in unstable times. Unfortunately, businesses do not understand this tool and therefore do not want to use it, because they believe that bankruptcy is bad. Probably, this stereotype has remained since the time when this procedure really had only negative consequences. My work is based on the use of bankruptcy and restructuring tools to help businesses. This is especially relevant today, because to eliminate the effects of quarantine is not so easy without the use of bankruptcy. The process of changing the opinion and attitude to the bankruptcy procedure is very complicated, because now there are many lawyers on the market who present themselves as professionals in the field of bankruptcy, but not everyone can provide qualified and complete assistance to the client. The specifics of the arbitration manager’s work is based on the diversity of knowledge and experience. Having legal experience, experience in the financial field and mediation creates an almost ideal professional in the field of bankruptcy. Now I am looking for ways to implement my experience as an arbitration manager. This profession is very underestimated and has a wide range of opportunities. My task is not only to improve the environment for arbitration managers, but also to make the necessary changes in the legislation of Ukraine. In my opinion, not every lawyer can provide quality services in bankruptcy as an arbitration trustee. And this is a problem nowadays, and clients who once received services of improper quality, have a negative attitude to bankruptcy. It is very important to change the client’s opinion after such an experience. Reputation and good attitude to a specialist or profession are built over the years and are based on personality. Although the issue of personal development is very important to me, I do not turn away from my main activity – helping companies using the tool of bankruptcy and restructuring. Demonstrating how this tool works is also a top priority for me. A tool long used by the world’s leading countries for post-Soviet countries, it is synonymous with poverty. The main idea I promote for society is that bankruptcy is a tool for solving business problems, especially in times of crisis.
– As part of the Ukrainian Women In Law 2020 survey, we asked respondents whether they agree that men have more opportunities to advance in the legal profession than women. 70% answered in the affirmative. What is your position and have you seen evidence of this in your life?
– I read a lot of information about gender relations. In my opinion, the most important qualities for advancement in the legal field are professionalism and erudition. No matter what gender you are, the main factor is whether you are a professional and an expert in your field. From my experience, I can say that, unfortunately, there are a large number of people who live in the past and do not perceive women as equal rivals in the market space. The difference between women lawyers and men is that women are often more focused. Now we can see a trend that women are investing all their strength and ambition in the chosen areas, because gender inequality in our century is no longer gaining momentum as in the past. But the problem is not only in the legal factor, but also in the fact that sometimes women themselves underestimate their capabilities, believing that they do not have the appropriate skills to hold a high position. But the situation changes every year. If you look at the famous Forbes rating, there are more and more women in it every year, and it can not help but rejoice.
– You lead a very active life on social networks, share your views on various events, publish thought-provoking posts on various topics of our lives. Tell us, is this one of the components within the positioning of your personal brand, one of the components of publicity or just a hobby?
– For some people, social networks are an opportunity to show off their achievements or reveal the hidden face of a narcissist. For me, social networks are an opportunity to communicate with people in a positive way. Of course, everything in life is not always “like butter”, and YOU HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT EVERY DAY. I am motivated by my team and strong leaders, whose development is useful to observe. I am most motivated by people for whom I can be an example. Initiative is also very important for me because of my nature. I always try to be better than I was yesterday, and when there are people around me who support my impulses, I get even more energized. There are no demotivators for me, but there are things that worsen my mood. For example, the phrase “I do not know” or “I can not”. For me, such things are very annoying. I will not require the PR manager to perform the work of a doctor. I mean the phenomenon where a person living in the 21st century cannot do a task within his or her competence with access to the Internet, books, magazines, and so on. This is beyond my comprehension. Bankruptcy is a tool for solving business problems, especially in times of crisis that support me and have similar values. By communicating with them, I can monitor my progress and learn something new. It’s a way to tell what kind of person I am, what principles I live by, how I relate to certain things. At some point, I realized that I do more than others, not only at work, but in general as a person. People are interested in knowing the details and my views on life in all areas, which motivates me not to relax. I can explain my publicity as follows. Because people are interested in my views on different things, we find certain points of contact through which I am projected on the reference qualities that people themselves want to have. Nobody canceled the golden rule “start with yourself”. 3 days a day we create our own future, and it is important to understand that our tomorrow depends on our today. My activity in social networks is a combination of creating a personal brand and a hobby. I like to communicate with the audience and thus I have created the image of an active businesswoman who is always happy to communicate on various topics.
– What motivates and demotivates you in life and work?
– One of the most important rules for me is to always stay. The most negative thing for me is when I see professionals who sell their honesty for money. Because reputation is created over the years, and it is destroyed in a minute.
– Natalia, how after so many years of practice do you maintain the level of your competence to stay in the market of legal services?
– In the realities of the constantly changing legal framework, it is actually very difficult to stay on the level to be competitive. My self-organization and habits help me. I can’t go to bed at night if I haven’t done all the work and done self-education. Today, there are many tools for self-study. These are books, webinars, articles by scientists, etc. Communicating with colleagues, learning from their experience. Even from articles on social networks there is an opportunity to single out rational things. Constant competition with myself helps me maintain my level of knowledge and professionalism. I can recommend investing as much as possible in education. Investments in knowledge are always liquid if they are constantly applied and transformed into professional skills. For example, I was very impressed by the last book by Yevhen Chernyak. I am a supporter of such a series of changes, but not the other way around. Everyone knows, at least should know, why she came to the legal business. So every worthy person, every worthy company has its own clear rules and principles, which in no way communicate with different people, not just “because it is necessary”, but because it brings her pleasure. In my opinion, you can become really successful in your business only when you really love your job, when you are constantly striving to improve your knowledge and abilities.
– What comforts you the most at work, and what upsets you?
Because the legal profession belongs to the type of law firm, there are people. Developed in all areas, the staff creates a positive and reliable image of the company, which affects its reputation. As well as vice versa, the company’s culture, its values and positioning affect each team member. under no circumstances are violated, subject to revision or adjustment. If my rules do not coincide with the rules of others, I do not participate in relevant projects.
– What skills and knowledge should a lawyer have in order to be competitive in the legal services market?
To be competitive in the legal services market, you need to have a deep knowledge of the material, a high level of professional qualification, knowledge of English and other languages - this is the basis, which is not even subject to discussion. At the same time, it is important to understand that a lawyer should not be a purely encyclopedia, because thanks to the achievements of information technology, the answers to many questions can be easily found in global search engines.
– What would you choose if not for law?
From the age of 14 I knew that I would become a lawyer, so to some extent jurisprudence is the dream of my life. I love people and communication very much, I consider it my strong feature. If I had to choose an alternative to jurisprudence, I’m sure it would be an area where interaction with people comes first (for example, sales). – Share with us your plans for the future. What goals do you set for yourself and the team? Only move forward! Given the positive trends, I believe that there will be an investment boom in Ukraine, as well as that there will be even more interesting and large-scale projects. So now we are doing our best to build such a team, communication and work within the company to be ready for any challenges that tomorrow prepares for us.
Interview prepared by Daryna SYDORENKO, journalist of Yurydychnot Gazeta 29
Yuridichna Gazeta • Special issue Oleksandr Oles