Some legal problems resolve themselves. Most don’t. And when the stakes involve your freedom, your rights, or your reputation, the difference between an adequate lawyer and the right one is rarely visible — until it’s too late.
Dmytro Yagunov is a Ukrainian attorney with 27 years of legal practice and 17 years at the bar. He holds the title of Honored Lawyer of Ukraine – a distinction awarded to fewer than a fraction of a percent of practicing attorneys in the country.
A Track Record That Speaks Without Amplification
Dr. Yagunov has handled over 30 cases before the European Court of Human Rights – and won. Among his most remarkable achievements: five separate ECHR judgments against Ukraine arising from a single criminal proceeding – a result described by his own clients as unprecedented not only in Ukrainian legal history, but in European human rights practice as a whole.
What He Actually Does
His practice spans criminal defense at all stages – from pre-trial investigation through cassation – representation before Ukrainian courts in civil and administrative matters, victim representation in criminal proceedings, deportation and extradition cases, disciplinary proceedings on behalf of lawyers, and ECHR applications. He also conducts expert legal analysis for organizations and institutions.
He does not take every case. His model is deliberately selective: a small number of active matters at any time, each receiving full attention. When someone contacts him, the first step is an honest preliminary assessment — not a sales pitch. If the case is not one he can take, he says so.
This is, in itself, a form of quality signal.
The Architecture of His Approach
Yagunov approaches litigation the way a chess player approaches an endgame: preparation long before the hearing, modeling of opposing moves, identification of systemic procedural vulnerabilities. He reads case materials the way parties and judges often don’t. He looks for the line that everyone else overlooked – because that line, in his experience, is frequently where everything is decided.
He combines knowledge of Ukrainian procedural law with deep fluency in Council of Europe standards and ECHR jurisprudence. In a system where domestic courts often operate without reference to Strasbourg – and where that ignorance creates both injustices and, for the prepared advocate, opportunities – this combination is not a decorative qualification. It is a practical advantage.
Who Turns to Him
Entrepreneurs facing coordinated pressure from law enforcement. Individuals subjected to unlawful detention or forced mobilization. Lawyers targeted by retaliatory disciplinary complaints. Victims whose cases were quietly buried by investigators. Clients from Ukraine, Germany, and beyond who need representation at the intersection of national and international law.
What they share is not the nature of their problem. It is the recognition — sometimes arrived at after costly detours – that the matter requires someone who has seen the system from the inside and knows precisely where its seams are.
A Final Note
There is a phrase on Yagunov’s website that functions less as a slogan than as a quiet statement of philosophy: “Every case has its window of opportunity. Write — and we will determine together whether it is still open”.
The window, in law, closes faster than most people realize. The cases that seem manageable at the beginning rarely become more manageable with time.
If you are reading this and something in your situation feels unresolved – that feeling is information worth acting on.
