State temptation fails to woo

Photo: Peeter Langovits

€7,600 grant can’t tempt a young jurist to toil in Ida-Viru County.

Of the nine Master’s candidates at law blessed by the state with a giant grant to go work in Ida-Virumaa, only three have done that. The rest did not even go to see the place or left in a couple of month, thinking it better to pay back thousands of euros of benefits.

«Nothing doing, Ida-Viru County is no magnet, no hub. Getting a better offer in Tallinn, say, they tend to opt for the latter,» admitted Kristel Voltenberg, chancellor at the Bar Association distributing the grants.

As the grant was created in 2011, hopes were high: labour shortage was plaguing both courts, prosecutor’s office and law firms in Ida-Viru County. The task force seeking for a solution advised then minister of justice Kristen Michal to try and motivate jurists with money.

Thus, the ministry and the Bar Association came out with a grant competition which handed €5,250 to University of Tartu master’s students who promised to work in Ida-Viru County at least two years after graduation.

Back then, Mr Michal expressed hopes that the step would put an end to the «anecdotal tales of Ida-Viru lawyers who defend clients by Dostoevsky and not the Estonian law». A year later, Prosecutor’s Office joined in with a like grant. Last year, the one-off grant had grown to €7,600. Still, the fruit has failed to come.

«I gave up that grant at some point. I never went there at all,» admitted Marina Ninaste who got the grant in 2011. Currently, Ms Ninaste is Assistant Prosecutor at North District Prosecutor’s office, in Tallinn.

Back then, the lady planned to go to work at Viru County Court, in penal power. For that, she was given the chance. Even so, she reconsidered for personal reasons and paid the money back.

After graduation, Anneli Teelahk did go to work at a Narva law office – but left four months later. «Regrettably, the employer was not able to provide me with a sufficient amount of work. Therefore, I had to decide whether to continue part time or seek for a full job elsewhere,» said the lady, today chief specialist at Road Administration, in Tallinn.

Other grantees also admitted that often the outlook is just plain better elsewhere. As a rule, a Master’s level lawyer will find a better paid job in Tallinn or Tartu which will far exceed the two mandatory years in Ida-Viru County.

Ministry and the Bar Association have learned their lessons. In order to keep the grant from turning into an advantageous study loan, they inserted contractual fines and interests. 

To broaden the selection, Ida-Viru candidates are now also sought in Tallinn University and Tallinn University of Technology. Even so, there has been no grant rush. Last year, only two and a half were handed out of the four grants on offer.

Even the latest candidates will not solemnly vow to go. «There’s always the option that maybe I’ll pay it back,» admitted Liisa Paltsar, a law student at the University of Tartu who git the grant last fall and should head for Ida-Virumaa in a year.

The lady who is from Võru says the Ida-Viru advantage is lower competition, the opportunity to start career higher up, and to immediately wade into weighty legal disputes. Even so, law students show meagre interest.

«The outlook is still negative. If a person has no ties to Ida-Virumaa, he will usually never even show up. Here, it is hard for the state to do anything – work is available in other places too,» said Ms Paltsar, currently working as a lawyer at Tartu Prison.

The Viru District Prosecutor’s Office said they are no longer plagued by labour shortage, while the courts and prefecture are understaffed. Also, in many a legal field, Ida-Viru people need to be consulted by lawyers from other Counties.

Justice minister Andres Anvelt said the sharpest Ida-Viru problem currently is shortage and low quality of lawyers. To solve this, they are in discussions with the Bar Association and Narva City Government. According to him, the greatest hindrance is prejudices regarding Ida-Viru County among people from elsewhere in Estonia.

Again, what works is the money. «It is possible to bring qualified labour force into Ida-Viru County by a salary coefficient,» claims Mr Anvelt.

As an example of that, the justice ministry prisons department, moved to Ida-Viru County last year, raised salaried by an average of 35 percent – and had no problems filling the posts. Currently, the so-called regional premium is paid in several jobs from the police to teachers.

Mr Anvelt expressed hopes that if it is succeeded to move Academy of Security Sciences to Ida-Viru County, the state’s presence will increase in the region and lawyers will perhaps take more interest.