Personal Blog
Notes by Julia Nagibina
A practicing lawyer's thoughts on law, business, and life
Judicial Impunity: We Pay, They Don't
An unlawful court ruling means ruined finances for a business — but for the judge who caused it, the system treats it as a mere statistical footnote.
Read more →The Pencil and the Eraser: When the System Erases You
2020, pandemic. I am a lawyer with experience — and someone rubbed my name out of a journal. No document, no person. How the system works when nobody watches.
Read more →Yandex Double Standards: Free Speech for Some
A court upheld a client's right to call a lawyer 'rude' — that is an opinion. When I tried to post a fact-based review about a court, moderation refused.
Read more →If You Have to Explain It, You Don't Need To
I used to choose people by their skills. Now I choose by values. Brilliant at work, but not aligned on what matters — simply not my kind of person.
Read more →Building Immunity to Free Work: A Two-Day Lesson
I spent two days on someone else's case for free — built the strategy, found the ace, sent the audit. The client took the roadmap and vanished.
Read more →Collective Punishment in Schools: Legal Nonsense
A deputy proposed punishing the whole class for one student's offence. The impulse is understandable. Legally, it is a step back to the Code of Hammurabi.
Read more →The Family Help Trap: How Experts Get Devalued
A lawyer spends decades rescuing family for free. When they name the value of that work, they hear: 'But this benefits you too.' Sound familiar?
Read more →How I Lost a Client: The Cost of Overconfidence
Fifteen years ago I won a case and still lost the client — because of my own overconfidence. Waiting to pick up the court document cost more than any defeat.
Read more →The Building Manager Hated Me — I Sold for 30% Above Market
For ten years I demanded that the building management company do its job. They hated me. When it came time to sell, my flat went for 30% above market.
Read more →Daycare Until 8 PM: Treating Symptoms, Not the Disease
Extending daycare to 8 pm looks like a win for parents. As a lawyer and a mother, I see it as patching a hole in a sinking boat without bailing.
Read more →Learned Helplessness: WB Sellers Lose Their Money Twice
First the warehouse burns. Then a chat bot says the contract can't be challenged — so the seller walks away. What I see happening to WB sellers every week.
Read more →Article 7.1 on Judges Returning From Retirement
Article 7.1 allows retired judges to return to the bench. An emergency staffing tool that has become a privilege for insiders at double cost to the budget.
Read more →Why Judges Are Almost Never Criminally Prosecuted
Russia has thousands of judges, but criminal cases against them are rare. This is by design. We explain how judicial immunity works, who can lift it, and...
Read more →