Category: Ukraine

CMS Cameron McKenna has announced that Dispute Resolution Partner Olga Vorozhbyt joined the firm’s Kiev office on July 1, 2014, to develop the office’s litigation and compliance practice.  

Vorozhbyt previously headed the Disputes Resolution practice at the Kiev office of Chadbourne & Parke. 

Vorozhbyt graduated from Kiev’s National Taras Shevchenko University in 2002, and spent five years with Baker & McKenzie before moving to Chadbourne in 2010. According to CMS, her experience “includes pre-trial negotiations, representation of clients at all levels in Ukrainian courts, as well as in arbitration proceedings both in Ukraine and abroad. Her expertise also includes settling corporate conflicts and advising clients on problematic dismissals; she advises foreign and local clients on compliance-related matters including internal and external FCPA-driven investigations, as well the mitigation of violations in Ukraine of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act.”

Integrites has advised the Credit Bank Center with regard to improvement of investment attractiveness and protection from the risks connected with changes in the client’s corporate structure.

According to the firm, the advice addressed “the mandatory requirements of Ukrainian legislation applicable to banks in respect of their corporate structure and the list of the mandatory conditions on optimization of corporate structure.” 

The firm also performed a corporate audit of the Credit Bank Center and made recommendations regarding the elimination of potential risks. The team working on the matter included Counsel Denys Kytsenko and Senior Associate Aleksei Kominarets, both working under the guidance of Senior Partner Vyacheslav Korchev.

Vasil Kisil & Partners has announced that the firm acted as a sole legal advisor to the European Union on granting of this macro-financial assistance to Ukraine.

In May 2014, the Memorandum of Understanding and the Loan Agreement were entered into by Ukraine, as a borrower, the National Bank of Ukraine, as an agent to the borrower, and the European Union, as a lender regarding the loan in the total amount of EUR 1 billion. Both above documents were ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament on 20 May 2014. The first installment of the macro-financial assistance was transferred to the state of Ukraine on 17 June. The outstanding amount of the loan is expected to be granted within the course of 2014. 

Vasil Kisil & Partners advised the European Union represented by the European Commission, on the Ukrainian law and international law matters of the transaction. In particular, the lawyers were actively involved in drafting of the transaction documents, controlled fulfillment of conditions precedent to completion of the transaction and issued a legal opinion in favor of the lender.

The transaction team was led by the firm’s partners Yulia Kyrpa and Denis Lysenko and included associates of Banking and Finance Practice Group Denys Kulgavyi and Olena Nikolenko.

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AstapovLawyers has advised Sportmaster, a major CIS sporting goods and equipment retailer, on various corporate and employment matters in Ukraine.

Sportmaster Group has over 300 branded sporting goods supermarkets and hypermarkets. According to AstapovLawyers, “Sportmaster is among the top 3 European sporting goods retailers, and also enters the top 12 global sporting goods retail chains.”

AstapovLawyers reports providing legal advice on corporate and labor law, assisting in drafting of corporate documents and resolutions, providing support in negotiations, and advising Sportmaster on potential risks and the ways to mitigate them.

The AstapovLawyers team was led by Partner Oleh Malskyy and Senior Associate Maksym Uslystyi. 

Law firm FCLEX has successfully protected the interests of Finance and Credit Bank in a dispute with the companies of Cheese Club Group in the Commercial Court of Kiev.

By the decisions dated 7 July and 9 July 2014, the court confirmed the bank’s ownership title to the property of JSC Svitlovodskyy maslosyrkombinat, a milk production company (Svitlovodsk, Kirovograd Region), JSC Bobrovitskiy Molokozavod, a milk processing company (Bobrovytsia, Chernihiv Region) And JSC Molochnokonservnyy Zavod, a milk and preserves processing company (Talne, Cherkasy Region).

Back in 2013 Finance and Credit Bank initiated five lawsuits against the group of companies Cheese Club with the legal support of FCLEX. Besides the above companies the bank demanded recognition of ownership title to the property complexes of JSC SOMMAS (Myronivka, Poltava Region), and JSC Karlivs’kyy zavod suhoho moloka. a milk powder production company (Karlivka, Poltava Region), which were mortgaged to JSC Svitlovodskyy Maslosyrkombinat and JSC Bobrovytskyy Molokozavod. The lawsuits were filed within the dispute between Finance and Credit Bank and the group of companies Cheese Club under debt collection of more than USD 34 million, which had lasted for years. 

In 2013 through the efforts of the FCLEX team the court ruled a decision in favor of the bank in relation to the case of JSC Plant Karlivs’kyi zavod suhoho moloka (milk powder production company) and JSC SOMMAS which was left unchanged by the following instances. Thus, the bank took over the 5 property complexes within collection of the debt from the group of companies Cheese Club. 

The Finance and Credit Bank was represented in court by FCLEX Partner Oleg Malinevskyy and lawyer Andriy Ivaniv.

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Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners Ukraine (EPAP) has announced that Partner Oleksii Reznikov will leave the firm to pursue his career in the Kiev City Council.  

In the announcement EPAP expressed its gratitude to Reznikov for his “outstanding contribution” to the firm’s business, and wished him success in his new role.

Reznikov leaves his position as Head of the Litigation Practice at EPAP. He joined the firm as Partner in the Litigation Practice in 2006 with the merger of the Magister & Partners and Pravis: Reznikov, Vlasenko & Partners law firms. In May 2008, Reznikov was elected as deputy of Kiev City Council and a Member of the Permanent Commission on Law and Order, Regulations and Deputy Ethics of Kiev City Council. In May 2014, Reznikov was re-elected Deputy of the Kiev City Council.

Arzinger has announced that Senior Partner Wolfram Rehbock has achieved victories for the Windrose airline both in a court of first instance and on appeal in a 4-year litigation process.  

According to Arzinger, in 2010 Windrose — Ukraine’s first charter airline — claimed payment for rendered services from an unnamed German-based defendant, which made several arguments in its defense. Windrose defeated those arguments, and the defendant was ordered to pay almost the entire claimed damages of EUR 427,000. 

The defendant appealed, and Windrose filed a cross-appeal, claiming that it was entitled to interest on the damages, which had not awarded by the first instance. Defendant’s appeal was not successful, but Windrose’s cross-appeal was found meritorious, and Windrose was awarded an additional EUR 70,000. 

Arzinger has announced that Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, has appointed Arzinger Associate Anton Yanchuk to a position as Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine for European Integration.  

At Arzinger, Yatsenyuk practiced contract law, foreign trade, intellectual property rights, competition, healthcare, and retail trade.  

Arzinger Managing Partner Timur Bondaryev commented on losing his second lawyer to the new government: “As a result of the last month’s reboots in the government two legal experts of Arzinger were appointed to important government posts (in May, Arzinger’s Partner Vitalii Kasko was appointed Deputy Attorney General for International Legal Cooperation). We are witnessing the emergence of a new state, and this process requires the involvement of new specialists to work in the government. We appreciate the high confidence placed in our colleagues and I hope that they will justify it. I am sure of their high professional and ethical level and I think that their appointment will really contribute to the work of the government. I wish Anton good luck in his new position, and I hope he will make every effort to promote the rule of law in Ukraine.” 

Integrites has announced that it is representing the interests of Ukrcoffee in corporate disputes with regard to change of control and beneficial owners.

Integrites describes Ukrcoffee as “one of the leading manufacturers of coffee in and out Ukrainian market.” The company produces coffee in Ilyichyovsk, Ukraine, under the Lacomba trademark. 

According to the firm, “Integrites’ lawyers have successfully developed tailored a step-by-step action plan, as well as a strategy on corporate restructuring. As a result of work done under the project, leading to reallocation of equities, the Client will raise investments and move to a new level of operating.”

Integrites lawyers on the project include Counsel Denys Kytsenko and Associate Daria Ganzienko, both working under the general supervision of Managing Partner Ruslan Bernatsky. 

Lavrynovych & Partners has announced that on July 1, 2014, lawyer Olena Zubchenko was promoted to Partner.  

According to the firm, Zubchenko will be responsible for providing legal services in banking and finance, real estate and construction, land and agrarian law issues.

Zubchenko has worked for Lavrynovych & Partners since 2010. As a Senior Associate in the banking and finance department headed by Partner Iryna Marushko, and then as an Associate Partner, Zubchenko supported the issuance of Eurobonds, the provision of loans to Ukrainian enterprises, the structuring of transactions related to receipt and utilization of loans, and advised on IPOs of Ukraine’s leading agricultural enterprises. Among the clients to whom Olena has provided legal support over the last two years are Ukrainian railways (Ukrzaliznytsia), the State Food and Grain Corporation of Ukraine, Louis Dreyfus, Mriya Agro Holding, Rise, the Industrial Milk Company, and LisichanskUgol OJSC.  

Zubchenko graduated from the Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University.