Category: Ukraine

Markian Malskyy, who left Arzinger last summer after being appointed Head of the Lviv Regional State Administration by the President of Ukraine, has returned to the firm as Head of its Western Ukrainian office and Co-Head of its International Litigation and Arbitration Practice.

“I am glad to get back to practicing law, as I definitely associate my professional development only with it,” commented Malskyy. “I am pleased to join the partners of Arzinger Law Firm I [was] part of for more than ten years, as well as the team which I co-created before working as Head of Lviv Regional State Administration. The official service gives lawyers a chance to thank the State for its opportunities and to implement further reforms to improve the quality of people’s life. However, private practice makes it possible to render prompt assistance to clients in solving various tasks. 

Malskyy is a graduate of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, has a Master’s degree in International Law and Economics from the World Trade Institute in Bern, an LL.M. from Stockholm University, and a Ph.D. from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. He previously practiced law with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and J&L Consulting before joining Arzinger in 2008 where he stayed until leaving in July to become Head of the Lviv Regional State Administration (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on July 16, 2019).

“We start the year 2020 with a strong contribution to the further development of our business – I welcome Markian as Arzinger’s partner again and am confident that his return to the position of Head of our Western Ukrainian Office in Lviv will expedite the development of our practices in the West of the country and of the company in general,” commented Arzinger Managing Partner Timur Bondaryev. “Having worked as the Head of the Lviv Regional State Administration, Markian has gained important knowledge in the field of public-private relations. Therefore, he will be able to take even better care of the interests of Arzinger’s clients and implement complex investment and infrastructure projects. Markian knows the market very well, so I am sure that our litigation, international arbitration, real estate, and corporate law practices will soon experience a vigorous growth and further development.”

Former Counsel Serhiy Shershun, Head of Antitrust and Competition at Integrites, has become the firm’s 11th partner.

Shershun specializes in projects related to public procurement, pharmaceuticals, and retail. According to Integrites, “he also supports clients in a number of cases on protection against unfair competition. Only in 2019, Antitrust and Competition team led by Serhiy provided legal support to the international and Ukrainian clients in more than 30 antitrust investigations.”

“Serhiy Shershun is the second lawyer who has grown to a partner at Integrites over the last year,” commented Managing Partner Oleksiy Feliv. “We are confident that we will see more professionals who share our values among partners in the future. I am happy to welcome Serhiy in his new role and wish him many successful and interesting projects to come.”

Shershun holds an LL.B. from the National University of Ostroh Academy and a Ph.D. from the Kiev National Taras Shevchenko University. Prior to joining Integrites in 2016, he spent more than six years as the State Commissioner with the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine.

Redcliffe Partners has advised the EBRD on Ukrainian aspects of its loan of an additional two million euros to Aquanova Development LLC for the construction, equipment, and placing in operation of a 3.5 MWp solar PV plant in the Zakarpattya Region of Ukraine. Clifford Chance Warsaw and Linklaters Milan advised the EBRD on English and Italian law, respectively.

The Redcliffe Partners team included Senior Associate Evgeniy Vazhynskiy, Associate Eduard Olentsevych, and Junior Associate Bogdan Nykytiuk.

The Clifford Chance team was led by Counsel Rafal Zakrzewski, who has since left the firm to join Baker McKenzie (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on September 9, 2019).

In 2017, both Redcliffe Partners and Clifford Chance advised the EBRD on financing providedto Aquanova Development for the construction of the Nyzhniy Bystryi hydro power plant on the Rika River in the Zakarpattya Region (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on March 30, 2017).

Aequo has advised the Epicentr Group on its receipt of a USD 70 million multi-currency secured loan from the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank.

According to Aequo, the financing “will support the group’s agriculture business program for 2019-2021 anticipating, in particular, the construction of three new and modernization of four existing grain silos and the purchase of agricultural machinery.”

The Epicentr Group is a Ukrainian private group operating in the do-it-yourself industry and retail sector. It operates a retail network of 58 hypermarkets while also being an agricultural producer and operating a land bank of 110,000 hectares.

The Thessaloniki-headquartered Black Sea Trade and Development Bank is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. It supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity, and guarantees for projects and trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries. The authorized capital of the bank is EUR 3.45 billion.

The Aequo team included Partner Yulia Kyrpa, Counsel Denys Kulgavyi, and Associate Olesya Mashtaler.

Aequo did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

Last year, Aequo advised on another loan to the Epicentr Group — its receipt of a five-year loan of approximately four million euros from Raiffeisen Bank International — though, on that deal, it worked on the lender side (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on September 5, 2019).

Editor’s note: After this article was published, CEE Legal Matters learned that Baker McKenzie advised BSTDB on the deal. The firm’s team included Managing Partner Serhiy Chorny and Associate Ganna Smyrnova.

Anastasia Usova, Redcliffe Partners’ Head of Antitrust, has been promoted to Partner at the firm.

Usova joined Redcliffe Partners in 2017, and, according to the firm, “in three years she has developed the Antitrust practice into a Top-3 antitrust practice on the Ukrainian market.” 

“This is a well-deserved promotion and a testament to our core values at Redcliffe – we appreciate seamless expertise, continuous professional development and contribution to the success of our firm,” said Managing Partner Olexiy Soshenko. “Anastasia has a stand-alone profile among Ukrainian antitrust lawyers. Besides her Master’s degree from the University of Strasbourg in International and EU business law and work experience with the leading law firm in Brussels, she also has a diploma in Economics for Competition Law from King’s College London. This mixture of strong legal and economics background allows Anastasia to provide unmatched solutions in complex antitrust issues.” 

“I am extremely excited about this new role and very thankful to my team and clients for their trust and support throughout these years,” Usova stated. “Redcliffe Partners provides a unique climate for dynamic professional and personal growth as well as opportunities to work on the most challenging and prominent transactions. I will continue to further develop Redcliffe’s Antitrust practice and deliver the highest quality service to our clients – the sky is the limit.” 

Prior to joining Redcliffe Partners, Usova spent two years with Sayenko Kharenko, a year with Spenser & Kauffmann, and almost four years at Asters. In addition to her degrees from the University of Strasbourg and KCL, she holds an LL.B. from the Kyiv National Linguistic University, Institute of Economics and Law.

Lawyer Aleksandr Babikov has left Aver Lex to go into public service.

According to Aver Lex, Babikov specialized in “the defense of law enforcement officers in corruption-related cases and cases related to offenses committed by organized criminal groups.“

Talina Kravtsova, former Senior Associate and Head of Family Law at Egorov Puginski Afanasiev & Partners in Ukraine, has made Partner at Asters.

Asters describes Kravtsova as having “over 15 years of experience working at leading Ukrainian law firms with the focus on family law litigation, including matters of divorce and property division, child visitation and residence, child benefits and child support payments, adoption and custody, status of paternity, and termination of paternal rights.” According to the firm, “she also advises on the legal issues of citizenship and inheritance (including coordination of multi-jurisdictional inheritance cases), enforcement of judgments of Ukrainian and foreign courts in Ukraine, and conclusion of marriage agreements.”

“We are pleased to promote Talina Kravtsova to Partner in recognition of her experience, professional skills and significant contribution to the firm’s success,” commented Asters’ Co-Managing Partner Serhii Sviriba. “This valuable addition enhances Asters’ partnership, the firm’s diversity and capabilities, and reflects our strategy to grow talent within the firm.”

Kravtsova holds a Master’s in law from the Zaporizhzhya National University. 

Asters has successfully represented ASK Technology Limited, a Hong Kong-based manufacturer of multi-GPU systems for mining, rendering, and AI, in a dispute over a contract for the supply of equipment for the mining of Ethereum with a Finnish company in the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. Deacons provided Hong Kong law expertise.

According to Asters, the firm “represented the seller under a contract that provided the buyer with the necessary cryptocurrency mining equipment. However, sometime after the delivery had been made, the buyer started claiming that the equipment failed to meet the quality requirements set out in the contract. In particular, the buyer alleged that the equipment’s hash rate parameters were lower than agreed between the parties and thus its output of Ethereum was less than expected. Against this backdrop, the buyer sought the full repayment of the purchase price plus interest or, alternatively, the compensation for damages incurred by the delivery of defective mining equipment.”

The sole arbitrator rejected all of the buyer’s claims, finding that the mining equipment delivered by ASK was of the appropriate quality set out in the contract. In ruling in the seller’s favor, Asters reports, “the arbitrator accepted Asters’ interpretation of both the contract and Hong Kong law, which was found to be applicable law despite the buyer’s objections. The arbitrator ordered full arbitration and legal costs to be compensated.”

Asters’ team was led by Partner Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi and included Counsel Oleksandr Volkov and Associate Mykhailo Soldatenko.

Aequo has successfully protected the interests of Rozdilska Tsegla LLC in a state property privatization dispute in the Supreme Court of Ukraine involving a share purchase agreement of a state-owned enterprise offered for sale by the State Property Fund of Ukraine.

According to Aequo, “the agreement, which was legally concluded between Rozdilska Tsegla LLC and SPFU, was appealed by a disqualified bidder. The claim was grounded on the inability of the disqualified bidder to provide the SPFU with the full set of documents required from the potential buyers pursuant to privatization regulations. In particular, the disqualified bidder could not provide quarterly financial statements, as it was a newly created legal entity, which existed for two weeks at the time of holding the auction. The Supreme Court’s decision in this case became a precedent. In particular, the court stated that the newly established entities shall participate in the privatization of the state property with other enterprises on equal terms.” 

According to Aequo’s Counsel Olena Pertsova, who led the firm’s team on the matter, “the decision in this case provides long-awaited clarity regarding the scope of documents which newly-created entities must provide to the State Property Fund to participate in privatization.”

In addition to Pertsova, Aequo’s team included Counsel Oksana Krasnokutskaya and Associates Vadym Maistruk and Sergey Oleksin.

Avellum and Latham & Watkins have advised CHG Healthcare on its acquisition of Modio Health.

Avellum describes CHG Healthcare as “a leader in healthcare staffing and [Ukraine’s] largest provider of locum tenens services,” and it describes Modio Health as “a cloud-based credentialing and career management solution for healthcare providers and organizations.”

Avellum’s team, which advised CHG Healthcare on the transfer of IP rights to the software and compliance with Ukrainian copyright law, was led by Partner Mykola Stetsenko and included Counsel Anton Polikarpov and Associates Dmytro Symbiryov, Yulia Chelebii-Kravchenko, and Anna Kolodenska.

Avellum did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.