Ukraine

Chadbourne's Kyiv office is a full-service office comprised of 16 U.S., English and Ukrainian qualified attorneys, in addition to English speaking paralegals and other support staff. In our Kyiv office, we have recruited top locally qualified attorneys, all of whom are fluent in English, Ukrainian and Russian, and most of whom have a graduate degree from a first-class American law school. Each locally qualified attorney is paired with western lawyers, which enables us to fulfill our commitment to provide clients with the highest quality of legal services available. Thoroughness, clarity, practicality, responsiveness, promptness – these are the principles that guide us in delivering our services. They are the reasons why our clients keep coming back.

Our clients in Ukraine are often pioneers in their respective fields, representing such diverse sectors as banking, financial services, natural resources, heavy and light industry, real estate development and construction, communications, new technologies, media, consumer goods and food processing, agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. The wide-ranging experience of our attorneys in all aspects of domestic law, combined with their broad exposure to international transactions, consistently adds value for our clients.

As a full-service law firm in Ukraine, we assist our clients in a variety of matters ranging from the establishment of subsidiaries, representative offices and joint ventures, to advising on investment structure, direct investment, mergers and acquisitions, antitrust and competition law, project finance, trade finance, secured lending, corporate finance, employment law, real estate transactions, securities, taxation, licensing and regulatory approvals, bankruptcy, intellectual property, foreign exchange regulations, and customs and trade law. Our attorneys also engage in government relations work and legislative drafting for certain clients, and often act as those clients’ primary contacts with Ukrainian government officials in the Presidential administration, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Parliament, the National Bank of Ukraine, the State Property Fund and other government ministries and agencies.

All of our partners in Kyiv consistently rank among the top lawyers in Ukraine, and the Kyiv office is recognized by legal directories including Chambers Global, Chambers Europe and IFLR1000 as a leading law firm in Ukraine, particularly in the areas of corporate/commercial and banking and finance.

Our Kyiv office is diverse in its services. Our many practice areas include:

Banking and Finance

Our Kyiv attorneys have extensive experience in bank mergers and acquisition transactions. We also advise banks and financial institutions, including multinational lending organizations, on a full range of financial transactions. We assist both borrowers and lenders with secured lendings, project and infrastructure finance, trade and export finance, construction finance and lease financings. We also regularly counsel a number of banks on regulatory and corporate matters.

Joint Ventures

Our attorneys have extensive experience in structuring and negotiating joint ventures with private and state-owned enterprises in a variety of industries throughout Ukraine. We provide comprehensive advice on strategies to maximize the business opportunities of our clients – while minimizing the risks inherent in the Ukrainian business environment. Particular emphasis is placed on developing sound corporate governance structures to ensure effective management and control mechanisms.

Mergers and Acquisitions/Privatizations

We have advised many clients acquiring and selling stakes in or assets of recently privatized and privately owned Ukrainian companies. Beginning with comprehensive due diligence examinations, we assist our clients in structuring acquisitions and sales, drafting and negotiating all necessary documentation, and obtaining necessary antitrust approvals, as well as corporate restructuring. In privatizations, we have advised buyers of various state-owned enterprises ranging from tobacco factories to confectioneries. We have also assisted advisors to the Ukrainian government in sell-side privatization mandates, including the first wave of successful energy distribution company (oblenergo) privatizations.

Securities and Capital Markets

Our local and international capital markets experience includes representing issuers, broker-dealers, investment banks, institutional investors, fund managers and investment advisors in all aspects of securities work in Ukraine, including trading and custody of Ukrainian equities and debt instruments. In a precedent-setting transaction for Ukraine, we acted on behalf of the lead manager for two Eurobond issues by Ukraine to restructure approximately $2.7 billion of debt into longer-term debt.

Real Estate

In Kyiv we provide a full range of services to clients involved in Ukraine’s developing real estate market. Our attorneys have advised clients on office and hotel developments and financings, and have acted on behalf of clients in acquiring real property for office and industrial use. We regularly represent landlords and tenants in drafting and negotiating property leases, and we counsel clients on obtaining and documenting land-use rights.

Dispute Resolution

Our Kyiv office also offers settlement, dispute resolution, arbitration, litigation and advocacy services to clients with respect to civil, commercial and criminal matters in Ukraine, as well as representation in international arbitration proceedings, both in Ukraine and abroad.

Government Relations

We often facilitate our clients’ communications with Ukrainian officials. We negotiate client-government disputes and present a client’s views before parliamentary committees for consideration in the legislative process. When a client’s legal rights are jeopardized through an action of a government agency, we seek assistance from Ukraine’s Executive Branch.

Taxes

We assist our clients with the analysis of Ukrainian tax law and provide them with solutions that allow them to achieve a safe tax position and maximize tax savings. For this purpose, our tax and legal experts work together to find the most efficient strategies. In Ukraine, we offer the following tax services: advance tax planning and follow-up tax advice on corporate profits tax, VAT, excise, personal income tax, social security contributions, other taxes and duties; full-scope tax due diligence examination (buy-side and vendor); assistance in efficient tax structuring that maximizes tax savings; review of the company's tax discipline in respect to its compliance with tax legislation; recommendations as to the elimination/reduction of the revealed tax risks. We have expertise in various industries, including banking and finance; communications; media and technology; consumer products; energy, food and beverages; oil, gas and LNG; and Pharmaceuticals.

Representative Experience