Overview
BGI Legal remains the go-to law firm in Georgia, boasting top tier expertise in contentious and non-contentious matters. The firm’s versatile and highly experienced founding partners, Lasha Gogiberidze and Zaza Bibilashvili, both have excellent reputations, and are backed up by a strong team of associates, including Tamara Tevdoradze and Ekaterina Alekidze. Giorgi Kavlashvili is also highly recommended for white-collar crime issues. Highlights for the firm included representing JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch on a major government bond issue. Other active clients include the EBRD, British American Tobacco, Deutsche Bank, GlaxoSmithKline and Marriot International.
DLA Piper Georgia LP has also established itself firmly in the top tier of Georgian-based legal advisers. The firm will miss Nick Gvinadze who left to establish his own firm Gvinadze & Partners LLC, although the fact that experienced litigation specialist Otar Kipshidze was promoted to partner in 2010 helped offset the loss, while US-qualified managing partner Ted Jonas remains in charge of the 12-lawyer team. Highlights included advising BP on all issues relating to its three oil and gas pipelines that run through Georgia. The firm also represented Georgia’s TBC Bank on its $200m recapitalization. Other clients include Anadarko, Bank of Georgia, Motorola and Pfizer.
The ‘excellent’ three-partner firm BLC (Professional Legal Services) is increasingly starting to challenge the dominance of Georgia’s top two law firms. Ketti Kvartskhava is singled out for her ‘excellent litigation and transactional skills’, while Alexander Bolkvadze and Leven Dadiani are also recommended. A recent highlight was advising Georgian Railways on its $100m loan from EBRD and its $250m Eurobond offering on the London Stock Exchange.
Marekh Amirashvili, Gocha Gogishvili and David Shengalia are the three name partners at Amirashvili, Gogishvili & Shengelia, G.P., which offers a strong full service practice. Clients include Coca-Cola, Microsoft and McDonald’s.
Begiashvili & Co. Limited name partner Giorgi Begiashvili has a very good reputation for litigation and arbitration, while Jaba Mamulashvili is strong on the corporate front.
Gvinadze & Partners LLC enters the rankings following its formation by highly rated former DLA Piper Georgia LP partner Nick Gvinadze, who has an excellent reputation in the market.
Headed by managing partner David Dzidziguri, five-partner Mgaloblishvili, Kipiani, Dzidziguri Law Firm is one of Georgia’s largest law firms. The firm covers the full range of contentious and non-contentious matters.
David Pataria of Pataria and Partners has developed a strong practice, and the three-partner law firm provides a full range of services.