The Legal 500

Headed by Serhiy Chorny, the three-partner team at Baker & McKenzie – CIS, Limited has a very good standing despite some departures (particularly on the capital markets front) to the up-and-coming Avellum Partners. The firm has, however, been active in major debt restructurings, and advised a group of export credit agencies and other creditors on the restructuring of €37m and $51m of Bank Nadra’s debts. The firm also advised Mobile TeleSystems on its $750m ten-year Eurobond offering.

Sayenko Kharenko maintains its top-notch reputation for banking and finance work, and name partner Michael Kharenko and the recently promoted partner Nazar Chernyavsky are among the most active lawyers in the market. Few firms can rival its capacity for debt capital markets work, where it has advised issuers and underwriters, including the State Export-Import Bank of Ukraine, Morgan Stanley and UBS. On the debt-restructuring front, it recently advised Credit Suisse on the $1.59bn restructuring of loans and Eurobonds by Naftogas Ukrainy.

Asters’ ‘excellent’ banking and finance team is considered ‘one of the best in Ukraine’, while highly rated senior partner Armen Khachaturyan is ‘a good all-round lawyer with a clear understanding of the needs of non-Ukrainian clients’. Svitlana Poroschuk is ‘very capable, experienced, available and delivers on time’. Highlights included advising Russia’s Sberbank on a $700m loan to the mining group Metinvest.

Fast developing an excellent reputation, the ‘bright, young lawyers’ at Avellum Partners are especially noted for their capital markets expertise, and are referral favourites for the major international firms. The ‘excellent’ group head Glib Bondar, a former Baker & McKenzie – CIS, Limited partner who joined in February 2010, is a ‘very strong financing lawyer with a good grasp of financing both loans and debt capital markets’. Managing partner Mykola Stetsenko is considered ‘a brilliant lawyer with great experience’. Key clients include PrivatBank, UniCredit Leasing, RBS and Swedbank.

Jointly headed by managing partner Adam Mycyk and Peter Malacek, the team at CMS Cameron McKenna LLC has a strong reputation in the market. The practice is primarily lender led, and has recently been active in several major agribusiness and energy-related financings.

Chadbourne & Parke LLP boasts a very strong banking and finance practice and several heavyweight lawyers including managing partner Jaroslawa Johnson and Oleg Mazur. The team acts for a mix of borrowers and lenders, and recently represented Turkcell on a $75m financing for the Ukrainian company Astelit, in which it is a majority owner.

In a relatively short space of time, Clifford Chance LLC has established a very active presence in the market. The well-respected team is headed by managing partner Jared Grubb and benefits from the expertise of counsel Olexiy Soshenko. The firm has a good track record in debt capital markets and debt restructurings.

DLA Piper Ukraine LLC has been involved in several multibillion-dollar debt restructurings in the past year, advising both debtors and creditors. Despite the market, the firm has also acted on several acquisition financings. Oleksandr Kurdydyk heads the quality team.

Magisters has a very strong track record in banking and finance and is particularly experienced in major bond offerings, where it has advised the Ministry of Finance. The firm is also experienced in debt restructurings and represented Naftogas Ukrainy on its multibillion-dollar restructuring. Olga Khoroshylova heads the team whose clients include Gazprom, TNK BP, EBRD and Russian Standard Bank.

Salans’ banking team is considered to be ‘one of the best in Ukraine’, and group head Natalia Selyakova is extremely well regarded by clients. One of the firm’s largest instructions was from Ukraine’s Nadra Bank, regarding the restructuring of its multimillion-dollar debts. On top of its restructuring work, the firm has also represented the lenders on several major loan facilities. Clients include UniCredit Bank, Citibank and BNP Paribas.

Vasil Kisil & Partners impresses with some excellent feedback and impressive transactions. The ‘highly knowledgeable’ and ‘dynamic’ Denis Lysenko heads the team, which is considered ‘one of the best in Ukraine’. ‘In comparison with other Ukrainian law firms, this firm stands out for its excellent knowledge of Ukrainian law, combined with experience on international deals and an ability to deliver high-quality advice tailored for the matter’. Highlights included advising Delta Bank on the acquisition of a $390m loan portfolio and underlying security of Ukrprombank.

Name partner Andriy Kravets of Andriy Kravets & Partners is well regarded, and his practice recently advised VAB Bank on the restructuring of $125m of Eurobonds. Other clients include ING, UniCredit Bank and Barclays Capital.

B C Toms & Co founder Bate Toms continues to cut a major figure in Ukraine’s legal market. The firm recently advised on a $40m syndicated loan to a major agro-industrial company. The firm will miss partner Taras Dumych, who left to join Wolf Theiss.

Gide Loyrette Nouel acts for an impressive range of major European banks and has acted on several multimillion-dollar facilities. Managing partner Karl Hepp de Sevelinges heads the team.

Oleg Vysochinsky is the main contact at Grischenko & Partners, and has a good track record in debt capital markets and major financings.

Praised for its ‘very good, very commercial approach and fast response’, Ilyashev & Partners comes recommended. The active practice recently advised Nadra Bank on the restructuring of $175m of Eurobonds. Mikhail Ilyashev, Roman Marchenko and Maksym Kopeychykov are ‘good to work with’.

Integrites International Law Firm has significantly expanded the team, following the arrival of group head Oleksandr Aleksyeyenko in November 2009, and the England-qualified, former Withers LLP lawyer, Andrey Liakhov in May 2010. Trade finance is a big area for the firm, whose clients include EBRD, OTP Bank and NEFCO.

Okhrimchuk Grushyn Khandurin Law Firm has an active team that does a lot of lender-led work. Deutsche Bank is a major client, which it recently advised on a $700m syndicated loan to Metinvest. Andriy Grushyn heads the team whose clients include BNP Paribas, RBS and Unicredit Bank.

Schoenherr’s managing partner Alexander Popp heads the banking team, which primarily acts for lenders, including Erste Bank, on major financings, and, more recently, debt restructurings. On the borrower side, it represented KKR on a $398m loan from Citibank for the acquisition of a branch of the electronics manufacturer Flextronics.

Other recommended firms and partners include Anna Pogrebna at Arzinger; Tatyana Kuzmenko at Astapov Lawyers International Law Group; Marina Tegypko at Beiten Burkhardt;

Yevgeniya Derbal at Konnov & Sozanovsky; and Salkom senior partner Evgen Kubko.