The Legal 500

Asters provides ‘excellent client service, quality and responsiveness’ through ‘professional, trustworthy and responsible experts’. Oleksiy Didkovskiy, Armen Khachaturyan, Vadym Samoilenko and Oleksandr Padalka are ‘all proactive and provide useful, practical solutions’. Didkovskiy advised private equity fund Russia Partners on its acquisition of Into-Sana Group.

Avellum Partners has ‘some of the top legal brains in the market’, with Mykola Stetsenko and the ‘highly motivated’ Kostiantyn Likarchuk being recommended. The team recently advised Ocean Plaza on a share sale.

Baker & McKenzie – CIS, Limited has ‘outstanding experience in M&A’, as well as business partnerships and corporate law. The firm advised Cadogan Petroleum on a joint venture with ENI, and acted for Cargill on local aspects of a €1.15bn acquisition. Viacheslav Yakymchuk is ‘committed and driven, and always fights for his client’.

Michael Kharenko’s team at Sayenko Kharenko is ‘very result-oriented’ and has ‘unrivalled experience’, having advised on more M&A deals in Ukraine than any other firm over the past five years. The team recently advised Sberbank on a €505m acquisition. Andrey Liakhov joined from Integrites.

CMS is ‘very pragmatic’ and provides ‘excellent service based on legal and industry knowledge’, and arguably has ‘Ukraine’s leading energy practice’. Graham Conlon heads the team, which advised a major oil and gas company on a sizeable investment in shale gas fields. Vitaliy Radchenko is ‘extremely knowledgeable’, and Anna Pogrebna is ‘efficient, fast and reliable’.

DLA Piper Ukraine LLC ‘understands the client’s approach to business’. Margarita Karpenko advised international exhibition company ITE on its acquisition of BeautexCo, and assisted ENI with its energy sector investments. Lycored and Europe Virgin Fund are also clients.

Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners is working on a large solar energy deal in the Crimea. Oleg Boichuk is recommended along with Ilona Zekely, who advises many German-speaking clients.

B C Toms & Co’s clients are ‘very impressed’ by Bate Toms’ ‘intelligence, knowledge and grasp of matters at hand’.

Chadbourne & Parke LLP has ‘a fine reputation for practical and solid advice’. Jaroslawa Johnson heads the team, which advised Horizon Capital on its investment in IT company Ciklum. The firm represents a mix of regional and international clients. Adam Mycyk joined from CMS in February 2013.

Clifford Chance LLC has ‘a young and highly energised team of lawyers’ including Nick Fletcher and Jared Grubb, ‘whose response times, creative solution-finding and industry knowledge are outstanding’. Dmytro Fedoruk is ‘client-focused and hardworking’. Recent work includes assisting Valinor with its corporate restructuring and advising Arawak Energy, a Vitol subsidiary, on a strategic partnership.

Dentons ‘scores highly on every measure and for its ability to integrate with internal teams’. Oleg Batyuk and Markian Silecky have ‘a strong understanding of Ukrainian law’. The team advised 3P International Energy of Canada on a $17m acquisition. Dragon Capital and Noble Resources are also clients.

Vasil Kisil & Partners is ‘one of the companies of first choice’ for clients due to its extensive experience. The firm recently advised Energy Standard Group on a $22m acquisition. Denis Lysenko and Anna Babych also count as clients Ukrainian Media Holding and Danone.

Andriy Kravets at Andriy Kravets & Partners is ‘an outstanding commercial lawyer’, and he and Vladyslav Lyaskovskiy provide ‘quick responses and a personal touch’. Key clients include Kyivrianta LLC and KSG Agro Group.

Maksym Cherkasenko’s team at Arzinger ‘gives practical and understandable advice’. German and English speaker Timur Bondaryev has ‘a “Western” way of thinking and excellent knowledge – top notch’. The firm recently advised on a merger between two large insurers.

Beiten Burkhardt’s Bogdan Borovyk is recommended for his ‘expertise and client-oriented approach’. His team includes Julian Ries, who ‘understands clients’ needs’. Borovyk advised EBRD on its $6m acquisition of a stake in Khask Group, and Martin Bauer on restructuring a joint stock company.

Andriy Vyshnevsky, Roman Ognevyuk and Olga Fayzieva at EnGarde Attorneys at Law provide ‘a very high level of service’. The firm advised Smart Holding, one of Ukraine’s largest investment groups, on the acquisition of a majority stake in PJSC Bank.

Attorneys’ Association Gestors, formerly AS Consulting, is ‘an excellent Ukrainian law firm: client-oriented, good value and with highly experienced attorneys’. Andriy Tsvyetkov is ‘open-minded and proactive’, and associate Yaroslav Snigur shows ‘diligence and competence with foreign clients’. The firm advised Domino Group on opening the Excada mono boutique in Donetsk.

Gide Loyrette Nouel has ‘a big reputation in Ukraine’ for corporate deals, largely thanks to Bertrand Barrier and Illya Tkachuk. Clients include a large French industrial group that is making an acquisition in Ukraine.

Ilyashev & Partners’ Mikhail Ilyashev and Roman Marchenko adopt a ‘creative, persistent, systematic and accurate’ approach. The team recently assisted with the corporate restructuring of aircraft manufacturer SE Antonov.

Integrites is ‘highly recommended for mid-level M&A’. Vyacheslav Korchev advised Novarka, which is building on the Chernobyl nuclear plant site, on a $510m joint venture agreement.

KPD Consulting Law Firm’s ‘outstanding knowledge and high-end professional advice’ is exemplified by the ‘talented’ Vitaliy Patsyuk and the ‘experienced, hardworking’ Iryna Pidlisna, ‘who always provides creative solutions’. Felix Haffner, who joined from Beiten Burkhardt, has brought German clients to the firm. The team provided due diligence support for Ukrotsbank and assisted several clients, including Grammarly Inc, with local incorporation.

Peterka & Partners LLC specialises in assisting foreign companies to open locally. Nina Sydorenko’s team ‘knows how to protect clients’ interests’. Alexander Poels advised Veolia Voda on its corporate structure and public tenders. PSA Peugeot Citroen is a client for employment matters.

Schoenherr’s Denys Sytnyk ‘knows the law completely’. Clients include Erste Bank and US technology services company Aricent Group.

Squire Sanders Ukraine LLC ‘enables clients to make clear, commercial decisions’. Peter Teluk advised Laguz Management on its high-value acquisition of a Russian chemicals producer and its assets.

Antika Law Firm’s Alexey Kot provides ‘a good service’ in competition law and M&A. The firm has established a new natural resources and energy practice to advise clients in the mining and power sectors.

Sergiy Oberkovych and Maksym Lebedev at Gvozdiy & Oberkovych Law Firm are recommended for their experience with international clients.

Konnov & Sozanovsky’s Helen Yaremchuk is popular with international clients and has substantial experience advising IT companies.

At LCF Law Group, Olena Volianska heads ‘an excellent, consolidated team of associates’, and Artem Stoianov is ‘most reliable’. The group acted on a $23m acquisition for a stevedore company and on an $80m joint venture for Kuwait Energy.

Lavrynovych & Partners’ Iryna Marushko recently advised Financiere Egine on an $87m share purchase.

Legal Alliance Company is ‘committed to high standards’. Oleksiy Bezhevets’ team, which includes Illya Kostin, has ‘significant experience and is a reliable legal counsel’. The firm represents four multinational pharmaceuticals companies.

Noerr’s Mansur Rafsendjani typically advises German investors but also represented a Ukrainian client on an acquisition in Germany. IT and agriculture deals feature prominently in its workload.

Law Offices of OMP provides ‘workable and effective solutions’ on corporate and M&A mandates, and recently acted for Glencore on an acquisition. ‘Talented lawyer’ Yaroslav Sverdlichenko is ‘responsive and has good commercial understanding’. Oleksandra Ratushnyak left the firm.

Okhrimchuk Grushyn Khandurin Law Firm provides ‘quick response times and an extremely commercial approach’. In addition to handling numerous cross-border transactions, Denis Okhrimchuk also advises local clients such as Rockservice LLC on contractual matters.

Ulysses is ‘capable in cross-border transactions’. The ‘competitive and reasonable’ Oleh Marchenko and Anna Zorya advised Germany’s INN and Cyprus’ Menwood on buying stakes in a major hotel development.

Taras Dumych’s team at Wolf Theiss ‘works very efficiently, answers requests immediately and provides concise and clear advice’. It advised IFC on a €24m power sector deal.

Under the ‘intelligent’ Anton Prysyazhnyuk, Andreas Neocleous & Co is ‘customer-oriented and gives particular attention to detail and value for money’. Andriy Dovbenko is ‘accurate and quick at finding solutions’. Recent instructions include acting on a share acquisition for Icon Private Equity.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group’s Oleh Malskyy is a recognised expert in M&A.

Danevych Law Firm, formed by partners from Law Firm Paritet, is ‘comparatively young and less conservative, extremely client-oriented and responsive’. Borys Danevych advised Manuli Stretch on its corporate reorganisation. Yuliya Cherkashnya is an employment law expert.

KM Partners’ Alexander Minin and Maxim Oleksiyuk provide ‘a high level of service that is client-oriented, practical and progressive’. The firm acts for several multinationals in the food and beverages sector.

Pavlenko & Poberezhnyuk, Law Group’s Oleksandra Pavlenko and Larysa Poberezhnyuk advised a leading medical equipment manufacturer on contract negotiations with the Ministry of Health.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is known for ‘very good work, responsive people, valuable suggestions and good client support’. Sergiy Benedysyuk is recommended.

SDM Partners Law FIrm’s Dmytro Syrota is ‘very client-oriented, a great lawyer, and very strong on corporate and antitrust law’. Highlights included acting on a $120m series of acquisitions for RawAgro.

Salkom’s Evgen Kubko is highly recommended for corporate law including joint venture agreements.