The Legal 500

Baker & McKenzie – CIS, Limited’s three-partner team is headed by Serhiy Piontkovsky and includes 15 assistants. The practice advises both foreign and domestic investors on a range of issues, including construction, development and tax matters and the establishment of real estate investment funds. In 2008 , it advised ITT Investment Group on the development of a four-star hotel, as part of a mixed-use site in Kiev. Other clients include Raven Group and Citigroup Venture Capital.

Partner Roman Kostenko is Asters.’ main contact for real estate and construction. The firm has been active on the projects side and advised Smart Holding, one of Ukraine’s largest industrial groups, on the €1.5bn Black Sea deep-water port and trade centre development in Ochakoy. The team also advises several international real estate funds on their investments in Ukraine.

Magisters has invested heavily in its real estate practice, as illustrated through its recruitment of group head Volodymyr Baibarza from Chadbourne & Parke LLP.. The team, which covers acquisition and development work, is backed up by the firm’s first class litigation and finance practices. Recently the practice advised a high net worth individual on the $400m acquisition of commercial real estate in Kiev. Regular clients include the French construction group, Saint Gobain, and Spire Group.

Sayenko Kharenko has three partners well versed in commercial real estate. The ‘excellent’ Sergiy Ignatovsky is praised for having the ‘highest ethical standards’ and is best known for acquisitions and construction litigation. Michael Kharenko handles the finance side, including real estate-backed securitisations and IPOs, while Vladimir Sayenko is also recommended for transactional work. Recently, the practice advised ING and Renaissance Capital on the $130m IPO of Kyiv Donbas Development Group, and also advised Parkridge on several greenfield and brownfield projects.

Daniel Bilak’s team at CMS Cameron McKenna LLC is making a strong impression on the market. The firm is particularly active on the finance side, where partner Oleksiy Levenets advises clients such as HypoReal, EuroHypo and West LB. The firm also benefits from its unrivalled network of offices in Eastern Europe.

Recently promoted partner Sergiy Onischchenko is Chadbourne & Parke LLP’s main real estate expert. The team is very experienced on major projects and advised Interpipe Group on the development and financing of its $610m electric-arc steel-smelting complex in Dnepropetrovsk.

DLA Piper Ukraine LLC’s real estate head Natalia Kocheringa is praised for her ‘clear, commercial advice.’ The practice acts for several major real estate funds, as well as for hotel chains like InterContinental and Fairmont Raffles, on their respective developments in Kiev.

Myron Rabij heads Salans.’ top notch real estate practice that advises international clients, investment funds and banks on major development projects and acquisitions. Recently it advised Multi Development on land plot acquisitions and shopping mall developments in Kharkiv and Lviv. The firm boasts a strong finance practice, which recently represented Argo Real Estate Opportunity Fund on a $75m facility for a shopping centre development in Odessa.

Praised for its ‘reliable and well-connected people,’ and ‘quality service,’ Vasil Kisil & Partners’s real estate team does an even mix of acquisition and development work. Recently it advised Panorama Group on a 300,000sq metre mixed-use development in the centre of Kiev, comprising a shopping and exhibition centre, residential and office blocks, and a yacht club. Partners Oleksandr Khomenko and Oleg Alyoshin are recommended.

Arzinger & Partners.’ ‘value for money’ real estate team is commended for its ‘good level of service,’ and ability to ‘navigate us through the difficult Ukrainian legal environment.’ Managing partner Sergey Shklyar is recommended, particularly on the litigation front. The practice advises several major German and Austrian investors and developers.

B C Toms & Co partners Bate Toms and Taras Dumych have a good track record in real estate and are also recommended for major projects, particularly in the energy sector.

Beiten Burkhardt has an active real estate arm that regularly advises the firm’s international clients on their investments in Ukraine.

Gide Loyrette Nouel advises several major French clients on their Ukrainian real estate investments and developments. Recently it acted for Rasec on the development and maintenance of retail outlets throughout the country. Karl Hepp de Sevelinges is well regarded.

Maksim Kopeychykov heads the real estate team at Ilyashev & Partners which acts for a number of domestic construction companies, investors and developers. Highlights include advising Autocity on the development of a 38-hectare business park in Kiev. Other domestic clients include Gradostroy, MTN and Kievgorstroy-6.

Peterka & Partners LLC advises several major investors and developers, including the French company Catinvest on the acquisition of plots in the Odessa region of Ukraine.

Managing partner Ilona Zekely and partner Denys Sytnyk are the main real estate experts at Schönherr’s impressive Ukraine office. The practice advises several major international investors and developers, including Akron Group, which it represented on aoint venture with Magnat Group for the development of a major office building in Kiev.

Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P. acts 
for several international real estate investors, including Sweden’s 11 Invest on the acquisition of land and the development of a residential community. Partner Peter Telsuk is recommended.

While most Ukrainian commercial firms have experience in real estate and construction, other standout recommendations include Astapov Lawyers International Law Group Legal Alliance Company Lexwell & Partners Salkom and Volkov Koziakov & Partners..