The Legal 500

The lawyers of AstapovLawyers International Law Group have successfully protected the interests of Do It Yourself Ukraine LLC, a company operating a hypermarket chain under the brand OBI, in the Kyiv Commercial Court.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group advised a number of international companies managing large portfolios of websites. The legal support included different matters on currency regulation, employment, regulatory compliance in Ukraine as well as other local IT/IP business sector issues.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group successfully protected the interests of a major Swiss vegetable oils trader in FOSFA arbitration proceedings.

AstapovLawyers successfully represented a major Polish supplier of energy saving substances Paroc Polska Sp. z o.o. in a dispute with its Moldovan consignee.

AstapovLawyers has advised Grunenthal GmbH, a major European producer of pharmaceuticals, in the acquisition of Grunenthal by STADA AG. Total deal value of the parties involved amounted around the EUR152 mln.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group has protected the interests of a majority shareholder of a major Ukrainian business group in legal proceedings about the granting of an injunction in the form of the right to administer a group of companies.

AstapovLawyers pleased to announce that Mr. Oleh Beketov, a Counsel, who leads International Litigation Department, was nominated to become a Partner this year.

AstapovLawyers has won "The DealMakers Global Awards 2012”.

The winners of "The DealMakers Global Awards 2012” campaign were chosen by electronic voting. 81,500 electronic forms were issued this year. The poll represents who the readership believes are the leading professional firms, within the various areas of specialization, across the various geographical regions.

During the 2011 AstapovLawyers International Law Group accompanied by a variety of projects in renewable energy sector, providing legal services to a number of international companies interested in investing in Ukrainian alternative energy sector. Such include:

AstapovLawyers International Law Group has been recognized by The Lawyers World Global Awards 2012.

The Awards are presented annually to a number of leading professional firms, across the globe.

AstapovLawyers has successfully participated in the representation of Nutritek International Inc., a leading baby food production company in Russia, before the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division (United Kingdom).

AstapovLawyers International Law Group successfully protected the interests BelOil company, one of the main importer of Belarus petroleum products, in special investigation of the supply some petroleum productsto the Ukrainian market (gasoline, diesel fuel, liquefied petroleum gas etc.).

AstapovLawyers International Law Group advised a Finnish energy service company on a project designed to introduce energy saving technologies (reactive power compensators) to Ukraine.

The senior associate of the ILO AstapovLawyers Ivan Lishchyna co-authored the guide for the judges “The application of the European Convention on Human Rights at the consideration of the commercial cases”.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group held its traditional annual ceremony and awarded best company’s attorneys in 2011 year.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group has won "The DealMakers – 2011 – Global Leading Firms ‘Top Tier Rankings’ " for Russia and Ukraine.

Vedomosti daily business newspaper published a rating of Top-300 Russian leading law firms prepared by an independent legal agency Pravo.ru. AstapovLawyers International Law Group was named among the leaders of the industry and ranked within Top-20 among Moscow law firms by the revenue.

AstapovLawyers Partner Oleh Malskyy took part in discussions of The Procedures for Liability Exemption and Searching for Effective Ways of Prevention and Suppression of Cartels in Ukraine that were drawn up by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine.

Oleh Malskyy, Partner at AstapovLawyers International Law Group, has become a chairman of the Foreign Trade Committee of the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA). He was elected by electronic majority vote of members of that professional association.

Oleh Beketov and Eugene Blinov, Counsels at AstapovLawyers International Law Group, took part in the annual conference “International Arbitration. Russia as an Arbitration Forum: Pros and Cons”. The event was dedicated to the cooperation of state and arbitration courts, as well as the important issues of the development of the international arbitration practice, and took place on 7 December in Moscow. It was hosted with the support of ICC Russia (Russian National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce, the World Business Organization), in cooperation with ICC International Court of Arbitration.

Oleh Malskyy, Partner at AstapovLawyers International Law Group, delivered a report at 1st IBA Conference on the competition law of the CIS countries held on 8 through 9 December 2011 in Kyiv.

Oleh Malskyy, Partner at AstapovLawyers International Law Group, attended an annual international conference Inside Ukraine 2011 held on 6 December 2011 in London.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group was recognized among TOP-5 best law firms in Ukraine. High qualifications and achievements of the law firm were confirmed by the results of the leading and the oldest national independent research TOP-50 Law Firms in Ukraine, compiled by Yuridicheskaya Praktika (Legal Practice publication), a well-respected Ukrainian law magazine, and the Kommersant Publishing House.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group hosted a regular meeting of Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution of the Ukrainian Bar Association. The meeting was held on November 24 in Kyiv office of law firm.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group has advised PKO Bank in acquisition of 100% stake in the share capital of a factoring company as well as further acquisition on overdue debt. Total deal value of the parties involved amounted around EUR 43 mln.

Oleg Malskyy, Partner at AstapovLawyers International Law Group, attended the prestigious award ceremony "Best Legal Departments of Russia 2011" held on November 18 in Moscow.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group has won "The Lawyers World Annual Jurisdiction Awards 2011". The Company is awarded in the categories of: Arbitration, Commercial Litigation and M&A in Ukraine.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group has successfully represented the interests of May Company, Russia’s biggest tea manufacturer, before the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine.

Oleh Malskyy, Partner of AstapovLawyers International, took part in the 5th Annual IBA Law Firm Management Conference Law Group held on 24 to 25 November in Moscow.

Attorneys of AstapovLawyers International Law Group continues to be recognised and awarded as leading legal company in many areas.

Andrey Astapov, Managing Partner of AstapovLawyers International Law Group, took part in the 9th Annual Global Grain Conference held in Geneva on 15 to 17 November.

Eugene Blinov, AstapovLawyers’ Counsel, has taken part in the round table session dedicated to the Problems and Prospects of the European Judicial System Development in Ukraine.

Oleh Malskyy, AstapovLawyers’ Partner, has been nominated as an expert in the Russian Federation corporate law by Global Law Experts.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group provided its legal advice to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) becoming a shareholder of PJSC Insurance Company Universalna.

Oleh Malskyy, AstapovLawyers’ Partner, has delivered a commentary as part of the discussion called “Ensuring Fair Competition between Sources of Oil Product Supplies to Ukraine”, at the third international conference Petroleum Ukraine 2011 which was held in Kiev on 10 November. The discussion was mainly dedicated to the special investigation of the imposition of duties on imported oil products.

stapovLawyers International Law Group was named the Best Overall Law Firm - Ukraine at InterContinental Finance 2011 End of Year Country Awards.

AstapovLawyers has successfully represented Alkhateeb Brothers Trading co., a leading Arabic trading company based in the UAE, in GAFTA arbitration matter against one of top international grain traders.

Oleh Malskyy, AstapovLawyers’ Partner, nominated by the association Global Law Experts (GLE) as an expert in mergers and acquisitions in Ukraine.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group is pleased to announce that Sergiy Zdorovets, a well-known lawyer and top manager in the field of aviation, joins the firm's team as a Counsel. At AstapovLawyers, Mr. Zdorovets will coordinate the aviation practice.

Oleh Malskyy, AstapovLawyers’ Partner, delivered a report entitled “Public-private Partnership and Production Sharing Agreements in Petroleum Industry: Experience of Russia and Kazakhstan – Lessons for Ukraine” at the international conference “Ukrainian Oil and Gas Forum 2011” that took place in Kyiv on November 2 as part of the 15th International Forum of Oil and Gas Industry “OIL AND GAS 2011”.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group has been recommended by Leaders League as the 2011 best law firm in Russia in the area of private equity. In particular, Oleh Malskyy and Ljubomir Mudrić, Partners of the firm, were ranked as the leading professionals in this category.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group received high recommendation from a leading insurance company Chartis.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group has advised Terex Group, world leading machinery and industrial products company headquartered in the United States.

Igor Semenov, associate at the AstapovLawyers International Law Group, spoke at the VI International Grain Trading Conference «Global and Middle East grain outlook 2011", which took place on October 18-21 in Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt).

Andrey Astapov, Managing Partner at AstapovLawyers International Law Group, took part in the investment forum “Russia Calling 2011” that took place in Moscow, Russian Federation.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group received high recommendation from Detskiy Mir, a retail network for children in the Russian Federation.

Ukrainian Bar Association

Eugene Blinov, counsel at AstapovLawyers International Law Group, was appointed as the chairman of the Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution at the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA). 

Bohdan Dmukhovskyy joined AstapovLawyers' Kyiv office as an Associate of the M&A, Corporate and Antitrust Department. Besides M&A practice, Bohdan’s main focus will be on Capital markets and securities practice.

Andrey Astapov, the Managing partner at AstapovLawyers International Law Group has been nominated as the Arbitration law expert in Ukraine by Global Law Experts (GLE) association.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group received high recommendation from the leading oil company Beloil.

Olena Yakovenko joined AstapovLawyers' Kyiv office as a Junior Associate of the International arbitration and litigation department.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group has successfully advised The State administration of railway transport “Ukrzaliznytsya” on the local bonds issue.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group received a high recommendation from DIXI, Russia's leading retail group of companies.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group, a leading CIS-based law firm, has become the winner of the Global Law Experts Awards 2011 and has been awarded the title Dispute Resolution Law Firm of the Year for 2011 in Ukraine.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group has advised Raiffeisen Bank International on personal data transfer in Russian Federation.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group is delighted to announce the appointment of Olena Levtsun as coordinator of the firm's Immigration Law practice.

Andrey Astapov, AstapovLawyers’ Managing Partner spoke at the third international conference "Oilseeds & Oils 2011", devoted to the market of oilseeds, vegetable oils and by-products, which took place in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 22-24.

Oleh Malskyy, AstapovLawyers’ Partner, participated in the Central and Eastern Europe IPO Road Show 2011, that took place in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Maryana Rishko, associate at AstapovLawyers International Law Group, participated in the All-Ukrainian attorney forum, which took place on September 18 in Kyiv.

Oleh Shaulko joined AstapovLawyers' Kyiv office as Associate of the International arbitration and litigation department.

“The resolution of CIS-related business disputes”

Andrey Astapov, AstapovLawyers’ Managing Partner, took part in the the third annual conference: “The resolution of CIS-related business disputes”, that took place in Moscow, Russia, on 12 September 2011. Mr. Astapov was also actively involved as a member of the conference planning committee. 

AstapovLawyers International Law Group welcomed two new lawyers in its Moscow and Kyiv teams.

Anna Kirichenko joined the group’s Moscow office in the position of Junior Associate. 

On 6 September 2001, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine is to hold a public hearing on a special investigation into the imports of oil products (A-76/A-80, A-92, A-95 petrol, and diesel fuel, fuel oil, furnace oil, paving bitumen), which may result in protective duties and higher fuel prices.

Yulia Yashenkova, AstapovLawyers’ Senior Associate participated in the Second Annual Conference on “Tax and Customs Litigation 2011: Winning the Battle” organized by PwC Ukraine, that took place in Kyiv.

Oleksandr Miroshnychenko joined AstapovLawyers' Kyiv office as a junior associate of the International restructuring, insolvency and tax planning department.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group receives high recommendation from the leading Russian mining and steel company Mechel OAO.

International law group AstapovLawyers is proud to announce that for a second year in a row the company has been recognized as “Law firm of the year in dispute resolution in Ukraine” according to Corporate International Magazine 2011 Global Award (UK).

International Law Group AstapovLawyers was awarded the title of Law Firm of the year 2011 in Russia at the Intercontinental Finance Law Awards.

International law group AstapovLawyers is proud to announce that for the second year in a row the company has been recognized as “Law firm of the year in dispute resolution in Ukraine” according to Corporate International Magazine 2011 Global Award (UK).

Olena Kardash joined AstapovLawyers' Kyiv office as a junior associate of the International arbitration and litigation department.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group has been recognized by The Lawyers World Global Awards 2011.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group has successfully represented the interests of MOKATE.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group in conjunction with Hoshovsky Law Firm (New York, USA), the Ukrainian Сhapter of New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), and the Ukrainian Bar Association held a roundtable seminar "The Prosecution of Debtors in the USA" dedicated to the judicial systems of Ukraine and the USA. Speakers at the event were AstapovLawyers’ Counsel Mr Oleh Beketov and Mr Sergey Hoshovsky, founder and partner of Hoshovsky Law Firm (New York, USA).

Khrystyna Kostiushko joined AstapovLawyers' Kyiv office as a junior associate of the International arbitration and litigation department.

The experts of AstapovLawyers International Law Group successfully advised the leading Russian company Mechel on the matters of the Ukrainian antitrust laws.

AstapovLawyers announced that Eugene Blinov, Senior Associate, who leads the International Commodity and Maritime Arbitrations practice and coordinates the firm’s advisory work in the Republic of Kazakhstan, was promoted to Counsel.

AstapovLawyers has successfully represented its client, a major foreign food producer before the High Specialised Court of Ukraine in Civil and Criminal Matters in a high-stake labor dispute.

Iegor Sierov joined AstapovLawyers' Kyiv office as a junior associate of the International arbitration and litigation department.

AstapovLawyers receives InterContinental Finance Magazine’s (ICFM) notification as “Highly Commended - Top Tier Firms – 2011”

Andrey Astapov, AstapovLawyers’ Managing Partner, took part in the XII International Grain Round “Grain market – yesterday, today, tomorrow”, that took place in Gelendzhik, Russia, on 6 – 8 June 2011.

AstapovLawyers was an official legal sponsor of Second Kommersant-Weekend International Golf Cup, that was held last weekend in Kyiv Golf Club GolfStream and was organized by Kommersant Publishing House.

Oleh Beketov, AstapovLawyers’ Counsel, spoke at the III International Law Conference “Companies with foreign investments.

The 2011 Gafta Kyiv Dinner was held in Kyiv, Ukraine on 26 May 2011. This was the first time that the dinner was held outside of London in the 130 year history of GAFTA. AstapovLawyers International Law Group was proud to welcome international grain community in Kyiv as a co-sponsor of this grand event.

Oleg Gromovoi, AstapovLawyers’ Senior Associate, spoke at the conference "Issues of intellectual property rights protection and fair competition principles in the alcohol, food and tobacco industries", that was organized jointly by The International Chamber of Commerce, BASCAP Initiative Group in Ukraine and the Association for Resistance to Unfair Competition. The event took place in Kyiv, Ukraine on 1 June 2011.

Firm expands its international arbitration practice.

Olga Pogrebennyk joined AstapovLawyers' Kyiv office as an associate of the International arbitration and litigation department
 

Oksana Kneychuk, AstapovLawyers’ Partner, delivered a speech at the conference Justice 2011: Legal aspects of business taking place in Riga, Latvia on 20 May 2011. The event was organized by Riga Management School (RMS).

The Forum brought together over one hundred representatives of legal community from different regions of Ukraine.

Andrey Astapov, AstapovLawyers’ Managing Partner, and Oleh Beketov, AstapovLawyers’ Counsel, spoke at the seminar “Shareholder Disputes in Ukraine and England”, that was organized jointly by AstapovLawyers International Law Group, Littleton Chambers, and supported by Embassy of Ukraine in London.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group was recommended by PLC Which Lawyer for dispute resolution in Ukraine.

On 19 May 2011, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and AstapovLawyers International Law Group signed a Memorandum of Cooperation. According to that document, AstapovLawyers will render legal services to UNHCR on a pro bono basis as part of its corporate social responsibility programme, including legal analysis of the matters relating to the legal protection of refugees in Ukraine. As the first step in this direction, AstapovLawyers has carried out the legal analysis of judgements delivered  in the cases of refugees and asylum seekers, offering its conclusions and recommendations to the general public.

On 19 May 2011, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and AstapovLawyers International Law Group signed a Memorandum of Cooperation. According to that document, AstapovLawyers will render legal services to UNHCR on a pro bono basis as part of its corporate social responsibility programme, including legal analysis of the matters relating to the legal protection of refugees in Ukraine. As the first step in this direction, AstapovLawyers has carried out the legal analysis of judgements delivered in the cases of refugees and asylum seekers, offering its conclusions and recommendations to the general public.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group was named Mergers & Acquisitions Law Firm of the Year by the DealMakers Monthly Magazine.

The DealMakers Law Awards 2011 recognize a select number of leading professional firms, across the globe, for their individual areas of specialization, within their geographical location. The Awards recognize and salute the organizations & advisers that have performed to exceptional levels during the most difficult period that the global economy has experienced for decades.

Maksym Uslystyi joined AstapovLawyers' Kyiv office as an Associate of the M&A, Corporate and Antitrust Department.

Prior to joining AstapovLawyers, Maksym worked as a Senior Associate at Paritet law firm and D&U Partners LLC, and as Tax & Legal Consultant at Ernst & Young Ukraine.

16.05.2011 – AstapovLawyers International Law Group successfully represented the interests of May Company, one of the Russian tea market leaders. May Company has obtained a decision of the Chamber of Appeals of the State Department of Intellectual Property which recognised its brand Mayski as having been a well-know trademark in Ukraine since 2007

AstapovLawyers’ team has successfully protected the interests of Avery Dennison, one of the major global adhesive producers, in a dispute with Russian-based Paket Invest. On consideration of the dispute that had arisen out of poor contractual performance, the Arbitration Court of the Kaliningrad Region allowed the claims of the Claimant in full and collected a debt of EUR 500,000.

29.04.2011 - AstapovLawyers represented in Ukrainian courts a pool of German co-insurers, in particular NHA Hamburger Assekuranz Agentur GmbH, who have brought a claim against a Ukrainian construction company Universal LLC.

13.04.2011 – The Higher Commercial Court allowed a cassation appeal of AstapovLawyers who represented a Russian steel company in a dispute with the port Yuzhny. In early 2010, the port unreasonably increased its tariffs without the client’s consent. This caused damages to the client who applied to the court seeking collection from the port of the moneys it had paid to it.

AstapovLawyers successfully represented EFKO group, one of the largest Russian food producers, in two FOSFA arbitration matters against a Malaysian palm oils supplier. 

In January 2011 the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine began a special investigation into imports of some oil products into the country regardless of the country of origin, which may result in protective duties on oil imports. The investigation was initiated subject to an application of the Ministry of Fuel and Energy.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group is delighted to announce the appointment of Viktoria Buzhor as coordinator of the firm's Practice in Land and Construction Law.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group announces the appointment of Anna Saliy as a coordinator of the firm's Real Estate Practice.

AstapovLawyersAstapovLawyers successfully represented the interests of the Conres Shipping AG (Conres), a prominent German grain trader, in a dispute with the Alphamate Commodity GmbH. The dispute originated from Alphamate’s failure to pay the agreed price within the time-limits established by the Contract between the parties for the sale of the barley. Conres declared the contract terminated and re-sold the barley to another buyer while the goods remained on-board the vessel.

Oleh Malskyy, AstapovLawyers’ Partner, spoke at the round-table “On Personal Data Protection”, that was organized by Ligazakon and took place Kiev, on 1 February 2011.

On 27 January 2011 leading Russian newspaper Vedomosti published results of Law Firm Rating compiled by Pravo.ru, an influential Russian rating agency. AstapovLawyers were named in the First Tier of law firms practicing litigation in Russia.

17.02.11 - AstapovLawyers successfully represented the interests of the Conres Shipping AG (Conres), a prominent German grain trader, in a dispute with the Alphamate Commodity GmbH. The dispute originated from Alphamate’s failure to pay the agreed price within the time-limits established by the Contract between the parties for the sale of the barley. Conres declared the contract terminated and re-sold the barley to another buyer while the goods remained on-board the vessel.

08.02.2011 - AstapovLawyers have protected the interests of Dymov Sausage Production (Dymov) in a dispute initiated before the Moscow Arbitration Court for the collection of interest of over RUR 18,000,000 in favour of our client. The defendant in this case was Campomos, a meat processing plant.

AstapovLawyers represented Nutricia Ukraine, a part of the Baby Food Division of Danone Group, in a trademark right dispute.

27.01.2011 - AstapovLawyers International Law Group is proud to announce that Andrey Astapov, firm’s Managing Partner has been admitted as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)

27.01.2011 - In October 2010, AstapovLawyers International Law Group announced the launch of Constitutional & Human Rights Law practice. For three months of the practice’s operations, our lawyers lodged more than ten applications with the European Court of Human Rights for the aggregate amount of above €20,000,000

In October 2010, AstapovLawyers International Law Group announced the launch of Constitutional & Human Rights Law practice. For three months of the practice’s operations, our lawyers lodged more than ten applications with the European Court of Human Rights for the aggregate amount of above €20,000,000.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group is proud to announce that Andrey Astapov, Firm’s Managing Partner has been admitted as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb).

On 10 January 2011, Roman Saramaga joined AstapovLawyers' Kyiv office as an associate of the International arbitration and litigation department.

Portal Pravo.ru published a list of 100 Russian leading law firms. According to the research, AstapovLawyers International Law Group is named among the leaders of this industry and is ranked 21st among the Top Russian law firms.

FOSFA arbitration tribunal has recently rendered an award in favour of AstapovLawyers’client, one of the largest Ukrainian commodities traders, in an arbitration case initiated by a multinational commodities trader due to the alleged contamination of Ukrainian sunflower seed oil.

On 21 December, 2010, Lesya Muzalevska joined AstapovLawyers' Kyiv office as an associate of the M&A, Corporate and Antitrust Department.

Eugene Blinov, AstapovLawyers' Senior Associate and Ivan Lishchyna, AstapovLawyers' Senior Associate and coordinator of the firm’s Constitutional & Human Rights Law practice, participated in the seminar, that was organized by the Research Institute of Private Law and Business of the National Academy of Legal Studies of Ukraine jointly with the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the legal journal “The law of Ukraine”, held in Kiev, on 9 December 2010.

28.12.2010 - FOSFA arbitration tribunal has recently rendered an award in favour of AstapovLawyers’ client, one of the largest Ukrainian commodities traders, in an arbitration case initiated by a multinational commodities trader due to the alleged contamination of Ukrainian sunflower seed oil.

On November 24, 2010, Alexandr Ruzhytskyi joined AstapovLawyers' Kyiv office as an associate of the International arbitration and litigation department.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group announces that Galina Frolova is to join the firm as Administrative Director to oversee a number of departments including human resources, administration and finance as well as to develop and implement internal policies and procedures.

15.11.2010 - AstapovLawyers International Law Group advised Marshall Capital Partners on the restructuring and audit of the fund’s subsidiaries.

15.11.2010 - The GAFTA arbitration tribunal has rendered an award in favour of AstapovLawyers’ client, one of the largest agricultural producers and traders in Kazakhstan, in a long-lasting arbitration case against an importer from Germany.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group announces that Dr. Ljubomir Mudrić, a well known top manager and former chairman of Allseeds Group, joins the firm's team as a Partner.

The GAFTA arbitration tribunal has rendered an award in favour of AstapovLawyers' client, one of the largest agricultural producers and traders in Kazakhstan, in a long-lasting arbitration case against an importer from Germany.

On November 8, 2010, Olena Levtsun joined AstapovLawyers' Kyiv office as a junior associate of the international restructuring, insolvency and tax planning department.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group is proud to announce that Andrey Astapov, AstapovLawyers Managing Partner, and Oleh Malskyy, AstapovLawyers Partner, were selected by Who's Who Legal: CIS 2011 research team as CIS leading business lawyers.

Astapov Lawyers International Law Group is the most dynamic full service Law Firm on the Ukrainian legal market. The company began operating in 2002, and today it is consistently named among the leaders of the market for quality and reliability of service as well as for the depth of expertise by major International Legal Directories.

Andrey Astapov, AstapovLawyers' Managing Partner, took part in the second international conference Oilseeds & Oils 2010, held in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 17 - 19, 2010.

On October 18, 2010, Igor Mulyarchuk joined AstapovLawyers' Kyiv office as a junior associate of the International litigation department. Prior to joining AstapovLawyers, Igor worked as a chief expert for maritime safety at the "Ukrainian state inspectorate for maritime safety".

Andrey Astapov, AstapovLawyers Managing Partner, participated in "Russia's Oil Stock & OTC Markets" International Conference II that took place in Moscow within September 30 - October 1, 2010.

AstapovLawyers Counsel Oleh Beketov delivered a speech at International Law Forum IX taking place in Yalta from October 1 to 4, 2010. The forum involved managers of international and local law firms, legal practitioners and advocates, heads of major companies' legal departments, and representatives of CIS countries' state executive and judicial authorities. The forum considered various issues regarding the judicial practice in resolving economic disputes, effective legal technologies of debt collection in the crisis environment, the reorganization of Ukrainian joint-stock companies into private and public, and so on.

AstapovLawyers announces the appointment of Oleg Gromovoi as coordinator of the firm's White Collar Crime Practice. This practice has significantly grown over the past years as well as the firm's litigation practice in general.

Oleh Gromovoi, coordinator of AstapovLawyers' white collar crime practice, participated in the conference "Defence Rights in the early investigative stage of criminal proceedings", organized by the European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA) and held in Ljubliana, Slovenia, on 1 - 2 October 2010.

Yulia Yashenkova, Associate of AstapovLawyers, made her presentation at the 4th International Logistics Congress "Customs or Logistics - What Keeps back the Economic Development of Ukraine?" that took place in Kyiv, on October 7-8, 2010.

The interdepartmental committee on international trade discontinued the anti-dumping investigation with respect to the imports of chicken halves, quarters, drumsticks, and their parts from the US and Brazil without application of any antidumping measures. Such investigation was initiated by Myronivsky Hliboproduct, Dniprovsky poultry processing plant and Ruby Rose Agricole company.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group announces the launch of Constitutional & Human Rights Law practice - a unique initiative on the Ukrainian legal market, aimed specifically to help business entities to protect their rights and freedoms that are regarded as fundamental to individual human beings, such as right to property, right to fair trial, freedom of expression, freedom of association and others.

27.09.2010 - AstapovLawyers joined a working team to handle establishing a self-regulating organization (SRO) by the Russian Grain Union. The organization will be empowered to set, control the compliance with, and impose sanctions for the violations of, obligatory rules for Russia’s agricultural market.

Volodymyr Yakubovskyy was appointed as coordinator of AstapovLawyers' energy practice. Mr. Yakubovskyy holds a master degree summa cum laude in International Law from Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine, LL.M. degree in International Business Practice from School of Law, Boston University, USA, and LL.M. degree in Corporate and Commercial Law from University of Cambridge, UK.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group announces the launch of the cooperation agreement with Avelan, a Russian-based law firm that specializes in real estate and construction law.

On September 15, 2010, Ivan Lishchyna, a Senior Associate of the AstapovLawyers' International Arbitration and Litigation Practice, conducted training for the Crimea-based judges as a part of the International Standards of Judicial Practice seminar organized by the Kharkiv Human Rights Group under the auspices of the European Commission and Democracy Fund of the US Embassy.

17.09.10 - AstapovLawyers successfully defended before Russian courts their client Efirnoe OJSC, one of major Russian producers of oil products, in a dispute with Cargill A.O., a member of the group of companies of a first-rate global commodity trader.

01.09.2010 – The Board of Grain Exporters of the Russian Grain Union (RGU), in its meeting on August 19, 2010, approved by a majority vote the formation of a working group on creating the RGU’s international arbitration court. This working group includes representatives of all member companies, and its activities shall be coordinated by the AstapovLawyers law firm. The first meeting of the working group is scheduled for September.

The Company allies with Yur.ComM, a leading regional provider of legal services

30.08.2010 - The next stage of the UNDP-GEF project aimed at protecting the transboundary environment of the Dnieper River started in October 2009. One of the project goals is the creation of the International Dnieper Basin Commission by three riparian countries:

30.08.2010 - The next stage of the UNDP-GEF project aimed at protecting the transboundary environment of the Dnieper River started in October 2009.

AstapovLawyers successfully advocated for a leading Kazakhstan-based grains supplier and succeeded in the appeal in arbitration held under the FOSFA Rules.

30.08.2010 - The next stage of the UNDP-GEF project aimed at protecting the transboundary environment of the Dnieper River started in October 2009. One of the project goals is the creation of the International Dnieper Basin Commission by three riparian countries: Russian Federation, Belarus and Ukraine.

Associates of AstapovLawyers won the case for their client EFKO group of companies in a land dispute related to investment in the development of Taman sea port infrastructure.

Our client, a major Russian steel producer, sought refund of the storage fees paid to the port in connection with the cast iron storage. As it turned out, the port raised storage rates without any valid reason in early 2010.

AstapovLawyers’ team successfully represented interests of the EFKO group of companies in a land dispute

The firm proved wrongfulness of the cast iron storage rate increase.

A prominent Arbitration lawyer joins AstapovLawyers' Team

Managing Partner spoke at International Grain Conference in Turkey

AstapovLawyers welcomes new Senior Associate in International Litigation Department

Ms. Anna Yarenko has joined AstapovLawyers' Banking & Finance Department

AstapovLawyers' Banking & Finance department together with Dragon Capital's team of financial advisors keep working on loan restructuring on behalf of Rodovid Bank.

AstapovLawyers successfully represented its Client, a leading Russian food products manufacturer, in the appeals proceedings under English Law in FOSFA Arbitration

Third CIS-EU Legal Forum Eurolawyer 2010, an important event in the life of CIS business community, took place on April 15-16, 2010 in London and was co-sponsored by AstapovLawyers

On April 20, 2010 AstapovLawyers is pleased to announce two new hires - Ms. Tatiana Grachova and Ms. Victoria Ishchenko as Associates.

AstapovLawyers team, led by the Partner Ms. Tatyana Kuzmenko, acts as a legal adviser to a well-known UK consulting real estate company on a number of tax issues related to income tax and VAT.

On April 13-16, 2010 Mr. Andrey Astapov, AstapovLawyers Managing Partner, presented an alternative solution to GAFTA arbitration mechanism during his speech on the 5th International Grain Trading Conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, organized by Russian Grain Union and APK-Inform under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation.

AstapovLawyers, being experienced in rendering legal services in Agricultural Sector, keeps advising on structures of securing financial transactions related to commodity trading.

As a part of continuous cooperation with Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG (RZB), AstapovLawyers successfully represents the interests of the bank in its commercial dispute with a large Ukrainian grain trader.

On April 1-2, 2010 AstapovLawyers Senior Associate and the Coordinator of the Firm's activities in Kazakhstan Mr. Eugene Blinov attended International Grain Conference in Astana, Kazakhstan organized by KazAgroMarketing and APK-Inform in conjunction with the Kazakhstan Ministry of Agriculture and National operating holding ‘KazAgro JSC'.

On March 30, 2010 AstapovLawyers has established the Ukrainian Chapter of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), effective from April 1, 2010.

On March 25-26, 2010 Mr. Oleh Malskyy, AstapovLawyers' Partner, spoke on the 3rd Annual Structured Trade & Export Finance in Russia and the CIS conference which was organized by Euromoney Seminars & Trade Finance Magazine in Moscow, Russian Federation.

Recently a multimillion dispute referred to GAFTA Arbitration in London involving one of the largest agricultural traders originating from the Russian Federation and a Monaco-based international trading company was settled amicably by AstapovLawyers after intense arbitration proceedings had been commenced.

On March 29, 2010 AstapovLawyers has announced expanding of its International Arbitration and Litigation Practice with joining of an Associate Mr. Gor Melikyan.

On March 31, 2010 AstapovLawyers has announced expanding of its International Arbitration and Litigation Practice with joining of an Associate Mr. Dmitriy Latyshenko.

On March 26, 2010 Mrs. Yuliya Chernykh, AstapovLawyers' Senior Associate, was granted Fellowship by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

On May 19, 2010 Ms. Tatyana Kuzmenko, AstapovLawyers' Banking & Finance Partner, spoke on International finacing for Russian agro holdings during the 3rd Annual Business Conference 'Financing for agro holdings.

On May 21, 2010 Mr. Oleh Malskyy, AstapovLawyers' M&A Partner, participated in the round table on "Public-Private Partnerships as a push to National Economic Development" at Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

On May 17-19, 2010 Mr. Andrey Astapov and Mr. Oleh Malskyy participated in the 6th Annual Ukrainian Investment Summit in London, UK - the largest investment gathering for Ukraine worldwide organized by Adam Smith Institute (UK).

On May 13, 2010 Managing Partner of AstapovLawyers, Mr. Andrey Astapov, spoke at the First International Practice Conference «ICC International Court of Arbitration: Opportunities for Ukrainian business» organized by Conference House with conjunction with ICC Ukraine in Kyiv regarding practical experience of complex arbitration clauses.

AstapovLawyers is pleased to announce that Ms. Svitlana Kovalska joins the Firm's fast growing Capital Markets & Securities practice as a Senior Associate effective May 24, 2010.

Ukraine and Poland have traditionally been and remain important partners due to their geographical location and historical heritage. Today, Poland is Ukraine's key political and economic partner in Eastern Europe.

On June 3, 2010 Mr. Oleh Malskyy, M&A Partner of AstapovLawyers, participated in The International Legal Alliance Summit & Awards 2010 (ILASA) which was organized in Paris (France) by Leaders League, a French media group specialised in strategy, finance and law.

On June 2-4, 2010 Mr. Oleh Beketov, AstapovLawyers' Senior Associate and the Head of International Litigation Department, participated at the 4th Annual Russian In-House Counsel Summit organized by Adam Smith Institute in Moscow, Russian Federation.

On June 8, 2010 Mr. Oleh Malskyy, AstapovLawyers' M&A Partner, took part in the round-table on obstacles that hinder the entry of foreign investors into Ukrainian economy which was organized by the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Industrial and Regulatory Policy and Entrepreneurship with support of the Property and Freedom Institute and Commercial Law Centre in Kyiv, Ukraine.

A GAFTA arbitration case between our Client, a UK-based commodity trade company, and a Swiss commodity trader has seen the first tier award of arbitration this April.

On June 9-10, 2010 Mr. Oleh Beketov, AstapovLawyers' Senior Associate and the Head of International Litigation Department, participated at the II International Law Conference on Commercial arbitration in Russia, Sweden and England: new business opportunities organized by Capital Business Events in association with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), Commerce and Industry Chamber of Russian Federation, The Anglo Russian Law Association (ARLA) and supported by the Chartered Institute of arbitrators. The venue took place in Moscow, Russian Federation.

In one of a range of major disputes between Malaysian palm oils suppliers and Russian buyers and processors emerged in 2007-2008 due to high volatility of market prices AstapovLawyers successfully represented its Russian Client in defending the arbitral award issued by International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of the Russian Federation.

On June 16, 2010, AstapovLawyers celebrates another achievement now as ‘Competition Law Advisory Firm of the Year in Russia'.

On June 10, 2010 AstapovLawyers' Senior Associate Mr. Eugene Blinov traditionally attended the official gathering of international grain community - Annual GAFTA Dinner 2010 held in London, UK.

AstapovLawyers as an official legal sponsor and Kommersant Publishing House as an organizer are pleased to announce that on June 20, 2010 was held the Weekend International Golf Cup 2010 on the territory of Kyiv Golf Club GolfStream.

On June 23-25, 2010 Mr. Andrey Astapov, AstapovLawyers' Managing Partner, and Mr. Oleh Malskyy, AstapovLawyers' M&A Partner, participated in the 5th CIS Local Counsel Forum in Minsk.

On June 30, 2010 AstapovLawyers announced that Mr. Oleh Beketov, Senior Associate and Head of International Litigation Department, was promoted to Counsel, effective July 1, 2010.

On July 1, 2010 Mr. Volodymyr Yakubovskyy has joined AstapovLawyers as a new Senior Associate at M&A, Corporate and Antitrust Department.

AstapovLawyers gains Nemiroff brand victory before the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine

AstapovLawyers' Banking & Finance department together with Dragon Capital's team of financial advisors keep working on loan restructuring on behalf of Rodovid Bank.

On April 28, 2010 Mr. Oleh Malskyy was recommended in the field of Antitrust law by Best Lawyers a well known US based independent list of attorneys.

'I have to admit that this was the most complex arbitration matter ever heard by ourselves' - admitted the Chairman of the Arbitration Tribunal at the final stage of the arbitration matter referred to International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The dispute referred to arbitration emerged due to restrictive export policy employed by Ukraine in 2006-2007 when the introduced export quota and licensing regime had disrupted the performance of many bargains on the grains market and in particular led to the mentioned dispute between one of the biggest European Swiss-based grain&oils traders and one of the leading grain export companies of Ukraine.

AstapovLawyers International Law Group is pleased to announce that Mr. Oleksiy Zorin joins International Litigation Department as a new Associate.

On May 6, 2010 AstapovLawyers and SG Global Advice have signed a strategic partnership agreement with a perspective of further integration.

AstapovLawyers represents Joint Stock Company "Dniepropetrovsk Tube Works", who is one of the leading, largest and well recognized tube producers in Ukraine in an anti-dumping investigation commenced by the Ministry of Economy of Russian Federation. The Works is equipped with modern automated and mechanised tube mills for producing pipes by the means of its control and produces more than 3000 type sizes of tubes from carbon and non-alloy steel grade.

AstapovLawyers as well as Mr. Oleh Malskyy were named in Top-3 among law firms and leading individuals in Foreign Trade Practice by Handbook for Foreign Clients 2010 - a distinctive publication on Ukrainian legal market recently published by Yuridicheskaya Practika Publishing House.

AstapovLawyers as well as Mr. Andrey Astapov were named as Top-3 among law firms and leading individuals in International Arbitration Practice by Handbook for Foreign Clients 2010 - a distinctive publication on Ukrainian legal market recently published by Yuridicheskaya Practika Publishing House.

AstapovLawyers successfully completed a complex mediation in a labor dispute between one of the largest foreign pharmaceutical companies with its top manager in Ukraine.

AstapovLawyers is an official general sponsor of the Third CIS-EU Legal Forum "EuroLawyer 2010" held on 15-16 April 2010 in London and organized by Eurobusiness Advisory Company (London, UK). This years forum's theme is: "State and Business: joint development perspectives".

On February 15-17, 2010 AstapovLawyers' Partners Mr. Astapov and Mr. Malskyy took part in the most reputable event on Global Energy Sector - International Petroleum Week 2010 in London organized by Energy Institute (London, UK).

On February 24-27, 2010 AstapovLawyers' Managing Partner Mr. Andrey Astapov spoke on the First International Grain Conference: Asia-Russia 2010 in Singapore. The conference was organized by Russian Grain Union jointly with Ministry of Agriculture of Russian Federation and global leading group of companies Sojitz Corporation. This conference was a result of an instruction made by Mr. Dmitry Medvedev, the President of Russian Federation, on geographic expansion of Russian grain import activities and incorporation of Far East export corridor.

Mr. Oleh Malskyy, head of AstapovLawyers M&A and corporate practice, together with its team and international structuring partner Ms. Oksana Kneychuk has advised leading national waste management company GreenCo on international restructuring and sale transaction.

International steel and technology leader ThyssenKrupp has engaged AstapovLawyers for a number of legal matters relating to its activities in Ukraine.

Mr. Oleh Malskyy, head of AstapovLawyers' M&A and corporate practice, together with its team has provided complex advice to Avery Denisson on debt recovery in Ukraine.

AstapovLawyers scored significant victories in the International FOSFA Arbitration in two parallel arbitration proceedings on amount over U.S. $ 3 million in the process of protecting the interests of a large Kazakhstan grain trade company against a large Dutch company. The controversy dealt with the application of English substantive law. At issue was the fact of the contract due to lack of signatures and seals of both parties, despite the direct requirements of the contract to acquire the legal force only in the appropriate form.

Starting November 1, 2009 AstapovLawyers was annonced as a prefered law firm for providing professional opinion on current legal developments in Ukraine for Interfax-Ukraine. The project is named "Ukrainian Legislation Review" with daily comments by our lawyers for Interfax news

AstapovLawyers International Law Group is pleased to announce that Ms. Victoria Buzhor joins Kyiv's office International Corporate Department as a new Associate.

On December 15, 2009 Mr. Andrey Astapov, Managing Partner of AstapovLawyers, participated in the conference "International arbitration. The state and arbitration courts: partners or opponents?" organized by Russian National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce - World Business Organization (ICC Russia) in conjuction with the International Court of Arbitration ICC and Russian Chamber of Commerce in Moscow.

On December 15, 2009 Ukrainian legal magazine Yuridicheskaya practika nominated AstapovLawyers as #9 among Ukrainian domestic law firms 2009.

On December 15, 2009 AstapovLawyers International Law Group in conjuction with IA Interfax Ukraine held a press conference on the topic: "Prospects for judicial reform in Ukraine". Among the briefing participants were Mr. Oleh Malskyy, Partner of AstapovLawyers, Mr. Alexander Volkov, a judge of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, Deputy Head of the Council of Judges of Ukraine, Mr. Volodymyr Bogatyr, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine, as well as representatives from several law firms.

On 7-10 December 2009, Mr. Maksym Kodunov, Associate of AstapovLawyers, took part in the central event of the grain market of Russia - the Third International Conference "Russian Grain 2009" held in Krasnaya Polyana, Krasnodar region.

During a recent visit to New York Mr. Oleh Malskyy, AstapovLawyers' M&A Partner, and Mr. Oleh Beketov, AstapovLawyers' Senior Associate and the Head of International Litigation Department, held an executive meeting with several senior partners of leading New York law firms as well as prominent attorneys at the Harvard Club of New York City, a private club incorporated in 1887.

On December 8, 2009 Mr. Eugene Blinov, Senior Associate of AstapovLawyers, participated in the discussion of actual issues of German law during the round table: "Law made in Germany", organized by the German Embassy in Ukraine, the Union of the German avocats (DAV), Society of German and Ukrainian lawyers (GDUJ), as well as by the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ).

AstapovLawyers International Law Group promotes Senior Associate Mr. Eugene Blinov to coordinator of the Firm’s operations in Kazakhstan. This step comes as recognition of the input of Mr. Blinov in development of our practice in Central Asia. 

AstapovLawyers successfully completes mediation of a major dispute related to delivery of equipment by Scandinavian Seller to the Buyer in Odessa, Ukraine. The piece of equipment delivered was aimed for usage as part of larger production facility in food processing industry. 

AstapovLawyers International Law Group advises RODOVID BANK on a highly publicised transaction of transferring the deposits and selected assets of UKRPROMBANK to RODOVID. 

AstapovLawyers International Law Group continues opening doors forprofessionals and hires five new attorneys due to continued expansion of itsCorporate and M&A and Dispute Resolution practices. 

AstapovLawyers International Law Group congratulates its arbitrationteam with another string of victorious Awards in favour of its Clients. Thistime, good news are mainly coming from the commodity side and shipping.Industrywise recorded successes relate to traditional areas of our interestsuch as grains, metals and oil.