Centred around the country’s capital Tbilisi, Georgia’s legal market is dominated by firms such as BGI Legal but international firms such as Dentons also hold a strong position in the market. Much of the work revolves around firms acting as local counsel for international companies and firms tend to favour a multi-disciplinary approach rather than having specialist teams due to the size of the market.

The market in Georgia remains generally stable this year, although recent activity is still impacted by Covid-19 which saw the country enter into a deep recession in 2020 from which it is starting to recover. The banking sector is now growing again as well as the economy and tourism numbers; and this trend is expected to continue. However, the recent political situation has been turbulent as there have been several contested elections over the past few years.

There has been a rise in employment- and pandemic-related matters inside and outside of the courts. Increasingly there is a hybrid model of online and in person court hearings which has been beneficial for firms. The government has assisted with this and although cases are being dealt with slowly due to the backlog, local arbitration is now evolving because of this switch to a hybrid model.

Energy and infrastructure continue to be the sectors that have seen the most activity recently thanks to foreign investors, especially from the Middle East. The hospitality industry was particularly affected by the pandemic but is now also recovering.