Guest Editorial: CEE Weathers Siberian Chill

The M&A news coming out of Western Europe and the US at the moment is good. In fact it’s very good; maybe, after the ice age of the past 6 or 7 years, we are seeing a thaw.

There was a consensus in C&SEE that things were improving significantly around May/June, with considerably more deal flow then, both active and soon to come online. But at the beginning of the summer the cold Siberian winds began blowing in the dark clouds from the Ukraine conflict, and as a result of Russian sanctions, some existing and planned projects seemed to go on the back burner. Potential clients and deals have been affected by the chill, either because of sanctions affecting certain entities (with the “who’s next” factor affecting others), or simply because possible Russian buyers are, in some instances, less welcome than they were before.

CEE Legal Experts Gathered to Discuss Outlook for 2015

A truly remarkable event,” is how Gergo Budai, the General Counsel for Invitel, described the 2014 CEE Legal Matters Summit held on 3 December at the InterContinental Hotel in Vienna.

The Summit, which gathered together more than 20 of Central and Eastern Europe's top business lawyers for a candid, honest, and expert conversation about the state of legal markets across the region, was the largest gathering of commercial legal specialists ever in the region, and the first of its kind.

US Investment in Ukraine – is there any Appetite?

By Myron B. Rabij, Partner, Dentons Kyiv/NY

On 12 November 2014, Dentons hosted in our New York office the conference  “Invest in Ukraine” organized by A7 CAPITAL. The following week, on 20 November, our Washington DC office hosted a USUBC luncheon with the esteemed economist and Ukraine expert, Anders Aslund, as to his views on necessary reforms in Ukraine.  I was fortunate to represent our Kyiv office and our dedicated New York Ukraine Desk at both events.  I’m happy to say that both events were well attended.

One of the many topics discussed at these (and other) events was:  where is the promised US / Western appetite for investment in post-EuroMaidan Ukraine?

Musical Chairs in CEE: Some Partners Moving and Some Firms Moving Out

A full recovery from the global financial crisis is still far away, privatization processes are by-and-large completed, powerful sanctions on Russia are seriously impacting that massive economy, and geopolitical tensions are high: The prospects for a boom in CEE are fairly grim at the moment, and as the number of big-ticket deals in the region shrinks, the competition for the few that remain is getting tougher than ever.

Banking on Growth: The EBRD in CEE

The connection between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe is powerful. The Bank was created expressly to facilitate the transition of the communist countries formerly behind the Iron Curtain to the free market, and as of June 30, 2014, it has invested EUR 72 billion in the region – including EUR 2.6 billion so far this year alone. We decided to learn a bit more about what the Bank is, how it works, and what the lawyers who work within it do.

Editorial: Insights on Legal Recruitment

Prior to launching CEE Legal Matters, I spent a little over 3 years in a legal recruitment company. Knowing my background, over a recent casual cup of coffee a partner from a law firm in Budapest told me that he noticed a job advert posted by a recruiter looking for a senior banking lawyer. “Who in God’s name would be looking for senior banking lawyer in this economy?!”, he asked me, shocked.

Ilyashev & Partners secured four merger clearances for PZU from Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine

Ilyashev & Partners secured four merger clearances from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) necessary for the PZU Group's acquisition of four insurance companies in Poland and the Baltics from Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance

Ilyashev & Partners represented Antonov Chief Executive

Ilyashev & Partners has persuaded the Kiev Circuit Administrative Court to bar the Registrar of Companies from making any changes to the records of Antonov — the Ukrainian government-owned aircraft producer — that would result in dismissing Dmitry Kiva as chief executive officer and/or board member and appointing Sergiy Merenkov instead.

Massive Arbitration Award Against Russia

In what Shearman & Sterling calls "an historic arbitral award,” on July 18, 2014, an Arbitral Tribunal sitting in The Hague held unanimously that the Russian Federation breached its international obligations under the Energy Charter Treaty by destroying Yukos Oil Company and appropriating its assets.

The publication was reprinted with the permission of CEELM. For original publication, please follow http://ceelegalmatters.com/

The Glass CEEling

Women’s Day is behind us, but the subjects of gender equality and equal opportunity are of year-round concern. This, the first part of a special two-part CEE Legal Matters article on women in private practice in CEE, provides the numbers and percentages from leading law firms across CEE, as well as a more thorough snapshot of one representative market. Part II of the report, in the June issue, will pull back the curtain even more, providing feedback and perspectives from lawyers across the region.

This article was originally published in the April 2014 Issue of CEE Legal Matters.