CEE Legal Matters is a proud media partner of Lexpo - The Legal Innovation Event, which aims to be the number one source of information about the latest trends in legal innovation in Continental Europe. With the conference drawing closer and closer, CEELM sat down with Ari Kaplan — an attorney and legal industry analyst who will be acting as the Master of Ceremonies at the event — to learn more about what participants can look forward to.
Expat on the Market: Interview with Adam Mycyk of Dentons Kiev
Adam Mycyk, a Ukrainian-American from the United States, is a partner in Dentons’ Kyiv office, and he has nearly 25 years of experience advising both Ukrainian and international companies, banks, investment banks and a range of other financial institutions and investors.
Inside Out: Mriya Agro Holding Restructuring and Sale
The Deal: In September 2018, CEE Legal Matters reported that Sayenko Kharenko had advised Mriya Agro Holding and Hogan Lovells had advised the company’s ad hoc committee of note-holders on the restructuring of its USD 1.1 billion debt, and that the two firms had advised the company on its subsequent sale of the company’s assets, including infrastructure facilities, machinery and land lease rights, to the Saudi Agricultural & Livestock Investment Company United Kingdom (SALIC). Dickson Minto and Redcliffe Partners advised SALIC on its acquisition.
Inside Insight: Interview with Ivan Kravtsov, Senior Legal Director of Carlsberg Ukraine
Ivan Kravtsov is the Senior Legal Director of Carlsberg, Ukraine. He started his career as a lawyer at Russian Energy Company JSC in October 2003, and in 2005 he moved to Procter & Gamble. In 2009 he was named the Head of Legal of Shell Retail Ukraine, and seven years he moved to Carlsberg.
From Lawyer to Law-Maker: An Interview with Kosovo Lawyer and Parliamentarian Korab Sejdiu
In summer 2017, after Sejdiu & Qerkini Partner Korab Sejdiu was elected to the Kosovo Parliament, he suspended his law license and left private practice. We checked in with Sejdiu to learn more about his new role and experience.
A Bridge, Not a Wall: Interview with ECCE Founder Tomas Hulle
The Prague-based European Centre for Career Education focuses on providing students a practical and complimentary education, focusing on kinds of practical experience and inspiration they rarely receive in their university studies. After they complete the program, ECCE helps participants obtain useful internships with companies such as Siemens, Unicredit, Exxon Mobile, T-Mobile, and Lego, and with law firms including DLA Piper, Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, and Dentons.
Inside Out: The Polish Development Fund’s Acquisition of PESA Bydgoszcs
The Deal: In July 2018, CEE Legal Matters reported that the Warsaw office of Linklaters had advised Polish rolling stock manufacturer PESA Bydgoszcz and its shareholders on the sale of 100% of the company to the Polish Development Fund. Weil, Gotshal & Manges advised the Polish Development Fund on the acquisition.
Expat on the Market: Interview with Andrew Kozlowski of CMS
Andrew Kozlowski is Counsel (and former Managing Partner) at CMS in Warsaw, where he specializes in energy and project finance, corporate/M&A, privatizations, and international capital markets. He has been involved in numerous infrastructure projects in Poland and across CEE and various project finance transactions in the energy and transportation sectors, from motorways, railways, and waste, to energy utilities.
Readiness is All: Schoenherr Romania Helps Companies Comply with Competition Authority Guidelines
Romania’s Competition Council is one of the country’s most active and demanding regulatory authorities, with hundreds of sector inquiries and investigations conducted in two decades of activity and significant fines being levied against offenders each year. The powers of the RCC have increased in recent years, as a result of efforts to encourage and protect whistleblowers, new developments in forensic procedures, and cross-border cooperation and action. In addition, the European Commission’s March 22, 2017 proposal to empower national competition authorities is expected to increase the RCC’s reach and efficiency.
Take This Job and Shove It: A Law Firm Marketing Specialist Says Good-Bye
The particularly-challenging nature of CEE law firm marketing becomes especially relevant as we bid adieu to a good friend in Bulgaria, who, after more than four years doing law firm marketing and business development with several of Bulgaria’s leading law firms, is leaving the profession altogether. We asked her some final questions on her last day, honoring her request for anonymity in the process.
Inside Insight: Interview with Maxim Nikitin, Chief Legal Officer of Atol Group in Russia
Maxim Nikitin is the Chief Legal Officer of Atol Group in Russia. He started his career in law in 1998 at Debevoise & Plimpton. In 2001 he moved in-house before returning to private practice in 2011. In 2013 he moved back in-house as Chief Legal Officer with Virgin Connect, before moving to Atol in March of this year.
Expat on the Market: Interview with Thomas Mundry of Noerr
German lawyer Thomas Mundry has been living and working in Russia since 1994. He advises both Western and Russian clients on investment, financing, and other projects in the Russian Federation. His sphere of activity covers a wide range of industries, including automotive manufacturing and supply industry, oil and gas, chemicals, engineering, retail, food and consumer goods, the fashion industry, and IT.
Inside Out: 2018 Uralkali Financing
The Deal: In September 2017, CEE Legal Matters reported that the Moscow offices of Clifford Chance and CMS had advised on USD 850 million pre-export financing provided by 11 international banks for Uralkali, one of the world’s largest potash producers. On July 27, 2018, CEE Legal Matters reported that the two firms had advised on another Uralkali financing, this time involving a USD 825 million facility provided by 14 Russian and international banks.We reached out to both firms for more information about this most recent deal.
Acting In Alliance: A Look at act legal’s Growing Footprint in and Beyond CEE
On March 9, 2018, CEE Legal Matters reported on the expansion of the European act legal alliance with the addition of Hungary’s Ban Karika law firm and Fort Advocaten from the Netherlands. With the alliance now counting 13 offices in Europe – including five in CEE – CEE Legal Matters sat down with Sven Tischendorf of act legal Germany, AC Tischendorf Rechtsanwälte to learn more about the alliance’s plans.
Inside Insight: Vera Kolesnik, Legal Director at Nestle
Vera Kolesnik is Nestle’s Legal Director for Russia and Eurasia. Before joining Nestle in 2007 she worked for four years at Ernst & Young and for five years at the Institute of State and Law at the Russian Academy of Science.
Inside Insight: Ondrej Plesmid, Chief Legal Officer at King’s Casino
Ondrej Plesmid is the Chief Legal Officer at King’s Casino in the Czech Republic. His career as a lawyer started in a small law office, and he subsequently worked for over three years in the Czech Ministry of Finance and then the Ministry of Regional Development. In 2017 he moved to the private sector and started to work at King’s Casino.
Andreea Suciu Talks to CEELM About Plans for New Employment Boutique in Romania
On July 9, 2018, CEE Legal Matters reported on the launch of Suciu | The Employment Law Firm ⎯ a new boutique law firm in Romania specializing in Employment law: . We sat down with the new firm’s Managing Partner, Andreea Suciu, to learn more about what her new boutique will bring to the legal market.
Inside Out: Czech Media Invest’s Acquisition of CEE Radio Businesses from Lagardere
The Deal: On April 25, 2018, CEE Legal Matters reported that Clifford Chance had advised Czech Media Invest on its acquisition of Lagardere’s sale of its radio businesses in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Romania. Herbert Smith Freehills and Wolf Theiss advised Lagardere on the deal.