Former Kinstellar Ukraine Partners Margarita Karpenko, Alla Kozachenko, Galyna Zagorodniuk, and Illya Sverdlov have established Imagine Lawyers.
All four were DLA Piper Ukraine Partners prior to the international firm leaving the market and Kinstellar picking up the local team (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on June 21, 2021) with Karpenko acting as Co-Managing Partner of the merged team under the Kinstellar brand alongside Olena Kuchynska.
Specializing in labor and commercial law, Karpenko had been with the DLA Piper team since 2005. Before that, she was a Senior Manager with Ernst & Young between 2000 and 2005. Earlier, she was a Manager with Arthur Andersen between 1993 and 2000.
Focused on corporate/M&A, Kozachenko first joined DLA Piper as an Associate in 2006. In 2008 she was promoted to Senior Associate, in 2013 to Legal Director, and she made Partner in 2019 (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on May 16, 2019). Since 2017, she served as the firm's Head of Corporate/M&A in Ukraine (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on May 19, 2017). Before DLA, she was an Associate with Volkov & Partners in 2005 and with Vasil Kisil & Partners between 2003 and 2005.
Specializing in competition, Zagorodniuk has been with DLA Piper since 2005, first joining the firm in 2005 as a Senior Associate and being promoted to Legal Director in 2012 and Partner in 2016. Earlier, she worked for EY as a Senior Associate in 2005, for Konnov & Sozanovsky as a Senior Associate between 2002 and 2004, and as the Head of Back-Office, Deputy General Director for the Helvex Financial Agency between 1998 and 2002. Her experience also includes working as a Lawyer for Ukrainian Securities JSC between 1997 and 1998 and for the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine in 1997.
Focused on Tax, Sverdlov also joined DLA Piper in 2005. In 2017, he was appointed as Head of Tax in Kyiv (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on March 3, 2017) and made Partner in 2018 (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on April 6, 2018).
According to the firm, a number of ex-DLA Piper Associates have joined the firm as Of Counsel.
"We had some turbulent times between leaving DLA Piper and forming Imagine Lawyers and by now feel happy and full of energy," commented Karponko. "We are united by the same mission to be the law firm of choice and trusted business advisor for our clients. The decision to work together as an independent firm was not an easy one for each of us – we worked as a team for a number of years as members of international organizations with established governance rules and operational procedures. However, we decided that we have enough energy, willingness, and experience to unite our efforts under our own roof. The core team of our firm remains in Ukraine and this is of importance for our clients."
