In mid-July it was reported that Partner Perry Zizzi would be leaving Badea Clifford Chance in Bucharest to return to Dentons, where he had worked (under the Salans brand) before leaving 7 years before. On August 4 the news broke that long-time Ukrainian expert Adam Mycyk had joined Dentons as well. Mycyk moved over from Chadbourne & Parke, as that firm winds down its operations in Kiev. We reached out to Zizzi and Mycyk to ask them about their decisions to join Dentons.
CEELM: Why Dentons?
P.Z.: It was interesting to observe the evolution of the firm over 7 years from the outside and I was impressed with its flexibility and capacity to adapt rapidly to the realities of post-recession business. The firm has a highly developed entrepreneurial spirit yet it encourages cohesive practice groups and cooperation among offices and regions. I would go so far as to say that Dentons real estate practice in Europe works so well that it has become a model that other firms have tried to emulate. Additionally, Dentons’ polycentric character means that we don’t simply have a large headquarters that develops approaches to legal issues and creates templates in a top-down manner. Rather, each attorney – no matter in which office he or she is based – is given the opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way. Last but not least, it has been a smooth transition process to rejoining a place where I knew many people with whom I had worked very well.
A.M.: Believe it or not, in the 20 years that I’ve been in Ukraine, I’ve had two other missed opportunities to join Dentons in Kiev (actually, the former Salans office). I first interviewed with Salans in 1995, but for reasons I now forget I decided to join Altheimer & Grey instead. The second opportunity arose when Altheimer announced its dissolution back in 2003 and all of Altheimer’s international offices in the region decided to join Salans with the exception of Kiev and Warsaw, which teamed up with Chadbourne & Parke. As they say, the third time’s the charm! That – and of course the global reach of the firm, its long-term presence and commitment to Ukraine and the region and its fantastic visionary leadership – were the top selling points for me.
CEELM: What are your thoughts on prospects for business and investment in Romania and Ukraine at the moment, and in the near future?
P.Z.: Romania has tremendous capacity to generate economic growth. JP Morgan has recently included Romanian sovereign bonds in its global index of recommended emerging markets, and I trust this will send a positive signal to investors. There are opportunities in the financial sector, given the appetite of both large and medium banks for acquisition of both shares or assets portfolios. Private equity funds have started to eye Romania again, many of them with significant cash to invest. After a long period of downturn and then stagnation, the real estate market is recovering, although we might not necessarily witness a bubble due to the continuing difficult in procuring debt financing.
A.M.: Although it’s no secret that Ukraine has been under tremendous stress for the last 8 months, I have always been – and will remain – a Ukraine optimist. This is a large market in the geographical center of Europe that everyone recognizes as having tremendous potential – and not only in areas such as agriculture, but also in energy, TMT and infrastructure, just to name a few. Unfortunately over the years, due to high levels of corruption, slow-paced reforms, and a variety of other systemic problems, the level of foreign investment has remained below that of neighboring countries, with the market experiencing very good “highs” and very bad “lows.” I feel confident that when the current difficulties stabilize, given Ukraine’s clear European aspirations (the fight for which has, unfortunately, resulted in many lost lives) and the support of Western governments, levels of investment will begin to increase. This will be gradual at first and will need to be accompanied with a number of reforms to further improve the business and investment climates, but in two to three years’ time I am certain that we will see a very busy legal services market in Ukraine.
CEELM: Is your role any different at Dentons than it was at your previous firm (Badea Clifford Chance for Perry, and Chadbourne for Adam)?
P.Z.: As head of the Bucharest office banking and finance practice, my priority at Dentons is to strengthen that particular practice. Of course, I will also be a key part of the real estate team, as I was during my previous stint here. Regionally, I expect that I will advise on matters in a broader geographical area.
A.M.: My role here will not be that much different than at Chadbourne. I have joined the firm as part of our Corporate group in Kyiv but I will continue to work on a variety of transactions, advising both Ukrainian companies and foreign investors, banks and financial institutions. Together with the team here, we have a shared vision for the development of the Ukraine practice and I plan on playing an integral role in achieving our common goals and increasing our market share.
CEELM: Obviously Perry knew many of the lawyers at Dentons well, having worked with many of them back when the firm operated under the Salans brand. But Adam, did you know members of the Dentons office personally before beginning talks about possibly joining them?
A.M.: Yes, as a matter of fact I did. I worked with two of the partners – Myron Rabij and Markian Silecky – at my first job in Kyiv over 20 years ago, and Natalia Selyakova was a client of ours years ago at Chadbourne before she joined Salans from one of the multinational banks in town. It’s wonderful to be welcomed into an environment of strong and capable professionals who just also happen to be very nice people, which makes the transition that much easier.
CEELM: Adam, did you bring any members of your team with you from Chadbourne?
A.M.: At this point in time I have made this transition alone – but it’s a small world and I hope that I have an opportunity to work with each of my talented former colleagues at some point again in the future! I am lucky to have worked with so many talented Ukrainian lawyers over the years, many of whom are now highly regarded professionals on the market.
