As Lexpo – The Legal Innovation Event returns in 2023 after a three-year hiatus, showcasing the latest trends in legal innovation in Continental Europe, CEELM spoke with Dentons Europe Director of Innovation and Member of Lexpo's Advisory Board Andrea Miskolczi to gain an insight into the current state of technology and innovation in CEE, and what the event's attendees have to look forward to.

Tax information exchange aims to enable tax authorities to receive information about their residents' foreign financial accounts and assets and identify potential tax evasion or non-compliance.

Ilyashev & Partners has represented, pro bono, the interests of the Fencing Federation of Ukraine before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in a matter involving the cancellation of the Extraordinary Congress of the International Fencing Federation decisions about the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials to participating in individual and group competitions.

In terms of recent updates, on 25 February the Council of the European Union adopted the tenth package of economic and individual sanctions against Russia in response to the armed conflict in Ukraine, coinciding with the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

On 23 February 2023, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted the Law of Ukraine “On Compensation for Damage and Destruction of Certain Categories of Real Estate as a Result of Hostilities, Terrorist Acts, and Sabotage Caused by the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation Against Ukraine, and the State Register of Property Damaged and Destroyed as a Result of Hostilities, Terrorist Acts, and Sabotage Caused by the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation Against Ukraine” No. 2923-IX (“Law”), which will enter into force on 22 May 2023.

Wolf Theiss, working with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, has advised KKR on its USD 450 million investment in Hero Future Energies.

Asters, working with Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, has successfully represented the interests of the Republic of Ukraine before the UK Supreme Court in a dispute with Russia concerning a USD 3 billion eurobond issuance from 2013. 

Viacheslav Yakymchuk joins Serhiy Chorny as Co-Managing Partner of Baker McKenzie’s Kyiv office. He takes over from Serhiy Piontkovsky, who has held that position since 2010 and will continue to lead the firm's Real Estate practice group in Kyiv.

Avellum has supported the action group led by Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance and the State Financial Monitoring Service in its efforts towards the adoption of restrictive measures against Russia by the Financial Action Task Force.

The Russian invasion is still ongoing, affecting all areas of life in Ukraine, but there are slivers of hope and reasons to stay positive and optimistic, according to Kinstellar Partner Alla Kozachenko.

The law “On Amending Certain Laws of Ukraine in Connection with the Ratification of the Convention on Choice of Court Agreements” (the “Law”) came into effect on October 15, 2022. In 2021, the Ukrainian Parliament had made this Law a condition for the ratification of the Hague Convention of June 30, 2005 on the Choice of Court Agreements (the “Convention”).

As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine hit the one-year mark, we asked Ukrainian law firms how they adjusted to the new circumstances, how their mandates and teams have evolved, and about the support they received from their colleagues abroad throughout this period.

Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the world faces an ever-increasing number of restrictive measures and sanctions introduced in various jurisdictions. While the global sanctions landscape has been long established, it has developed rapidly after February 24, 2022.

2022 was a difficult year. To put a more positive spin on things, Rojs Peljhan Prelesnik & Partners Managing Partner Bojan Sporar, Deloitte Legal Senior Managing Associate Ened Topi, Redcliffe Partners Managing Partner Olexiy Soshenko, Drakopoulos Managing Partner Panagiotis Drakopoulos, and Polenak Partner Tatjana Shishkovska share what was, for them, the biggest positive surprise in 2022.

Everlegal has successfully represented the interests of the Louis Dreyfus Company Ukraine in a dispute with a supplier over the collection of a fine amounting to 30% of the value of unfulfilled agricultural product orders. 

Asters has successfully represented the interests of PrivatBank before the Supreme Court of Ukraine, securing a final ruling on the bank's ownership following its 2016 nationalization. 

On 11 December 2022, the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Preventing and Counteracting Mobbing (Harassment)” (the “Mobbing Law”) became effective.

While Ukrainian law firms have to deal with issues ranging from power outages to effective work distribution, their intellectual property, tax, labor, and corporate law practices remain relatively busy, according to Baker McKenzie Managing Partner Serhiy Piontkovsky.