Global legal practice Squire Sanders and Salkom LLC, a leading law firm in Ukraine, have agreed to a formal international association. The firms will share a joint platform for business development and the marketing of legal services in Ukraine and international markets. Salkom is the first Ukrainian law practice to establish such an association with an international firm.  

Under the title “Squire Sanders – Salkom International Association,” the two firms, which have collaborated for more than 15 years, will share office space and be able to work more closely together for the mutual benefit of a wide range of international and domestic clients.  The association offers a powerful combination of enhanced local expertise and access to specialist knowledge across multiple jurisdictions.  It will be able to draw on a core of more than 30 qualified lawyers, making it one of the largest international legal resources in the country, with experience in all areas of Ukrainian law and cross-border advice, including corporate, dispute resolution and regulatory.

James J. Maiwurm, CEO and Chair of Squire Sanders, said: "Law firms that wish to grow as global businesses can never lose sight of the importance of local knowledge and local reputation. We see that as being at the core of what we offer our clients.  In Ukraine we have a great team and now, with our new association there, have what will prove to be a market leading local resource with a thoroughly international outlook."

Evgen Kubko, Managing Partner of Salkom, said:  “Squire Sanders is already a trusted collaborator, whose values and culture we have in common. The firm has an enviable cross-border capability demonstrated in key regions around the globe; it has not only been historically strong in the US, UK and Western Europe but also a pioneer in the markets of Eastern Europe and more recently in Asia Pacific. With a formal association between us the opportunities for clients doing business in Ukraine will be extensive.”

Peter Z. Teluk, Managing Partner of the Squire Sanders Kyiv office, said: “Salkom’s depth of knowledge and resources in Ukraine are well recognized.  We have known the firm for a long time and have enjoyed a fruitful cooperation with them in many successful projects, such as representing Zorya-Mashproekt in US litigation. In essence, we have now formalized our 15-year long relationship to move to a qualitatively new level of service for our respective clients.”

Ivan A. Trifonov, Managing Partner of the Squire Sanders Moscow office, said:  “The demands and expectations of international and local clients continue to change. Investment in Ukraine is becoming increasingly more appealing to foreign companies and, crucially, Ukrainian businesses are looking to access legal expertise overseas.  Our key goal is to open up those foreign markets and multiple jurisdictions for Ukrainian companies to implement their projects.  So it was a natural step to cement a relationship in Kyiv that would enable us to offer comprehensive services to Ukrainian and international clients in virtually any country of the world.”

The office of Squire Sanders – Salkom International Association is located at 12 Khreschatyk Street, Kyiv 01001.

Recent projects of significance undertaken by the Kyiv office of Squire Sanders:

• Representing Troika Dialog in a US$4 billion acquisition of two major Ukrainian steel producers.
• Representing DF Group in several major acquisitions, including four chemical fertilizer deals worth more than US$2 billion, the US$440 million acquisition of Nadra Bank and the US$2.5 billion acquisition of the Inter Media Group.
• Representing Contour Global in an energy project funded by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), with a global transaction totaling US$250 million. The project was recognized as the best financial deal in 2010 byProject Finance magazine.
• Representing Valeant Pharmaceuticals in the US$364 million acquisition of Sanitas AB, a Lithuanian pharmaceutical company.
• Representing, in participation with Salkom, a Ukrainian company in a complex cross-border arbitration and litigation process worth approximately US$60 million.

Recent projects of significance undertaken by Salkom:

• €27 million in fair compensation as a result of protecting the interests of Agrokompleks before the European Court of Human Rights.
• Protecting the interests of Sovtransavto-Holding before the European Court of Human Rights (as a result, the company obtained significant compensation for property damages).
• Protecting the interests of Ukrspetsexport before the Supreme Court of Prague (the amount due from a Czech bank to the company for the supply of armored infantry vehicles totaled US$2 million).
• Protecting, in participation with Squire Sanders, the interests of Zorya-Mashproekt before a US district court (as a result of court proceedings, the company was almost fully discharged from the claimant’s claims totaling approximately US$4 million).