Sayenko Kharenko has been recommended as a TOP-TIER FIRM in all 12 practice areas researched for Ukraine in The Legal 500 EMEA 2021 edition: banking, finance and capital markets; commercial, corporate and M&A; competition; dispute resolution; employment; energy; international trade; intellectual property; private client; real estate and construction; TAX; and white-collar crime. This year, Sayenko Kharenko is one of only two Ukrainian law firms to have shown such a great result.

Moreover, this year 24 SK lawyers achieved 27 individual recognitions (“Hall of Fame”, “Leading lawyers”, “Next generation partners” and “Rising stars” lists) and 6 lawyers are recommended in The Legal 500 EMEA 2021 editorial. With this score, Sayenko Kharenko has achieved the best result among the Ukrainian law firms.

Specifically, the guide recommends:

• Nazar Chernyavsky, Michael Kharenko (both of them have entered the Hall of Fame this year), Anton Korobeynikov, and Igor Lozenko in Banking, finance & capital markets. In particular, the guide describes Igor Lozenko as the one who “specialises in all types of financings closely working with corporates, investment banks IFOs and was responsible for the smooth internal and external communication of the Sayenko Kharenko.”
• Partners Vladimir Sayenko (who has entered the Hall of Fame), Oleksandr Nikolaichyk and Alina Plyushch, counsels Sergiy Kazmirchuk and Dmytro Korbut in Commercial, corporate and M&A. In addition, a source says: “We liked the business-oriented approach of Oleksandr Nikolaichyk in clearly splitting responsibilities for the implementation of respective steps of the action plan. Oleksandr also provided valuable support as regards the peculiarities of how to deal with the requirements of National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine applied to a joint-stock company engaged in a squeeze-out procedure.” Another source adds: “Oleksandr Nikolaychyk is excellent at building bridges between business needs and law rules, finding solutions and communication. He is business-driven and open-minded.”
• Partners Vladimir Sayenko, Valentyna Hvozd, and Maksym Nazarenko in Competition. Moreover, a client says: “Valentyna Hvozd is very responsive to clients’ needs and requests. She also manages client expectations very well and is overall an excellent lawyer providing good quality and reliable advice.”
• Partners Sergey Pogrebnoy (who has entered the Hall of Fame), Olena Sukmanova, and Olexander Droug in Dispute Resolution.
• Counsels Svitlana Kheda and Iryna Bakina, senior associates Kuzma Pozychaniuk and Olga Kyriusha in Employment. A source adds: “Svitlana Kheda has had a proactive approach while resolving our topic, she is very solution-oriented, she anticipated the risks and provided us with the full legal support. Svitlana was super-fast which was impressive.”
• Partners Nazar Chernyavsky and Igor Lozenko and counsel Maryna Hritsyshyna in Energy. A source highlights partner Igor Lozenko’s “banking and finance background, as well as expertise in renewable energy, have been particularly useful to negotiate the local law security as part of the solar park development project and to resolve issues of implementation for other solar projects in Ukraine. He was very easy to work with, accomplished what we wanted in the time demanded. In addition, the advice we received from him was always to the point and his attention to detail and willingness to go beyond what is expected was superb.” Another source adds that Maryna Hritsyshyna “is the leader with undisputed experience in the energy sector and her force of persuasion and negotiation skills are some of her main strengths. She is strong for renewables and all types of regulatory work in the energy sector. She has very good attention to detail and market experience. She has excellent legal knowledge and always makes sure we get the right results in negotiations.”
• Partner Yaroslav Ognevyuk and counsel Oleg Klymchuk in Intellectual property. A source describes Yaroslav Ognevyuk as “an excellent team leader who is experienced and highly competent.” The client also adds: “He is an excellent strategist and litigation advocate with a strong grasp of underlying technical issues. Yaroslav is receptive to suggestions and tries to find the best solution from the legal perspective whilst taking into consideration the client’s point of view. His technical understanding is beyond what can be expected, he grasps issues extremely quickly and we always feel in good hands when having him on board.”
• Partner Anzhela Makhinova and senior associate Victoria Mykuliak in International trade. A source describes Anzhela Makhinova as “an excellent lawyer, who always keeps an eye on the overall perspective of the business, provides high-quality legal advice and at the same time finds pragmatic solutions. She exhibits extraordinary experience, unprecedented commitment and unique client understanding.”
• Partner Alina Plyushch and senior associate Dmitriy Riabikin in Private client area. One of the clients describes Alina Plyushch as the one who “always provides the best solution for each specific client”.
• Partners Sergey Pogrebnoy, Vladimir Sayenko, Oleksandr Nikolaichyk and senior associates Tymur Enkhbaiar and Kuzma Pozychaniuk. A source highlights Kuzma Pozychaniuk and says that he “is very methodical in bringing all the details of the case together. He discusses the strategy with us, which helps us to adopt a mutual approach to the issue.”
• Partner Svitlana Musienko and counsel Vitalii Odzhykovskyi in Tax. One of the clients underlines “their commitment and desire to help in the most high-quality manner” and adds that Vitalii Odzhykovskyi “has a creative and proactive approach to problem solving.”
• Partners Sergey Pogrebnoy, Sergiy Smirnov and Yevgeniy Solodko in White-collar crime. One of the sources shares that “Sergey Pogrebnoy manages his team effectively and handles the issues responsibly. He is very pragmatic and practical” and another one adds that “Sergei Smirnov is hard-working, very diligent and a very good lawyer with a good understanding of actual business needs.”
• In addition, the guide highlights senior associate Oksana Daskaliuk and associate Tetiana Dyvak describing them as “experienced professional in the field of law”. A source shares: “Tetiana Dyvak and Oksana Daskaliuk were accessible on the phone whenever it was needed that helped us in solving a number of urgent matters which usually occur during every legal project and cannot be predicted beforehand.”