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KyivPost's Best of Kyiv 2009: Baker & McKenzie

As fishermen like to say: The early bird gets the worm.

Baker & McKenzie, one of the world’s top law groups and one of the first to enter Ukraine, has proven with its success that the same adage applies to Ukraine’s legal market.

A pioneer in Ukraine, Baker & McKenzie was the first major international law group to launch a practice in the country – way back in 1992. And while its major international competitors flocked to Ukraine in the past decade, each eager to capture a share of a booming economy, Baker & McKenzie already had an established foothold. It also earned the respect of clients.

The group’s Kyiv practice was set up by John Hewko, an American of Ukrainian descent. In the beginning, he was a one-man show with a translator and a driver. Eighteen years later, Baker & McKenzie runs one of Ukraine’s most successful and largest practices, with more than 100 lawyers represent the interests of more than 350 multinational companies, financial institutions and leading Ukrainian businesses.

Composed of both foreigners and Ukrainian-born lawyers, staff members have law degrees from inside and outside of Ukraine. Baker & McKenzie’s Kyiv office also attributes its success to the group’s extensive global network of 67 offices in 39 countries.

“When our client needs us to work in the jurisdictions of three states, we can do so at ease,” said Serhiy Chorny, a partner at Baker & McKenzie’s Ukraine practice.

Baker & McKenzie is a trendsetter in Ukraine, having assisted domestic companies complete some of the country’s first Eurobonds and Initial Public Offering placements. It has also advised on some of the biggest bank sale deals.

“Across the globe and within Ukraine, the Baker & McKenzie brand is like the IBM of legal services. We invent and create the first product, while everyone else copies us,” boasted Chorny.

Baker & McKenzie

24 Vorovskoho Street

Kyiv, 01054, Ukraine

Renaissance Business Center

+38 (044) 590-0101