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On 8 February 2024, Judge Jacobs of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales issued a decision refusing to lift the worldwide freezing order (WFO) against the assets of Sergiy Groza and Volodymyr Naumenko. A relevant application to lift the WFO was filed by Groza and Naumenko.

Hillmont Partners and Astraea Group acted as Global Counsel to Tristan Oil Limited (“Tristan”) for the restructure of US$ 810 million of obligations. The restructure involved a Scheme of Arrangement sanctioned by an order of the British Virgin Islands court on 1 November 2023. Shortly following the BVI order, Tristan filed a petition with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the “SDNY Bankruptcy Court”) seeking entry of an order giving full force and effect to the Scheme within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States. This order was granted on 12 December 2023 despite a last-minute objection filed by the Republic of Kazakhstan (“Kazakhstan”).

Hillmont Partners was honoured to act as a partner of AmCham Ukraine Annual Meeting ‘2024 Wartime Insights & Response’ that the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine hosted in Kyiv on 7 December 2023. The event gathered over 350 members, investors, partners, and key decision-makers for AmCham Ukraine. The agenda covered key AmCham activities and achievements that helped support the business community in Ukraine in 2023 and contributed to the country’s economic recovery.

Argentem Creek Partners (ACP) and Innovatus Capital Partners (Innovatus), a US-based investment fund and an asset management company, specialise in emerging market lending. ACP and Innovatus have invested hundreds of millions of US dollars in Ukraine in recent years.

On August 16, 2023, Andrii Nyzhnyi, Senior Partner and Head of Litigation at Hillmont Partners, delivered an expert report on judicial reform to students attending the national educational and professional course entitled “Statesman: Changes are Possible”.  The training event was held at the Kyiv School of Public Administration named after Serhii Nyzhnyi and featured a number of lecturers and school alumni as speakers.

Hillmont Partners’ team has reconfirmed its strong positions in the legal services market of Ukraine and its recognition in the newly released edition 2023 of The Legal 500 EMEA. As stated by the editors of the reputable legal directory, due to ongoing war in Ukraine they did not conduct conventional research or amended the last year’s rankings. However, they took into consideration the recent developments submitted by the law firms and published names of the clients advised, highlighted recent matters and featured client testimonials.

In March 2023, Hillmont Partners opened its office in Odesa. The firm’s team in southern Ukraine will provide a full range of legal advice on corporate and commercial law, investment planning and protection, and support for construction and real estate transactions at all stages – from land allocation and allotment to issuance of permits.

Andrii Nyzhnyi, Senior Partner and Head of Domestic Dispute Resolution at Hillmont Partners, participated in an online event to launch the project of the Council of Europe “Support to the Judiciary in Ukraine During and Post-War “, which took place on 27 March 2023.

Valentyn Zasukha, Senior Partner at Hillmont Partners, joined as an expert in the development of the European Business Association (EBA) Online Tax Development Programme. A series of training events took place in January-February 2023 and brought together accountants, financial managers, and tax and legal advisors for thematic communication.

Hillmont Partners Law Firm opened an office in Lviv in October 2022. The firm’s Western Ukrainian office focuses on providing the full range of legal services for corporate and private clients. The specialists working at the office handle the legal assignments of national and international businesses involved in entrepreneurial activities in Western Ukraine, also protecting entrepreneurs in judicial and criminal cases.

Hillmont Partners is very proud to announce that Kostyantyn Chyzhyk has joined the firm as a Partner. A renowned specialist in investments, energy and international cooperation, a proactive reformer and strong anti-crisis manager, Kostyantyn Chyzhyk heads the firm’s Government Relations and Public Advocacy practice, and will lead a team of specialists advising clients on the features of the Ukrainian political and regulatory environment.

Hillmont Partners is acting in a panel of Ukraine’s strongest litigation law firms to represent Scania Ukraine LLC in a complex commercial dispute on termination of agreements with dealers and recovery by dealers from a client of losses in the form of lost revenues. The team of advisors recently secured a win for their client in a USD 4.7 million dispute.

One of the key events on the national legal market took place in Kyiv on September 30-October 1, 2021. The Ukrainian Bar Association held its Annual Judicial Forum. Andrii Nyzhnyi, Co-Managing Partner, Head of Dispute Resolution Practice at Hillmont Partners, was one of the forum’s experts and joined the substantive discussion held during the session on ensuring the unity of judicial practice.

Hillmont Partners welcomes and supports the establishment of the GR Committee under the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA). The news was announced at the meeting of the Board of the UBA on September 14, 2021. Oleksandr Ilkov, a Partner of Hillmont Partners and a well-known expert in the field of government relations and public affairs, regulatory and risk management, has been appointed Coordinator of the GR Committee.

Hillmont Partners is delighted to announce that Olena Yaliieva has been promoted to the position of Senior Associate with the Strategic Communications practice, while Kateryna Lazarchuk has been promoted to Associate with the International Dispute Resolution practice. Both promotions reflect all the hard work and dedication that our lawyers have shown towards clients over the past 12 months.

Lawyers of Hillmont Partners continue to defend the interests of Delta Wilmar Group companies in Ukraine in a number of complex disputes in Ukrainian courts. In particular, they support the client in disputes on the recovery of penalties from an unscrupulous supplier of agricultural products.

Andrii Nyzhnyi, a co-managing partner at Hillmont Partners, head of the firm’s Dispute Resolution practice, participates in the meeting of the working group for the development of training courses “Application of the principle of legal certainty in administrative proceedings”

Міжнародний довідник Best Lawyers оприлюднив результати дослідження 2022 року і опублікував рейтинги найкращих юристів України за підсумками перехресного опитування учасників ринку.

On 12 April 2021, Hillmont Partners, together with leading German law firm Becker Büttner Held, and international consultancy and engineering firm Bilfinger Tebodin, co-hosted a special online discussion to discuss the growing levels of investment into renewable hydrogen and fuel cells technologies. The webinar was held under the auspices of the Association of European Energy Consultants (AEEC), a reputable organization uniting pre-eminent energy law specialists throughout the European Union and beyond.

On 26 November 2020, the online ceremony for Liga Zakon Awards 2020 took place. Hillmont Partners has won the accolade of “The Best Commercial Litigation Firm” award, and the firm’s Co-Managing Partner Serhii Nyzhnyi was recognized “The Best Commercial Litigation Lawyer”. Both accolades were given within the national league.

Hillmont Partners’ lawyers won a convincing victory in favor of Delta Wilmar Ukraine LLC in a dispute with the State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine, the consequences of which were critically important for the company’s future activities in Ukraine.

On 27-28 October 2020, the VI Ukrainian Gas Forum – Eastern European Gas Congress took place in Kyiv. Tetiana Mylenka, LL.M, Counsel at Hillmont Partners and Head of the Energy Practice, joined the panel of the esteemed speakers of the event. During the panel session “Midstream. International Pipelines”, Tetiana addressed the peculiarities of unbundling in the gas sector in Ukraine, the lengthy process to which she was intensively engaged in her capacity of the legal team leader of JSC Main Gas Pipelines of Ukraine.

On October 14, at the invitation of radio presenter Andrii Kulikov, Tetiana Mylenka, Counsel and Head of the Energy Practice at Hillmont Partners, spoke on radio about the current situation on the green energy market in Ukraine, as well as prospects for foreign investors to submit arbitration claims against Ukraine in connection with the introduction of retrospectively reduced tariffs for electricity generated from renewable energy sources and systemic non-payment / delay in payment for electricity supplied by Guaranteed Buyer.

On 13 August 2020, Energy Talk Show Electricity Market #2, a professional event in the energy sector, was held in Kyiv. The event was organized by the Energy Club business community. MPs, representatives from government bodies, energy companies and investors gathered for an expert discussion of the main achievements, challenges and problems of the electricity market in Ukraine following the first year of market operation.

Hillmont Partners is pleased to announce it has successfully represented Komaksavia Airport Invest Ltd in obtaining an award for interim measures against the Republic of Moldova in the investor-state arbitration proceedings in relation to the Concession Agreement over Chisinau International Airport.

On 24 June 2020, Hillmont Partners and Squire Patton Boggs, supported by Energy Club and A7 Capital, co-hosted a special online session entitled ‘Protecting Your Investments: Options for Investors in the Renewable Energy Sector’ to address the key practical aspects of existent legal remedies to protect assets and investors’ rights in Ukraine.

On 27 May 2020, Hillmont Partners and The Legal 500 hosted a webinar entitled ‘Managing Risks during a Global Recession: Ukraine’s Perspective’. The event provided an expert overview of the government’s response to the pandemic and highlighted the most important initiatives that businesses should consider in order to mitigate the impact of the anticipated economic downturn.

James Hart participated in the Ukrainian Legal Banking Forum’s panel “Global Asset Search and Recovery”.

The panel included representatives of Hogan Lovells, Ankura, Alfa Bank, the National Bank of Ukraine and Ukraine’s state asset recovery agency, ARMA. The panel discussed key strategic considerations in respect of global asset recovery and the most powerful remedies available to claimants, including Worldwide Freezing Orders.

James Hart commented “At the outset of a global asset recovery it may be unclear which jurisdictions will be center stage. In such circumstances, to minimize jurisdictional bias, it is vital that the strategic coordinator is a firm with very broad experience.”

3rd annual Ukrainian Investment Road Show

Hillmont’s James Hart was a speaker at the 3rd annual Ukrainian Investment Road Show at Thompson Reuters in London on the 2nd December. The panel discussed the capital raising activity of leading Ukrainian businesses in the international markets with the participation of MHP, Metinvest, Kernel, DTEK Renewables, Interpipe, BCP Securities and Raiffeisen Bank International. Topics included successful Ukrainian corporate Eurobond placements this year, the first ever green bond issuance in the region, business and capital raising strategies of some of the country’s largest companies and investor sentiment towards Ukraine. The general view was that Ukraine’s macroeconomic indicators remain extremely attractive and the investment climate is generally favourable.

James Hart noted:

If the government and parliament deliver planned market-friendly legislative changes then Ukraine can become the biggest Emerging Market success story of 2020

Associate Partner of the firm Serhii Kalchenko participated in the seminar devoted to problematic aspects of adjudication of administrative cases pertaining to the electoral process of the regular election of the President of Ukraine, organized by the Cassation Administrative Court of the Supreme Court. 

Юридична компанія Hillmont Partners вітає адвоката Єлизавету Герасименко з перемогою у конкурсі і переходом на роботу до Адміністрації Президента України.

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