The Legal 500 EMEA 2023 Reconfirms Strong Positions of Hillmont Partners in Dispute Resolution, White Collar Crime and a Range of Advisory Practices in Ukraine
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.
The edition 2023 of the research repeatedly ranks Hillmont as a Leading Firm in Ukraine and its top lawyers are recommended in 7 practice areas as follows:
- Dispute Resolution
- White Collar Crime
- Commercial, Corporate and M&A
- Banking, Finance & Capital Markets
- Private Client
- Energy
- Tax
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The firm ranks high and keeps its strong positions in Dispute Resolution. The client feedback reads: ‘Hillmont has a very smart well-credentialled team of excellent legal defenders with the best experience of litigation and arbitration teams in Ukraine. They particularly excel and bring a wealth of knowledge to cross-border investment disputes. They are smart and have deep knowledge and expertise in dealing with complex dispute resolution matters, including strategy, written pleadings and quality arguments during court proceedings or arbitration hearings.’
Experts featured: James Hart, Managing Partner; Andrii Nyzhnyi, Senior Partner. Counsel Andrii Chornous ranks as a ‘Rising Star’.
Selected client testimonials:
- ‘The team that I work with, headed by Andrii Nyzhnyi and James Hart, combines strong analytical legal skills with fine process and litigation skills, which result in a formidable team. They approach dispute matters practically, taking into account the commercial outcome and the cost of getting to it. In terms of team collaboration with their own in-house counsel, they are highly constructive and allow for an excellent two-way flow of communication.’
- ‘James Hart and Andrii Nyzhnyi lead the practice. They are professionals with very different backgrounds, though both have exceptional expertise. Such combination allows the team to deliver unconventional solutions in complex legal matters.’
- ‘James Hart is our main contact. He is responsive, pragmatic, solution-oriented and a well-regarded adviser in international matters. He is excellent at developing strategy and great attention to detail. His partner Andrii Nyzhnyi is a knowledgeable and experienced litigator who can provide strategic and practical advice. He offers expertise across a range of commercial disputes and considers matters carefully and with great respect for clients’ interests. Counsel Andrii Chornous is a dynamic advocate with a sharp legal mind. He is an impressive lawyer and provides proactive and precise advice.’
- ‘Andrii Nyzhnyi is an exceptionally fine analytical lawyer. Regardless of the complexity of the case before him, he has an unerring quality of distilling the case and targeting the areas which need to be addressed. James Hart is an individual who can combine various multijurisdictional issues and combine them into a unified strategy resulting in a quicker and more effective resolution. His commercial experience also impacts on strategy and application of such.’
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Hillmont’s White Collar Crime practice according to the client’s testimonial ‘…stands apart for the strength and breadth of its criminal law practice. They assist companies with sensitive aspects of transnational criminal defence, advise on white-collar crime, complex criminal litigation and crisis management mandates arising from bribery of public officials, misuse of corporate assets, fraud, tax fraud laundering, etc.’
Experts featured: Oleksii Miagkyi, Counsel.
Selected client testimonials:
- ‘I had the opportunity to work with two Hillmont lawyers. I found that the team was particularly attentive to the specificities of local law to understand the difficulties of the procedure and the best approach. The human relationship with the Hillmont team was excellent, and I would like to emphasise the great ability to adapt to the different people involved and the ability to listen and dialogue with colleagues.’
- ‘Counsel Oleksii Miagkyi assists leading domestic and international corporates and private individuals. He is an experienced advocate who offers strength across a broad spectrum of mandates, including high-profile cases concerning fraud, corruption, human rights and corporate criminal law. Business owners, managers with state companies’ and top-level executives benefit from his strategic vision and expertise.’
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The research ranks the firm’s Corporate and M&A practice and cites the firm’s client confirming that ‘Hillmont Partners remains a go-to law firm in Ukraine for advising on ongoing corporate/commercial matters and innovative M&A and private equity work in handling domestic and cross-border matters. The team proves itself as a very efficient and commercial in targeted legal finding solutions for clients.’
Experts featured: James Hart, Managing Partner; Valentyn Zasukha, Senior Partner.
Selected client testimonials:
- ‘Hillmont Partners is a hard-working and dedicated team. They are especially good at problem-solving attitudes and prompt reactions in project and time management. They always consider the client’s side and fight for their interest.’
- ‘The team has an excellent approach to the clients keeping them well informed during an invariably complex legal process.’
- ‘James Hart is an excellent advisor. He assists clients with both public and private M&A deals, including joint ventures, in addition to financing and capital market transactions. James is very efficient and commercial in finding solutions for clients and takes the time to understand the client’s requirements before jumping into the legal discussion.’
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Hillmont’s Banking & Finance practice ranks as a ‘well-organised team with high professional capabilities’ that ‘has huge amounts of experience dealing with banks and financial institutions.’
Experts featured: James Hart, Managing Partner; Valentyn Zasukha,, Senior Partner, Andrii Chornous, Counsel.
Selected client testimonials:
- ‘Hillmont is very responsive as a team, always on top of the issues and managing the process well. Their quality of service is reliable and of the highest practical value for clients. I would particularly commend their client-friendly and accessible approach.’
- ‘The team has a very flexible approach. Every lawyer who worked on our requests was deeply involved in the problem and showed a high class of professional knowledge.’
- ‘James Hart is well placed to advise on complex finance-related and restructuring matters. He has strong expertise in cross-border work across several jurisdictions. He is very detail-oriented. He is a go-to partner for many Ukraine-related matters and beyond. We like the style and speed with which he works on client matters – he leaves no stone unturned. He is strongly supported by his counsel Andrii Chornous. Andrii is client-focused and provides recommendations and solutions, which are very much appreciated.’
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The firm’s Private Client practice is recommended for ‘an unrivalled ability to understand complex issues and formulate creative strategies to achieve success for the client. Their time keeping and cost control is impeccable, and they punch well above their weight.’
Experts featured: James Hart, Managing Partner; Andrii Nyzhnyi, Senior Partner.
Selected client testimonials:
- ‘Hillmont is one of the best legal advisors for private clients in Ukraine. They are a real pleasure to work with. They are an open-minded team and results-driven firm. The team has great legal competence but their true strength is always anticipating the legal risks and needs of their clients at the earliest stage of private equity or private wealth projects, including asset acquisitions, sales and investments.’
- ‘In my opinion, what makes Hillmont unique is the extraordinary ability to think outside of the box. In combination with their network and resources, this makes them special.’
- ‘I would recommend James Hart as an extremely knowledgeable advisor on investment transactions with domestic and cross-border targets and involvement of buyers from the private wealth or private equity side. He is very good at getting to the details. He is advanced commercially and sees many opportunities in the market for us as a client.’
- ‘Andrii Nyzhnyi has an extremely high level of commitment as our legal advisor on private investment protection. He is technically great as a lawyer; he is always very close to the deal and has a high work ethic. We appreciate his direct approach as his major strength in clear risk assessment and managing tough business negotiations.’
