Litigation Trends to Watch in 2025: What is on Radar?
01 May 2025
The interview is published in the research of Yurydychna Gazata “Clients’ Choice. 100 Top Lawyers of Ukraine in 2025”
Stanislav Skrypnyk, Counsel of the Dispute Resolution practice at Hillmont Partners, served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine for two years before returning to legal practice. In this interview, he shares his thoughts on key trends in litigation, prospects for mediation, judicial reform, and challenges the Ukrainian legal services market is facing in 2025.
Key trends shaping the litigation practice
– The full-scale war, which has been going on for three years, and the uncertainty factor affect both business and all legal processes. Many companies have put their projects on hold, while others have reduced their activities.
Court practice is focused on adjusting to the new environment. In particular, there has been an increase in requests for compensation for losses caused by the war. National and international compensation mechanisms are beginning to shape a new legal reality.
Foreign investors, despite all the risks, continue to show interest in Ukraine. They often open subsidiaries or representative offices in a “dormant mode”, expecting the Ukrainian market to become a growth point after the war is over due to recovery programmes. I do not know whether it will be reparations or a Marshall Plan for Ukraine, but international companies want to be involved in rebuilding the economy.
However, the number of major projects, such as investments in infrastructure or construction, have significantly decreased, while legal support for ongoing operations and business survival remains a priority.
Another significant set of disputes includes issues related to businesses whose owners have moved abroad and do not plan to return. Conflict situations arise, as do business divisions and sale of corporate rights.
One of the market trends is the migration of clients to those lawyers who stay in Ukraine. This underlines the importance of local expertise and readiness to work in difficult conditions.
Key client requests
– The most common requests include corporate conflicts, business restructuring, conflict resolution in the process of sale or distribution of assets, return on investment and property distribution, legal support in compensation for losses and business adjustment to new conditions.
There is a growing interest in force majeure advice, especially in connection with military operations, as well as in mechanisms for protecting investments in the future.
Judicial reform: challenges and reality
– At this point, I do not see any real prospects for proper implementation of judicial reform. However, there are some positive developments, including a partial renewal of the judiciary. Previously, it was a closed, monolithic, armoured community with a complete lack of dialogue and impunity across the entire vertical.
Who can be a judge? In my opinion and from an international perspective, it should someone who has already achieved certain things in life and has formed certain moral principles and values. When material things do not come into conflict with his/her worldview. A person does not just go to the judiciary to become part of the nomenclature. What are we seeing now? There is a process when a person joined the judicial system to slay the dragon, and over time, he or she became a bit of a dragon – the system drew him or her in.
On the positive side, there is greater openness and publicity of the processes, with integrity checks. This puts odious judges or representatives of judicial family clans into the light. This additional publicity is good for the community.
Due to the lack of prospects, we see many true professionals leaving the system, and no new ones coming to replace them. The entire judicial reform is being carried out in a way that artificially limits the number of people entering the system. It seems to be open to new faces, but in fact they cannot get in.
As a practitioner, it is important for me to ensure that the judicial system is accessible to new personnel and to create conditions under which cases do not drag on for years.
Prospects for development of mediation in Ukraine
– I have been a certified mediator since 2016. This topic is close to me. There is a great idea of out-of-court settlement – it saves money, time and psychological health… Mediation in Ukraine, however, is still developing slowly. The main problem is the lack of an effective mechanism for enforcing the agreements reached during the mediation. People still have more trust in court decisions sealed with Ukraine’s name rather than in voluntary agreements. The parties can reach an agreement, shake hands, leave, and then have another dispute. The society is not ready, and the parties to mediation are not ready to stick to what they agree to. Currently, mediation is widely represented by coaches, but they work with the parties as psychologists, especially in cases where there is a significant emotional component. However, this story is far away from real mediation.
Mediation has great potential in family and simple civil cases. However, in large conflicts, especially financial ones, clients prefer litigation. It takes time to promote mediation, and requires active communication of its benefits in society.
Ukrainian legal market in 2025
– The legal market lives in its own bubble, focusing on internal processes and is often uninvolved in the global changes happening around it. While the economy, business and society are adjusting to new conditions, the legal industry is still partially holding on to the old ways, which creates a sense of disconnection from reality.
Law firms should rethink their approaches, implement innovative solutions and look for new work formats that meet the current needs of clients and the market. This applies to both modernisation of internal processes and improvement of customer-focused strategies.
The market keeps itself busy – there is enough work for everyone, as the number of both standard legal cases and requests related to new challenges, such as military realities or regulatory changes, is growing.
On the positive side, law firms have begun to value their employees more, paying attention to their development, professional growth and creating comfortable working conditions. This trend demonstrates a gradual move towards a more human approach in HR management, which is an important step for the development of the industry as a whole.