The Legal 500 EMEA 2020: Legal Alliance is among the leaders in the legal services market

The Legal Alliance is ranked among Ukraine's leading law firms in six practices – intellectual property, competition, commercial, corporate and M&A, dispute resolution, employment, white collar crime – according to The Legal 500 Europe, Middle East & Asia* 2020 edition.

In particular, Legal Alliance Company and Lawyers were recognized in the EMEA guide as follows:

Intellectual Property. Legal Alliance work for domestic and large international life sciences companies covers the registration of IP assets and complex patent, trade mark and copyright disputes. Partner Illya Kostin, associated partner Natalia Lavrenova and counsel Vitalii Savchuk are the lead practitioners.

"Niche expertise in healthcare and pharmaceutics helps the team to provide unique services in intellectual property"; "We can entrust the Legal Alliance team with important matters. The team leaders show a deep understanding of medicines and medical products and can provide expert advice, which allows us to minimise both cost and time, and quickly resolve even complex matters," – say clients of the company.

Competition. Legal Alliance Company is best known for securing the approval of vertical agreements on the supply of pharmaceutical products, and for assisting pharmaceutical companies with investigations by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine. The team advises on abuse of dominant position, concerted practices and unfair competition cases, as well as public procurement and compliance. Partner Andriy Gorbatenko leads the practice and has "a deep understanding of the market and the ability to quickly delve into issues and find effective solutions".

Testimonials from the clients speak for themselves: "The main distinguishing feature of working with Legal Alliance is a deep understanding of the functioning of the pharmaceutical market, due to which the experts of this company can provide not only an analysis of the activities proposed by the client but also provide recommendations on how to modify such activities in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk."

Commercial, corporate and M&A. Legal Alliance Company has a stellar client base in the pharmaceutical industry, which it assists with a wide range of corporate matters, also drawing on the firm's expertise in employment law, data protection and regulatory issues. Practice heads – partners Oleksii Bezhevets and Dmytro Aleshko – have extensive experience in representing clients in the life sciences sector in public takeovers, private M&A, disposals and corporate restructurings, as well as assisting with general commercial, antitrust and corporate governance issues.

"The firm provides a high level of professional engagement and is focused on solutions"; "We appreciate the high level of professionalism, well-coordinated teamwork and focus on customer needs," – as mentioned by clients of Legal Alliance.

Dispute Resolution. Legal Alliance Company is praised for its "professionalism and high ethical standards". With a 25-year track record in dispute resolution, the firm has extensive experience in IP, tax, commercial and criminal cases. It frequently represents clients in the civil, criminal, commercial and administrative courts, and handles international commercial arbitration. Partner Illya Kostin and associated partner Natalia Lavrenova, who demonstrates "consistency and high-level diplomatic skills", lead a sizeable team which is also skilled in alternative dispute resolution techniques.

"As usual, the attorneys of Legal Alliance Company demonstrated both a high degree of skill and high ethical standards, providing effective representation of the company. Trust, integrity and professional conduct should be mentioned among the key strengths of the team," – remarks a client.

Employment. Legal Alliance Company acts for governmental and corporate clients in matters concerning employee relations, collective bargaining, litigation and internal investigations. Lead partner Illya Kostin 'works assiduously and we trust him to solve the most important cases'. The firm frequently acts for pharmaceutical companies, including leading international companies Reckitt Benckiser, Takeda and Teva.

"We receive professional and prompt legal support. The firm provides appropriate and essential advice," – comments a client.

White Collar Crime. White-collar crime is the main focus of the criminal law practice at Legal Alliance Company, which acts for companies and their officials in investigations by law enforcement agencies and, ultimately, in litigation. Partner Illya Kostin and associated partner Taras Bezpalyy conduct internal investigations for corporate clients, as well as defending individuals, including managers of state-owned enterprises.