The Russian invasion of Ukraine: How law firms and lawyers are responding (Part 1 of 2)

Stephen specialises in privatisations, and debt and equity securities offerings, especially those with cross-border elements, and has worked on listings on over 15 different stock exchanges. He also has extensive experience of cross-border M&A transactions and advising on regulatory and corporate governance issues. Stephen regularly trains boards on corporate governance best practice. Stephen has acted for buyers, sellers, targets, financial advisers and management boards, and sees issues from all perspectives. He has broad sector experience and, as a 'hands-on' partner, gets fully involved in all drafting and negotiations. Known for his global perspective and local knowledge, Stephen has practised in the United States, throughout Europe and in Asia, working on transactions in over 50 countries.

I have practiced business law in the three Baltic States since 1992 and founded SORAINEN in 1995

After leading the international law firm Orrick for nearly a quarter century, Ralph Baxter has turned his attention to a diverse set of activities, across the spectrum of the evolving legal profession. He regularly advises law firms, legal technology companies, corporate law departments, and emerging legal service providers. He is an active writer and speaker on the modernization of legal service. Ralph is a member of the Board of Directors of Intapp. He is a Senior Advisor and member of the Advisory Board of the Stanford Law School Center on the Legal Profession. He is a Fellow at CodeX, the Stanford Center on Law and Informatics. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession. He is a member of the Leaders Council of the Legal Services Corporation. From 1990 to 2013, Ralph served as Chairman and CEO of Orrick, leading Orrick’s progress from a domestic firm with California origins to become one of the world’s leading global firms. He launched numerous transformative initiatives during his tenure, including the creation of Orrick’s Global Operations Center in Wheeling, West Virginia, and changes in the firm’s talent and pricing models. He received his BA from Stanford University; his MA in Education from the Catholic University of America; and his JD from the University of Virginia. Before his career in law Ralph taught the sixth grade at the Scott Montgomery Elementary School in Washington, D.C. Ralph’s recent writings and interviews can be accessed on his website www.ralphbaxter.com and he can be followed on Twitter @ralphbaxter.

Prof. Dr. Jörg K. Menzer is responsible for the coordination of Noerr’s practice for international clients in Romania, and heads the Bucharest office in the CEE region. He specializes in M&A transactions and con-centrates on structuring major foreign investments in Romania. He has experience in acquisitions, pri-vatizations and greenfield investments, based on his knowledge of the business and legal environment in region, especially in Romania. In addition, Jörg K. Menzer has worked on many restructurings, private equity investments and capital measures, as well as for public listed companies. He has contributed since 2000 to strategic market entries, greenfield projects, business expansions or state aid projects of various listed multinational corporations, financial & strategic investors, other premium European & international companies, and also major Far-Eastern industrial investors. Due to his strategic role, he has also been involved in governmental affair processes during all these in-vestments in the region, especially in Romania. Most of the projects Mr. Menzer advised on, had an economic impact in CEE and Romania and led to the development either of certain regions or in specific industries.

Corporate and M&A partner with extensive experience in all types of corporate transactions, including acquisitions, joint ventures, IPOs, and corporate governance advice. I serve as an expert on securities, corporate and civil law in major investment arbitrations. My additional expertise covers employment, data protection, competition, and real estate. I am actively engaged in the development of Ukrainian corporate law, namely regulation of shareholder agreements, LLCs, corporations, and corporate governance in public companies. My recently closed transactions: - Acquisition of Benteler Distribution Ukraine by Van Leeuwen Pipe and Tube Group - Merger control clearance for UBER for the creation of a JV with Yandex - USD1 bln collaboration between PJSC “Ukrainian Railway” and General Electric - Sale of Karavan Hypermarket chain to Auchan - 2 acquisitions of farmland businesses by Kernel - Acquisition of 48% stake in GlobalLogic Inc. by CPPIB - Disposal of 99.9% shares in PJSC “Ukrsotsbank” in exchange for a minority stake in ABH Holdings S.A. - Divestiture of Allergan’s global generic pharmaceuticals business to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd through a complex cross-border carve-out I led the following IPOs of Ukrainian companies: XXI Century (AIM, London), Astarta (Warsaw), Kernel (Warsaw), KDD Group (AIM, London), MHP SA (LSE, London), Avangard (LSE, London), and IMC (Warsaw).

As Founder and Managing Director Melissa Davis leads the global PR, social media and directories teams within MD Communications as well as the expanding international client base. Melissa has a proven track record of delivering high-level brand and PR strategies for over 18 years in political, legal and commercial environments. She has considerable experience of training lawyers and politicians internationally to deal with the media and understand the importance of brand positioning and messaging. Along with other MD Communications consultants she has also trained key governments across the world as part of her pro-bono role with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy.