Asters' position as a leading Ukrainian law firm is re-confirmed by Chambers Europe, an influential annual review of the European legal market, in its 2014 guide recently published in London. The guide ranks Asters highly in all practices surveyed in Ukraine.
Asters' Banking & Finance practice is ranked in Band 1. The guide describes the head of the practice and firm's senior partner Armen Khachaturyan as a "strong and influential lawyer in the community. He regularly advises leading international banks on complex loan facilities". Partner Iryna Pokanay is "an ever-growing presence in the market with a fantastic reputation amongst clients". She is noted for her strong relationship with international lenders, and for her unflappable and organized approach.
Asters' Competition/Antitrust practice is also listed in Band 1 with distinctive description as an "exceptional team with noted experience in merger clearance and competition litigation". The practice head, partner Igor Svechkar, is commented as "the best in the market" and wins praise for his personable approach and "impeccable" advice. The "knowledgeable" Alexey Pustovit continues to build his reputation in the competition field. Satisfied clients describe him as "reactive, proactive and business-minded."
Asters gets recommended in Energy & Natural Resources as a firm whose lawyers are "experienced in the sector and in working with government bodies. They can act very quickly and offer alternative solutions for us to choose from".
In Corporate/M&A Asters is endorsed as ”highly responsive" team "with great business knowledge" predominantly focused on cross-border transactions and representation of international clients across various industries. Asters' managing partner Oleksiy Didkovskiy is "one of the best-known practitioners in the market"; senior partner Armen Khachaturyan is an "extremely experienced and client-oriented lawyer" and partner Vadym Samoilenko enters the rankings for the first time this year and is described by clients as a specialist who "seems to have much of the information at his fingertips, straight away. Generally, he seems to be well informed and is able to clearly articulate very complex concepts".
Asters is also recommended in: Capital Markets practice as "an excellent firm – responsive, knowledgeable and very capable"; Employment as "a very client-oriented team that provides with detailed information and solutions"; Taxation as advisor that provides "the advice carefully evaluated from numerous perspectives, and is responsive to the policies of our company"; as well as in Real Estate, Intellectual Property, Restructuring/Insolvency practices.
