Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance in Ukraine

Clifford Chance has today announced that, from December 2015, its office in Kyiv will be established as an independent law firm operating as Redcliffe Partners. Redcliffe Partners will initially have three partners, Olexiy Soshenko, Dmytro Fedoruk and Yehven Deyneko, who currently head Clifford Chance's Banking and Finance, M&A and Antitrust practices in Ukraine. Under the agreement, Clifford Chance and Redcliffe Partners will enter into a 'best friends' referral arrangement.  Clifford Chance's current Kyiv-based lawyers and business services staff will all transfer to Redcliffe Partners upon completion.

The new set-up supports the strategic aims of both parties.  It provides Redcliffe Partners with greater flexibility for investment in developing a practice aligned with the opportunities and realities of the Ukrainian market, as Clifford Chance looks to focus on its global strategic priorities.  The continued working relationship, under the 'best friends' arrangement, ensures that multinational, major regional and local clients will continue to benefit from high-quality legal advice from its established team in Ukraine, and access to a leading global platform.

Clifford Chance Managing Partner, Matthew Layton explains, "We have developed a very successful practice in Kyiv, with an excellent reputation and a highly regarded team which sees good opportunities for growth in that market.  However, the firm has an ambitious new global strategy which is dependent on us strictly concentrating our investment and resources on our priorities.  Olexiy and Dmytro have been with Clifford Chance since 2008, and we are delighted that the new arrangement will see them, with Yevhen, establishing Redcliffe.  The new arrangement frees up the Redcliffe team to pursue exciting opportunities for further developing their client offer in Ukraine. We look forward to continuing to work together on client matters with this talented team."

Under the 'best friends' arrangement, Redcliffe Partners will have access to Clifford Chance resources, including its know-how and training, with a view to ensuring the continued development of the best skills and expertise on the Ukrainian market.

Olexiy Soshenko, who will assume the role of Managing Partner at Redcliffe Partners comments, "This is an exciting step for us and for our team. We see plenty of opportunities to further expand our capabilities and create rewarding long term career paths for our people.  The shared platform with Clifford Chance – working jointly on client matters and with access to their resources – means we are well positioned to remain one of the leading law firms in the market."

Jared Grubb, Clifford Chance's current office managing partner in Kyiv will continue to act as a Clifford Chance relationship partner for Redcliffe Partners. Jared will be relocating within the Clifford Chance network during 2016. 

With the Ukraine practice becoming independent, Clifford Chance will have sixteen highly-rated offices across Europe, covering all core practice areas and products.  The firm has leading positions in many of these markets and cementing their standing through continued targeted investment is an important aspect of the firm's strategy.