Fortior Law S.A.

Managing Partner: Vitaliy Kozachenko

Number of partners: 9

Number of lawyers: 22

Memberships: GAFTA (including the International Contracts Policy Committee (ICPC)), Overseas supporting member LMAA, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, European Business Association, Propeller Club, Solicitors Regulation Authority, New York State Bar Association, Georgian Arbitration Association

Languages: English, French, Georgian, Ukrainian, Russian, Chinese, Turkish, Greek

Firm Overview:

Fortior Law is an international law firm headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with offices in Kyiv (Ukraine), London (England), Tbilisi (Georgia), Taipei (Taiwan) and Nicosia (Cyprus).

The firm’s main specialisation is international dispute resolution. We represent clients before English, Cypriot, Swiss, Ukrainian and Georgian Courts. We also act in multiple international Courts (such as ECtHR, ILOAT, UNDT, WTO Dispute Settlement Body) as well as in international arbitration proceedings (ad-hoc, LCIA, LMAA, ICC, SCC, SCAI and others).

Following the latest expansion round, the firm now also offers transactional and advisory services in international tax, corporate planning and M&A, as well as in Ukrainian customs law.

Main Areas of Practice:

English Litigation:

Fortior Law (UK) LLP is authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and conducts litigation in England and Wales. Most of our cases are in the Commercial Court in London, although we also conduct cases in the Companies Court, the Chancery Division, the Court of Appeal (civil matters) and in the Supreme Court.

We handle complex multi-jurisdictional disputes mostly in the areas of commodity trading, finance, shipping, shareholders disputes and civil fraud.

We have developed good working relationships with barristers from various chambers, including those at the top of the game and also more cost-effective options.

Our notable cases include:

• Enforcement proceedings against a subsidiary of a state-owned Middle-Eastern oil company concerning a long-term supply contract for 200,000MT of crude oil per month.

• Dispute concerning misappropriation of a fuel oil cargo and forgery of railway bills of lading, involving interim cargo-blocking injunctions, a worldwide freezing order, proceedings for contempt of Court and proceedings under the Insolvency Act against the owners of the defendant company to make them compensate the creditors for asset stripping the defendant company.

• Dispute against one of the largest Luxembourg-based Russian banks on behalf of a Swiss trading company concerning trade finance facilities. We have successfully defeated a summary judgment application on the part of the bank and discharged a worldwide freezing order made against the client, following which the dispute settled.

• Dispute in support of LCIA proceedings concerning a credit facility issued to Ukrainian logistical company worth over US$95 million.

• Dispute with the founders of a fraudulent cryptocurrency project in London, including multiple worldwide freezing orders against defendants in England, Switzerland and multiple off-shore jurisdictions.

Contacts: Vitaliy Kozachenko, Galyna Carey, Youjin Jo

Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

International Commercial Arbitration:

International arbitration is at the heart of our practice. We act on behalf of parties in various arbitration fora including the LCIA, LMAA, GAFTA, FOSFA, SCAI, ICAC at the Ukrainian CCI, and others.

We aim to minimise our clients’ costs and offer effective solutions, yet we have been successful against the world’s top (and some of the most expensive) law firms, including Quinn Emanuel, Herbert Smith Freehills, Stephenson Harwood and others.

Our notable cases include:

• Acting in an LCIA dispute against a state-owned oil extraction company in a dispute concerning a long-term crude oil supply contract for several million metric tons.

• Acting in multiple LCIA disputes against US-based financiers of a Ukrainian logistical company in relation to a facility agreement and multiple security instruments, with claims of US$95 million and counterclaims of US$350 million.

• Acting in an LCIA guarantee dispute against a Brazilian group worth US$25 million, in relation to an underlying contract for shipment of 65,000MT of maize.

• Acting for a Ukrainian coal trader in an LCIA dispute concerning fraud on the part of and asset stripping of his Swiss-based counterparty in a long-term coal supply agreement. The dispute contained multiple parallel proceedings including a criminal claim in Switzerland, a worldwide freezing order in London and a Norwich Pharmacal (third party disclosure) application in Cyprus.

Contact: Vitaliy Kozachenko, Rusudan Gergauli, Youjin Jo

Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Gafta and FOSFA Arbitration:

Our team has extensive experience in dispute resolution under GAFTA and FOSFA contracts, and cases led by our team are regularly mentioned by The Legal500 and other legal rankings. We take specialised training (including Gafta Distance Learning Programme), have deep understanding of the main pro forma and commercial reality behind contracts.

We advise on contentious issues which arise between traders and their counterparties, owners, terminals, freightforwarders, surveyors and port authorities. We also represent clients in GAFTA arbitrations, in particular, under Rules No 125 and 126, and also under the FOSFA Arbitration Rules.

Our notable cases include:

• Acting in a Gafta arbitration against a state-owned South American trading company in a dispute concerning shipments of grain from the USA worth some US$30 million, letters of credit, demurrage, fraud and bribery.

• Acting for a Swiss trading company in a Gafta dispute with one of its suppliers worth US$20 million.

• Acting in a FOSFA dispute involving misdelivery of a cargo of vegetable oil, involving freezing orders and cargo/vessel arrest proceedings in the Netherlands and Malta.

Contact: Dmitry Zagorodnyuk, Ivan Lishchyna

Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Investment Arbitration:

We advise on all aspects of the investor-state arbitration proceedings against or on behalf of states. Our lawyers have acted in and advised on multiple investment arbitration proceedings including:

• a UNCITRAL claim arising out of misappropriation and partial destruction of a telecom business in a Central Asian country, culminating in a favourable settlement for our client;

• an ICSID claim arising out of a Middle-Eastern state’s interference in arbitration proceedings to cover-up a breach of contract by that state to sell a stake in a major bank;

• an Energy Charter claim arising out of syphoning off of oil products by a state company from its pipeline;

• a BIT claim arising out of expropriation of business by imposition of disproportionate tax penalties;

• an Islamic Conference Treaty claim arising out of a failure to deliver fertilisers under a long-term supply contract by a state-owned company;

• a Russian-Ukrainian BIT claim against Russia concerning indirect expropriation of the Ukrainian client’s assets valued at over US$200 million through a coordinated series of state measures, including the freezing of property, intrusive searches, and obstruction of the claimant’s efforts to dispose of its shareholding;

• a BIT claim arising out of a pattern of unlawful denials of budgetary refunds for value-added tax by a host state to an investor.

Our arbitration team is composed of outstanding lawyers, with strong academic backgrounds in international investment law and expertise in various legal aspects pertaining to the disputed issues. The team members have authored numerous articles on international investment arbitration, are repeatedly invited to lecture in universities and deliver presentations at international conferences.

We deal with both high value and lower value matters. We are currently advising on a number of investment claims arising out of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, where our clients seek damages for inability to access their business in Russian-occupied territories, theft of grain and other agricultural commodities by the Russian Federation, theft and destruction of equipment and other damage to business. We have experience in both UNCITRAL and Stockholm arbitrations to pursue those claims to a successful conclusion.

Contact: Vitaliy Kozachenko, Ivan Lishchyna, Rusudan Gergauli, Youjin Jo

Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Shipping:

We deal with all types of contentious and non-contentious maritime law issues. We advise on and draft charter parties, riders and standard shipping terms. We have acted in multiple disputes in relation to non-payment of freight, cargo liens by shipowners, demurrage, damages for detention, speed and consumption claims, deviations, issue of seaworthiness, misdelivery and other claims under bills of lading.

Our lawyers represent clients in LMAA, ad hoc and other maritime arbitration proceedings. We also have substantial experience dealing with these matters in the High Court in London. We have arrested vessels in various jurisdictions in support of our clients’ maritime claims, including in Georgia, Bulgaria, Malta, Netherlands and Turkey. We have also arrested cargoes in storage facilities in multiple jurisdictions.

Our notable cases include:

• Ad-hoc arbitration concerning shipment of gas products from Europe to Africa concerning issues of breaches of speed warranties, unseaworthiness of a vessel, fraud, and cargo liens.

• LMAA arbitration concerning damages for detention claimed as a result of a vessel’s detention by a state security service, and involving issues of cargo liens and reasonableness of the proposed mitigation measures.

• Ad hoc arbitration concerning payment of freight for several vessels totalling nearly US$8 million.

• SCC arbitration worth US$5 million concerning payment of hire on the one hand, and damages for deviation, reduced speed / increased consumption, seaworthiness on the other hand, as well as the steps required to mitigate damages after allegedly unlawful termination of the charter.

• Ad hoc arbitration concerning the shipowners’ refusal to proceed to the Ukrainian port of Odesa due to insurance problems. The charterers argued that (1) the shipowners’ failure to procure insurance did not relieve them of their obligation to honor the charter, and (2) the shipowners were aware of the circumstances and risks when the charter was signed. The charterers incurred damages by the breach of their obligations to third parties and storage costs.

Contact: Vitaliy Kozachenko, Dmitry Zagorodnyuk

Email: [email protected], [email protected]

International Trade:

We advise clients on trading contracts hard and soft commodities, including crude oil, petroleum and gas products, fertilisers and agricultural commodities. We also deal with related issues such as shipping, finance, sanctions and so forth.

Our lawyers are qualified in various jurisdictions (England and Wales, Ukraine, Georgia, Switzerland, New York, Malta), which allows us to handle a wide variety of disputes and transactional work both in England and in other countries.

For examples of our contentious matters in this area, see above in relation to English litigation, International Commercial Arbitration, Gafta and FOSFA arbitration and Shipping.

Contact: Vitaliy Kozachenko, Rusudan Gergauli, Dmitry Zagorodnyuk, Ivan Lishchyna, Youjin Jo

Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Corporate and M&A:

We help set up companies in multiple jurisdictions (UK, Switzerland, Ukraine, Georgia, Cyprus). We can assist with all business establishment issues including bank account opening, renting office space, establishing internal contractual documentation and policies, preparing shareholder and board resolutions, arranging accounting and audit support, dealing with employment law and immigration issues.

We advise clients on various stages of cross-border M&A transactions, including:

• Performing legal and HR due diligence to identify risks involving asset and property ownership, loans, securities, employment law compliance, corporate governance and litigation exposures;

• Assembling due diligence team with outside advisors to identify financial, commercial & operational issues involving tax, market share & positioning and key management & senior staff review; and

• Drafting and reviewing documents to close transactions.

We also deal with multiple contentious issues in the corporate context, including:

• representing clients in shareholder disputes spanning multiple jurisdictions.

• winding-up proceedings against companies in Switzerland, UK and Cyprus;

• disputes over corporate rights, option agreements and the like; and

• employment law disputes and disputes between corporate partners.

Contact: Pavlo Moroz, Youjin Jo, Xavier-Romain Rahm

Email: [email protected], [email protected] [email protected]

Sanctions & Compliance:

We have several compliance specialists on our team and we can, among others, assist you with the following:

• Draft your sanctions and other compliance policies.

• Run checks on your counterparties, future partners, employees and other third parties for sanctions, scandals, political exposure and other factors. We have access to special compliance corporate databases. We also have access to Court databases and can check your counterparty’s potential involvement in civil and criminal litigation.

• We have connections with investigators in many countries, as well as companies offering IT investigations. We can connect you with them in order to assist you with identifying assets and business activities of your counterparties.

• We can help you prepare appropriate compliance policies in view of the risks specific to your business and the environment in which you operate.

• We can help you release your funds if they were unjustifiably blocked by your bank. We have dealt with multiple cases where clients’ funds have been blocked by US correspondent banks because the client had a similar name to a sanctioned individual, or because a recipient’s bank was sanctioned. We have New York attorneys on the team who can try to convince the bank to release the funds, seek a licence from OFAC or instruct litigation counsel in New York if required to recover your money.

Contact: Youjin Jo, Dmitry Zagorodnyuk

Email: [email protected], [email protected]

WTO / Trade Regulation:

Since the era of hyperglobalisation began to come to an end around 2015, many state authorities are seeking to regulate the growing cross-border trade and direct foreign investment with the immediate effect of causing market access barriers for clients involved in international trade. Fortior Law’s head office is based in Geneva, which is also the seat of the World Trade Organisation. Our professionals represent clients in connection with a broad range of matters involving trading of hard and soft commodities and assist clients to manage their risk exposures relating to fragmentation of trade regulations with the following highlights:

• A team of lawyers qualified in various jurisdictions (England and Wales, Ukraine, Georgia, Switzerland, New York, Malta) to handle a wide variety of disputes in different fora;

• Extensive experience assisting clients attain successful results in various trade litigations, such as antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings;

• Profound industry knowledge helping clients negotiate trade agreements, such as price undertaking agreements, and advise clients on the key elements not only to be strictly in compliance with the terms of such agreements, but also to strategically utilise such mechanisms in their trading transactions;

• Extensive contacts with trade officials in key markets to assist clients with customs related matters;

• Unique capability of trade due diligence practice to advise clients in cross-jurisdictional transactions.

Contact: Louie Chang

Email: [email protected]

Human Rights:

We act for both individuals and legal entities in proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights. Our team includes one of Ukraine's preeminent practitioners including a former Deputy Minister of Justice and Government Agent before the Court bringing more than two decades of experience in litigation before the Strasbourg institution.

We have represented applicants in complex and politically sensitive cases involving alleged violations of the right to a fair trial, the right to property, liberty and security, respect for private and family life (including business reputation), and freedom of expression. We provide comprehensive representation from the preparation and lodging of applications through to adversarial proceedings, just satisfaction claims, and implementation follow-up at the domestic level.

Our notable cases include:

• Applications arising out of expropriation of assets and other interferences with client’s rights based on the unlawful imposition of national sanctions;

• Applications concerning dismissal of senior judicial and government officials;

• Applications arising out of unlawful pre-trial detention of a CEO of a major Ukrainian industrial company, high-ranking trade union official, military officer and businessmen;

• Applications deriving from the interference with property rights of trade unions, other companies and individuals.

Contact: Ivan Lishchyna

Email: [email protected]

Ukrainian Litigation:

We represent clients in high-stakes commercial, criminal, and administrative litigation before Ukrainian courts at all levels, including the Supreme Court and its Grand Chamber. Our team has a strong record of securing favourable judgments in disputes involving complex questions of law, cross-border dimensions, and substantial financial implications.

We act for major international and domestic businesses, as well as private individuals, in matters ranging from shareholder and contract disputes to challenges against regulatory and administrative decisions. We are frequently instructed in proceedings with parallel litigation or arbitration abroad and are experienced in developing and implementing coordinated multi-jurisdictional litigation strategies.

Our lawyers have particular expertise in proceedings for setting aside arbitral awards before Ukrainian courts, and regularly prepare expert opinions on issues of Ukrainian law for use before foreign courts and arbitral tribunals.

Our notable cases include:

• Criminal cross-border proceedings concerning alleged money laundering of by a foreign national of US$90 million, subsequently terminated for lack of sufficient evidence to establish criminal liability;

• Commercial litigation seeking invalidation of a forced share sale agreement in one of Ukraine’s largest banks;

• Commercial litigation involving judicial review of proceedings by the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court following a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights finding Ukraine in violation of its obligations;

• Administrative proceedings before the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court challenging a decision of the High Council of Justice on the dismissal of a top judicial official;

• Administrative litigation on challenging of unlawful denials of budgetary refunds for value-added tax for a leading global supplier of seamless stainless steel pipes and tubes.

Contact: Ivan Lishchyna, Pavlo Moroz

Email: [email protected]; [email protected]