Olga Belyakova

Practice Areas

TMC – Technology, Media & Telecommunications, Intellectual Property, Public Procurement, Employment, Commercial – Antitrust, Competition and Trade, Insurance, Data Protection, Cloud Computing

Career

Olga is a partner in the Commercial practice group at CMS Ukraine and CEE Co-head of the Technology, Media and Communications (TMC) sector group, with over 20 years’ experience in the sector and with a special focus on the IT and technologies sectors. She constantly advises TMC sector on a wide variety of M&A, corporate, commercial and regulatory matters coordinating projects in CEE and Central Asia.

Specifically, Olga is constantly involved in the legal structuring of IT and other businesses, including building legally effective shareholders relations, covering all aspects of the corporate set-up of the businesses, creating efficient relations between the companies and their specialists, as well as proper tax structuring of the businesses using the local and foreign jurisdictions. Olga also assists leading IT services and product companies on the sufficient transfer and protection of IP rights, as well as advising on commercial matters with software development services and other agreements. Olga also has an in-depth knowledge in cloud law and advised various clients on migration of their data to the cloud. As a highly-acclaimed specialist in data protection, Olga also constantly advises clients on legal issues in relation to processing and protection of personal data, including with the help of cloud-based technology.

As a highly acclaimed specialist in employment, Olga Belyakova constantly advises clients on legal issues regarding labour law matters such as dismissals, employee’s transfers, out-staffing, structuring of employment relations with a large number of people, immigration issues, drafting various employment policies, and outsourcing projects. Olga is regularly involved in structuring of employment relationships in the IT sector, in especially particular relations between the companies and developers, including suggesting and creating proper equity incentive schemes at various management levels, non-solicitation and confidentiality commitments of from IT staff, and tax structuring of the IT businesses with the use of appropriate foreign jurisdictions for purposes of creation of enforceable shareholders relations. Olga also has experience in advising on all aspects of employment law pertinent relevant to M&A transactions.

As a competition lawyer, Olga advises a variety of clients on merger control issues, concerted actions, and anti-competitive conduct on the market. Olga’s general commercial experience combines broad expertise in negotiating various types of commercial contracts, including sale and purchase agreements, procurement agreements, recruitment agreements and agreements relating to the advertisement of services.

Olga is a recommended lawyer for Information Technology law, Technology law and Telecommunications law, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Competition / Antitrust law, Corporate Governance and Compliance Practice by Best Lawyers rankings. Chambers Europe and Legal 500 directories highly regarded Olga in the field of competition law in Ukraine, which describes her as “knowledgeable, service-minded and extremely impressive". Olga is recognised as a “practice leader by client’s choice” in the field of IT Law by recent “TOP-100 Lawyers of Ukraine by clients' choice” rankings.

Since 2020 Olga has been an invited professor of law in the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, where she teaches such subjects as Fundamentals of IT Law and Fundamentals of Legal Writing.

Professional Memberships

European Business Association, American Chamber of Commerce, Joint-Chamber Commerce, U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC).

In March 2023, Olga was elected as a Co-Chair of the IT Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine. In this role, Olga will focus on the development of a cloud law framework, close cooperation with tax and banking committees to help IT industry enhance its strong position in the national economy as well as promoting it abroad, and sharing best international legal practices in the tech industry.

Publications

• January 2024 – Where Tech Leads, Legislation Follows

• January 2024 – Regulating a Revolution: AI-Driven Innovation in CEE and Beyond

• May 2023 – Gaming industry versus traditional media business: opportunities in the new digital reality

• April 2023 – Ukraine expands IP rights protection regulation

• March 2023 – Ukraine imposes sanctions on gambling companies

• March 2023 – Military-Tech: чи є перспективи?

• February 2023 – OTT and the Competition for Consumers

• February 2023 – Ukraine introduces new rules for reservation (exempting) of employees from mobilisation

• February 2023 – Ukraine reforms copyright regulation system in line with EU standards

• January 2023 – Ukraine temporarily cancels electronic auctions in ProZorro e-procurement system