Vasyl Kysil & Partners, the law firm named the country's best by a legal journal, almost failed to be considered for the honor because it had ethical concerns over participating in the rating.
The law firm called the country`s best by a legal journal almost failed to be considered for the honor because of ethnical concerns it had concerning participating in the rating.
For the sixth year running, Yuridicheskaya Praktika published its rating of the nation’s top law firms in December. And for the second year in a row, the ranking was lead by Vasyl Kysil & Partners, a firm that only reluctantly agreed to be considered.
Vasyl Kysil, the firm’s senior partner, said that the firm initially refused to participate in the rating process since it appeared to be a form of advertising inappropriate for lawyers.
“But later we agreed to participate, because such ratings are accepted in all developed countries and the best firms are determined by independent specialists, rather than by the firms themselves,” Kysil said.
Vasyl Kysil & Partners have been providing local law services for over a decade and offer full corporate legal service to Ukrainian and international clients as well as range of advice to private clients. Among the company’s clients are McDonald’s Ukraine Ltd., L’Oreal, Damen Shipyards Group and Alcatel Deutschland. The firm employs 22 lawyers.
Rounding out the top five firms were: Kryzhanovsky & Partners; Shev‑chenko, Didkovsky & Partners; Yuris; and Grischenko & Partners.
Kysil said that while the ratings have enjoyed growing popularity among some law firms, others are still cautious of them, viewing the ratings as a form of self‑advertising.
Zalena Sheihova, a senior consultant for the Kharkiv‑based Inyurpolis law firm, said that the ratings are important since the market for legal services is developing. Clients and lawyers alike need information, she said.
“This rating is the only one of its kind in Ukraine. Rather than advertising, it’s an important source of information for clients and law firms.”
“Law firms need a professional analysis of the market,” she said. “From this point of view, the rating is on point and useful to the firms that participate in it.”
To compile the rating, Yuridicheskaya Praktika staff looked at firms’ annual income, the number of lawyers employed and the firms’ productivity. The raters also analyzed the firms’ reputation.
Natalya Tkachenko headed the project for Yuridicheskaya Praktika. She said that this year’s list yielded few surprises. The firms that were rated highly in 2001 retained their ratings this year.
“The majority of leaders remained on the list, some of them just slightly shifted their position,” she said. “That confirms the stability of their positions. These firms seldom make changes in their activity.”
Tkachenko said that the firms were asked to provide the newspaper with confirmation of their incomes. To ensure the survey’s validity, the newspaper checked the information with different sources.
“The credibility of the first ten law firms on the list is beyond any doubt,” said Oleksandr Vanzha, an attorney with Kryzhanovsky and Partners. “These are firms that have been in business for years. We believe that the rating is objective.”
Sheihova, whose firm ranked first among regional firms, said that she believes the rating was done conscientiously.
“This is an objective analysis of the market,” Sheihova said. “There are no shortcomings.”
Tkachenko said that this year law firms were more willing to disclose financial information. That may be evidence that the market is growing more transparent, she said.
“The trust is growing. After seven years, we have managed to gain a fair name,” she said.
Tkachenko said only two or three people from the newspaper have access to the confidential information that law firms submitted for the rating. The results of the questionnaire were presented in coded form to independent specialists who determined the winners.
Though the newspaper’s Top 50 list looks like a rating, Tkachenko said that she thinks it is fairer to consider it market research. The newspaper asked a number of additional questions, including inquiring about office locations, association membership and advertising policies. By so doing, Tkachenko said, it can discern important market tendencies.
“We use the word ‘rating’ because readers understand it,” she said. “But the rating is only a small part of the research we do.”
Tkachenko said that one of new developments discovered in course of research is that the law firms are becoming more willing to advertise.
Last year, Yuridicheskaya Praktika also compiled its first rating of the top regional law firms, selecting five firms from each of the five Ukrainian cities with populations in excess of 1 million people.
