The Legal 500 ranking again listed Ante law firm in five practices
15.04.2021

The Legal 500 ranking listed Ante law firm in five practices at EMEA 2021 edition: tier 2 in Employment, tier 3 in Intellectual Property and Competition, tier 4 in Dispute Resolution, Commercial, Corporate And M&A.

Dispute Resolution

Ante Law Firm has a specialist focus on the aviation, pharmaceuticals and medical devices industries. It has recently won cases for high-profile clients, such as Sanofi-Aventis Ukraine and Lufthansa Group. Practice head Andriy Guck is ‘experienced and highly professional in litigation procedures of Ukrainian courts‘ and clients praise his ‘exceptional engagement and a level of communication and support that is beyond expectations‘.

Testimonials

Partner Andriy Guck is experienced and highly professional in litigation procedures of Ukrainian courts; his level of engagement to the matters of the client is exceptional and he ensures the level of communication and support above the level of expectation.’ 

Work highlights 

  • Successfully defended Sanofi-Aventis Ukraine at the appeal stage in a court case regarding not existing €1.6m debt and won a case on damages from the state of Ukraine connected with this case.
  • Defended a big agricultural company in a series of cases concerning an attack on a harvest for $300,000 that was illegally blocked by local competitors.
  • Acted for Qatar Airways Group Q.C.S.C. (Representative Office in Ukraine) in a precedent-setting case against the State Aviation Service of Ukraine, where it was proved in court that Ukrainian rules of air carriage are not applicable to foreign carriers due to the specifics of bilateral air service agreement between the states.

Competition

Ante Law Firm’s antitrust practice focuses on the needs of clients in the aviation and pharmaceuticals industries. It represents clients (among them international airlines) in investigations and contentious matters brought by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine. Practice head Andriy Guck also acts for leading global brands, including Sanofi-Aventis Ukraine LLC, in high-value cases concerning the possible violation of pharmaceuticals industry regulations on unfair competition.

Work highlights

  • Advised Lutsk Foods LLC (Runa trademark) on a claim to the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine against unfair competition practice by the competitor who copied elements of tomato sauces design and trade mark Kecha.
  • Representing the Danylo Halytskyi Lviv International Airport in the investigation regarding access to ground handling market.

Commercial, Corporate And M&A 

Ante Law Firm focuses predominantly on the pharmaceuticals and aviation sectors, and counts many international airlines and life sciences companies among its clients. Kateryna Ishchenko is the main lawyer in the practice, which undertakes the registration and liquidation of companies, the opening of local branches and changes in management and corporate structuring. The firm is handling all local corporate issues for Qatar Airways Group.

Work highlights

  • Assisted Sanofi-Aventis Ukraine LLC with changing the company’s management, including legitimation of living in Ukraine for non-resident employees.
  • Advised DRCT Ltd on risk assessment of the usage of the computer program DRCT for online search, reservation and booking of aviation tickets, which required deep expertise in personal data protection of passengers’ data and tax peculiarities of such cooperation in Ukraine.
  • Full legal support to Qatar Airways Group Q.C.S.C. (Representative Office in Ukraine) on all of the airline’s activities in Ukraine, being the only Ukrainian legal partner. 

Employment

Ante Law Firm has a highly capable employment law practice that excels in both advisory work and litigation. Although the firm is particularly well known for its work in the aviation sector, it also handles complex labour matters for clients in the pharmaceuticals and healthcare industries. The team assists clients with immigration issues and is adept in obtaining work permits and residence permits. Andriy Guck is the lead partner.

Work highlights

  • Advised Ernest S.p.A. on the dismissal of all employees of the Ukrainian representative office due to closure of local office.
  • Won an unfair dismissal case on behalf of the Head of Supervisory Board of the Ukrainian National Public Broadcasting Company
  • Assistance to Qatar Airways headquarters HR team with regard to Ukrainian labor law issues. 

Intellectual Property 

Ante Law Firm focuses predominantly on litigation, but it also handles the registration of IP rights for clients in the aviation, pharmaceutical and IT sectors. It has recently acted for international airlines, subsidiaries of international pharmaceutical companies, and distributors of medicines and medical devices. The practice, which is led by Kateryna Ishchenko, assisted Sanofi-Aventis Ukraine LLC with IP rights management and protection against unfair competition.

Work highlights

  • Constant support of Sanofi marketing activities in Ukraine, involving usage of their own and acquired objects of IP rights and protection against unfair competition.
  • Defending the interests of Lutsk Foods JSC (Runa TM), which were violated by illegal usage of its trade mark and product design by a competitor, before the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine.
  • Advising the representative office of Ernest S.p.A. in Ukraine on all IP rights issues (including contracts, trade marks, advertising).