In any significant dispute, you cannot afford to leave success to chance. ENGARDE goes to the heart of each client’s matter — managing it with clarity, objectivity, and purpose. We do not waste time or reputation on tactical posturing. We pursue satisfactory resolution through negotiation, litigation, or arbitration — whichever path best serves your interests.

Our lawyers bring combined experience across many fields of law and industry. That depth allows us to identify the most appropriate strategy for each specific matter and develop the right solution — efficiently and without unnecessary complexity.

We regularly work alongside clients and counsel in other jurisdictions. Our professionals maintain close working relationships across North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia, and are frequently engaged in multi-jurisdictional disputes and the enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitration awards. Those relationships allow us to assemble the right team to address any matter with an international dimension — seamlessly and without delay.

Litigation

Whatever the area of law, industry, or type of dispute, we begin by understanding our client’s strategic objectives — and their business. The collective expertise of our litigation team is then mobilised to respond rapidly, effectively, and cost-efficiently. We conduct an initial risk assessment at the outset to develop a winning strategy focused on optimal results. We also advise on transactions to minimise post-closing litigation exposure.

We regularly represent clients in matters including:

  • commercial disputes
  • administrative & tax litigation
  • civil rights protection
  • intellectual property litigation
  • corporate & shareholders’ disputes
  • cross-border litigation
  • defamation & media
  • banking litigation
  • labour disputes

From the most junior to the most senior, our litigators are strong advocates with proven skills across all levels of the Ukrainian court system — including local, appellate, high specialised courts, and the Supreme Court of Ukraine.

International arbitration

For many clients, arbitration has become the preferred method of resolving international commercial disputes. It offers significant advantages over litigation in public courts — including privacy, the ability to select the tribunal, flexible procedures, internationally enforceable awards, and finality.

Members of our arbitration practice group have acted as counsel in numerous international arbitrations, both ad hoc and institutional, conducted under the rules of the world’s leading arbitration institutions, including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, the Vienna International Arbitral Centre, and under UNCITRAL Rules. We also have extensive experience in proceedings before the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICAC at the UCCI).

ENGARDE is one of the few Ukrainian law firms with substantial experience in investment arbitration, having advised clients in disputes arising under international law and bilateral investment treaties.

Irina Nazarova serves as an arbitrator in major disputes across various arbitration institutions. She has been elected as Ukraine’s representative on the Commission on Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris.

Alternative dispute resolution

Where appropriate, we encourage amicable dispute resolution to avoid the financial, reputational, and other risks associated with litigation. Our lawyers are trained in a range of ADR techniques and experienced in identifying which process will best resolve the dispute at hand. Our services include principled negotiation, mediation, early neutral intervention, mini-trial, and other forms of ADR.

Protection of human rights

Our lawyers have experience handling a broad range of cases before the Ukrainian courts and the European Court of Human Rights, dealing with individual liberty and the protection of business assets and other property rights. We have advised clients on various aspects of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Constitution of Ukraine.