News date: 28 October 2022
Oleksandr Fefelov, the Partner, Attorney and the Head of Antitrust and Competition Practice at Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm, and Leonid Gilevich, Counsel, delivered speeches at the Х Annual Forum of Legal Counsels held on 26 October 2022 in Kyiv. The event was organized by Yurydychna Praktyka Publishing House.
In his report entitled “Shifting Priorities in the Work of the Company’s Legal Department” Leonid Gilevich highlighted the current problems in the field of employment, which legal departments have been facing since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation of Ukraine. He emphasized that most clients’ requests in this area were related to saving jobs and helping their own employees.
“Among the relevant challenges there are the organization of remote work of employees, especially those who have left Ukraine, the avoidance of double taxation of employees, giving employees the opportunity to work as volunteers, the departure of employees abroad on business trips, and others. Changes in labor legislation related to the martial law, as well as the experience that Ukrainian employees will gain abroad, will probably lead to even greater flexibility of labor relations in Ukraine, which will bring them closer to the needs of the market and the best international practices,” – Leonid Gilevich noted.
During the discussion of employment during the wartime, experts also discussed the current judicial practice in labor disputes, staff optimization of business, and analyzed the changes in labor legislation during the war.
Oleksandr Fefelov moderated the session “Interaction with External Legal Advisors” and raised the question of whether young lawyers and law students can plan their future related to the legal business in Ukraine.
The heads of law departments discussed the criteria for choosing an external legal advisor in the new conditions. The panelists also discussed the outsourcing of legal services by the companies for the provision of legal services during wartime and the competitive advantages between law firms.
The Х Annual Forum of Legal Counsels is a key specialized event of the year, serving as a platform for communication between and exchange of professional experience by the representatives of the law departments of the largest Ukrainian and international companies operating on the Ukrainian market, as well as significant players in the legal business and the government officials. Ilyashev & Partners was a strategic partner of the event.