RULG-Ukrainian Legal Group, P.A.

For more than three years the USUBC Legal Committee, composed of international and local law firms and in-house counsel of the USUBC corporate members, has carried out an on-going pro bono project on the White Paper on Legal and Governance Reform in Ukraine: Strategic Priorities / Business and Economic Sector. The previous editions of the White Paper were prepared in cooperation with various distinguished organizations and experts. In 2017 we are working on the Third Edition of the White Paper - this time jointly with the newly established UkraineInvest (Ukraine Investment Promotion Office), an independent institution tasked with substantially improving the ease of doing business in Ukraine and promoting Ukraine globally.

The White Paper editions, and the conferences that follow each release, indeed made a substantive contribution to the reform process in Ukraine: many of our ideas have been reflected in the reform agenda of the Supreme Rada, the Cabinet of Ministers and Presidential Administration, have been cited in multiple publications and at conferences, and were relied upon by the civic society, business community, think-tanks, international institutions, diplomatic community, and many other stakeholders.

The White Paper has always focuses on the systemic high-level view of the entire reform process in two aspects: fundamental and key sectors. In preparing the First and Second Edition of the White Paper we made our reform proposals based on the analytical approach. For the Third Edition, however, we agreed to work from the practical angle first, in cooperation with UkraineInvest, later summarizing this practical experience in combination with analytical thinking in the White Paper. As our work progresses, more information about the Third Edition of the White Paper will be posted at Legal Reforms Publications

The Second Edition of the White Paper was presented at the second Conference on Legal and Governance Reform on 30 October 2015 at the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE). Approximately 100 representatives of the legal, business and diplomatic community, civic society, academia, the Government, the National Bank and the Presidential Administration of Ukraine gathered to discuss the proposed reforms. You may download the White Paper in English and Ukrainian. You may also view the Conference Program in English and Ukrainian. The conference can be watched on YouTube

The First Edition of the White Paper was presented at the first Conference on Legal and Governance Reform on 15 October 2014 at the Kyiv School of Economics. The conference can be watched (starts with 30:30) on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDerRFMCKeY. The final Program is available here. The media coverage by Yurydychna Gazeta is available in PDF format here. The English and Ukrainian versions of the White Paper are at USUBC Web site.

In 2006 our law firm founded the ECA (Europe-Caucuses-Asia) Legal Forum, which has evolved into the main platform in the ECA region for the wide-scale gathering of leading business lawyers, becoming as of 2015 a part of the International Bar Association (IBA).
It was highly symbolic that the first Forum of the new reincarnation - the 2016 IBA Europe-Caucasus-Asia Forum (IBA ECA Forum) - was successfully held in Ukraine, where is started more than ten years ago. On 15-19 June 2016 it brought together over 100 leaders in the legal profession from 27 countries.
The Forum was hosted by Kiev and Lviv, which are among the most exciting cities in Europe, bustling with business and cultural activity.
Detailed information about the IBA ECA Forum 2016 is at
http://www.ibanet.org/Conferences/
conf741.aspx
A video about ECA Forum coming to Ukraine can be watched at
https://vimeo.com/165113825
and a short film summarizing results of the Forum can be watched at
https://vimeo.com/176326210