Insight

Staying Competitive in Competitions and Antitrust Law

Igor Svechkar of Asters talks with Best lawyers about his firm's 2019 Antitrust "Law Firm of the Year" award for Ukraine.

Asters Q&A Law Firm of the Year
Best Lawyers

Best Lawyers

February 8, 2019 12:39 PM

In an interview with Best Lawyers CEO Phillip Greer, Ukrainian Competition & Antitrust attorney Igor Svechkar of Asters discusses the changes coming to the Ukrainian legal market, the emerging influence of state aid programs, and his firm’s 2019 “Law Firm of the Year” award.

What inspired you to focus your expertise in this practice?

When I began my career back in late '90s, competition law in Ukraine was in its very early stages, and it wasn’t an area that was practiced exclusively. This left the field largely available, as it wasn’t saturated by other professionals.

I was inspired to take this on, to do competition analysis and competition work. For the first few years, I was primarily M&A lawyer, and competitions amounted to maybe 20 to 30 percent of my work. Later, perhaps three years into my practice, competitions grew to 100 percent of my work. Because of that, I started to develop this more focused practice, and to form a team. Eventually, other competition partners joined our firm.

The first competition law in Ukraine was adopted in 2001 and become effective in 2002, and I started my practice in 1998. Essentially, my work coincided with the introduction of this new legislation and my own interest in doing competition work. In part because of the proper timing, my work received a significant boost after the new law became effective. This law was modeled after the German law, and more aligned with the European principles, being completely different from the law existing before. This boosted competition-related work and the number of mandates we were receiving from international clients.


What achievements are you most proud of the past year that helped lead your firm to being named “Law Firm of the Year”?

I would say that we make achievements every year. We have the leading practice in Ukraine, we are twice as big as our closest competitor, and we are highly rated everywhere. We are doing both high-profile investigations and litigations in this area.

The last year was not an exception to this. We worked on a number of the most important transactions, litigations, and investigations by the competition authority. My team advised on some huge deals in agrochemicals, and my partner worked on environmental issues. Of course, we are very proud that our clients relied on us in these mega-mergers, which were quite significant for Ukraine as well, because agrochemicals are a very big market in our country. We also worked on a number of investigations in pharmaceuticals and energy, fuel, and in some other areas as well, including investigations into dominance and cartels.

We have the leading practice in Ukraine, we are twice as big as our closest competitor, and we are highly rated everywhere.

Another significant thing to happen was that Ukraine adopted state aid laws (also modeled after the European ones). So now we have this as a separate area. The law became effective in August 2017 and now it is in full force.

We are aiming to develop the state aid practice within our firm. The state aid area in Ukraine is also controlled by the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine, the national competition authority. We have a goal to become pioneers in this practice and establish ourselves as the leading state aid law firm.

Can you tell me about one or two landmark cases that were significant to you?

One of the landmark cases which I can mention would be a retail cartel case, which was investigated for roughly four years, and then litigated for another two years. That was an alleged hub-and-spoke cartel involving many retailers, and also ACNielsen, the marketing intelligence agency supplying information to this retail chain. They were accused of information exchange through which allegedly this retail chain colluded.

I represented METRO Cash & Carry in the investigation and litigation, and one of my partners represented ACNielsen. That was quite an interesting experience, involving lots of various evidence, information and also competition, economics, analysis, and other things.

It was litigated and we went through three stages, and then took off to the highest commercial court. When the court overturned the decision, we went again and finally we won for both clients. This is viewed as one of the landmark cases, because many substantive competition issues were explored by the competition authority in the courts in that case. They are now made precedents for many other incidents of competition enforcement in Ukraine.

What changes have you seen this past year? What do you see continuing to change, and how is that being affected by policy?

State aid would be the most significant one, but apart from that, the trend which we expect is that the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine will be more focused on the investigations similar to those which the United States authorities and the EC are doing.

So far, Ukrainian competition authority was very much focused on what they call social important markets (pharmaceutical, retail, gas stations etc.). However, now they are getting more appetite to investigate something similar to what the European Commission is doing with regard to Google and other technology markets, eCommerce, and other things.

We are hoping that the Ukrainian competition authority will be more focused on these areas. The AMC officers are already saying that they see the potential for these cases, because many practices of companies operating worldwide are the same both in Europe and in Ukraine.

[RELATED: Nomination deadline for the United Kingdom is February 18]

Also, we have two draft laws in the pipeline, amending the existing competition law. We expect at least one of them to be adopted within the nearest six months or so. This would be very important for competition practice, because these draft laws address due process and access to files and many other things which have not been properly regulated so far and which prevented the development of a coherent and consistent practice for the courts.

Related Articles

How This Firm Is Shaping the Economic Future of Ukraine


by Best Lawyers

Denis Lysenko discusses how AEQUO has helped build a new business environment.

An Interview With AEQUO

An Interview With Sayenko Kharenko


by Best Lawyers

Ukraine's 2020 “Law Firm of the Year” winner in Capital Markets Law

An Interview With Sayenko Kharenko

How AEQUO Is Embracing Legal Tech


by Best Lawyers

Anna Babych discusses AEQUO's 2019 Ukranian "Law Firm of the Year" award in Mergers & Acquisitions Law with Best Lawyers.

AEQUO "Law Firm of the Year" Interview

Davies Points to “Groupthink” as Contributor to Industry Stagnation


by Best Lawyers

The 2019 Canaidan "Law Firm of the Year" honoree for Competitions/Antitrust Law shares the keys to their success.

Davies "Law Firm of the Year" Q&A

Olga Prosyanyuk of Aver Lex on Her Criminal Defense Practice


by Best Lawyers

Aver Lex won the 2019 "Law Firm of the Year" award for Criminal Defense in Ukraine.

Meet Viktor Yanukovych's Lawyer

Announcing The Best Lawyers in Germany™ 2023


by Best Lawyers

The results include an elite field of top lawyers and firms from Germany.

Black, red and yellow stripes

Announcing The Best Lawyers in Switzerland™ 2023


by Best Lawyers

The results include an elite field of top lawyers and firms from Switzerland.

Red flag with white cross

Announcing The Best Lawyers in Austria™ 2023


by Best Lawyers

The results include an elite field of top lawyers and firms from Austria.

Red and white stripes

Announcing The Best Lawyers in Italy™ 2023


by Best Lawyers

The results include an elite field of top lawyers and firms from Italy.

Green, white and red stripes

A Message From Best Lawyers Regarding Ukraine and Russia Listings


by Best Lawyers

Best Lawyers is pausing all research efforts in Ukraine and Russia for 2023.

Ukraine and Russian Research Update

Announcing the 2022 Best Lawyers in Colombia™


by Best Lawyers

The results include an elite field of top lawyers and firms.

Announcing the 2022 Best Lawyers in Colombia™

Announcing the 2022 Best Lawyers in South Africa™


by Best Lawyers

The results include an elite field of top lawyers and firms.

Announcing 2022 Best Lawyers in South Africa

Announcing the 2022 Best Lawyers™ in Switzerland


by Best Lawyers

The results include an elite field of top lawyers and firms.

Announcing the 2022 Best Lawyers™ in Switzerl

Announcing the 2022 Best Lawyers™ in Germany


by Best Lawyers

The results include an elite field of top lawyers and firms, including our inaugural Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch recipients.

Announcing the 2022 Best Lawyers™ in Germany

Announcing the 2022 Best Lawyers™ in Austria


by Best Lawyers

The results include an elite field of top lawyers and firms.

Announcing the 2022 Best Lawyers™ in Austria

Announcing the 2022 Best Lawyers™ in Russia


by Best Lawyers

The results include an elite field of top lawyers and firms.

Announcing the 2022 Best Lawyers™ in Russia

Trending Articles

Announcing the 2023 The Best Lawyers in America Honorees


by Best Lawyers

Only the top 5.3% of all practicing lawyers in the U.S. were selected by their peers for inclusion in the 29th edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.

Gold strings and dots connecting to form US map

Announcing the 2022 Best Lawyers® in the United States


by Best Lawyers

The results include an elite field of top lawyers listed in the 28th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and in the 2nd Edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for 2022.

2022 Best Lawyers Listings for United States

2021 Best Lawyers: The Global Issue


by Best Lawyers

The 2021 Global Issue features top legal talent from the most recent editions of Best Lawyers and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch worldwide.

2021 Best Lawyers: The Global Issue

The U.S. Best Lawyers Voting Season Is Open


by Best Lawyers

The voting season for the 31st edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and the 5th edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America is officially underway, and we are offering some helpful advice to this year’s voters.

Golden figures of people standing on blue surface connected by white lines

How To Find A Pro Bono Lawyer


by Best Lawyers

Best Lawyers dives into the vital role pro bono lawyers play in ensuring access to justice for all and the transformative impact they have on communities.

Hands joined around a table with phone, paper, pen and glasses

What the Courts Say About Recording in the Classroom


by Christina Henagen Peer and Peter Zawadski

Students and parents are increasingly asking to use audio devices to record what's being said in the classroom. But is it legal? A recent ruling offer gives the answer to a question confusing parents and administrators alike.

Is It Legal for Students to Record Teachers?

How Palworld Is Testing the Limits of Nintendo’s Legal Power


by Gregory Sirico

Many are calling the new game Palworld “Pokémon GO with guns,” noting the games striking similarities. Experts speculate how Nintendo could take legal action.

Animated figures with guns stand on top of creatures

The Best Lawyers in Australia™ 2024 Launch


by Best Lawyers

Best Lawyers is excited to announce The Best Lawyers in Australia™ for 2023, including the top lawyers and law firms from Australia.

Australian Parliament beside water at sunset

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for 2023


by Best Lawyers

The third edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America™ highlights the legal talent of lawyers who have been in practice less than 10 years.

Three arrows made of lines and dots on blue background

Inflation Escalation


by Ashley S. Wagner

Inflation and rising costs are at the forefront of everyone’s mind as we enter 2023. The current volatile market makes it more important than ever to understand the rent escalation clauses in current and future commercial lease agreements.

Suited figure in front of rising market and inflated balloon

A Celebration of Excellence: The Best Lawyers in Canada 2024 Awards


by Best Lawyers

As we embark on the 18th edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada™, we are excited to highlight excellence and top legal talent across the country.

Abstract image of red and white Canada flag in triangles

8 Different Types of Criminal Defenses in Law


by Best Lawyers

Learn about the different types of criminal defenses available in law, including innocence, self-defense, insanity and more. Protect your rights today.

Silver handcuffs laying on finger printed papers

Wage and Overtime Laws for Truck Drivers


by Greg Mansell

For truck drivers nationwide, underpayment and overtime violations are just the beginning of a long list of problems. Below we explore the wages you are entitled to but may not be receiving.

Truck Driver Wage and Overtime Laws in the US

The Upcycle Conundrum


by Karen Kreider Gaunt

Laudable or litigious? What you need to know about potential copyright and trademark infringement when repurposing products.

Repurposed Products and Copyright Infringemen

Choosing a Title Company: What a Seller Should Expect


by Roy D. Oppenheim

When it comes to choosing a title company, how much power exactly does a seller have?

Choosing the Title Company As Seller

The 2024 Best Lawyers in Spain™


by Best Lawyers

Best Lawyers is honored to announce the 16th edition of The Best Lawyers in Spain™ and the third edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Spain™ for 2024.

Tall buildings and rushing traffic against clouds and sun in sky