Czecho-Slovak law firm opens Ukrainian office

PETERKA & PARTNERS, LLC, a Prague-based law firm, opened its first office in Kiev on June 15, 2006. The branch is the firm's second on international territory, the first being the branch opened in Bratislava in 2001. "Coming to Kiev is another step in our foreign expansion," said Ondrej Peterka, the firm's managing partner. The Kiev office employs 10 lawyers headed by Monika Hosková and Alexander Poels, and specialises in mergers and acquisitions, real estate, corporate and general commercial law and labour law. The team will also work in collaboration with the offices in Prague and Bratislava to provide complex legal services. Hosková graduated from the Law Department of Charles University in Prague and was admitted to the Czech bar in 2005. She has worked with Peterka & Partners since 2000. She speaks fluent Czech, English and French and has working knowledge of Slovak, Russian and Ukrainian. Her specialisations include commercial law, real estate, bankruptcy and labour law.Poels received Masters of Law degrees from the Faculty of Laws of the Katholieke Universiteit in Leuven, Belgium and from the University of Iceland's Faculty of Law in Reykjavik. He worked with Peterka & Partners in Bratislava almost two years prior to moving to Kiev. He is fluent in English, French and Dutch and has working knowledge of Spanish, German, Russian and Ukrainian. His focus is mainly on EU and International commercial and company law.Compiled by Spectator staff from press reports