VB Partners positions itself as a boutique firm specializing in white-collar crime and dispute resolution and is a vivid example of how a niche law firm may compete with big companies and succeed.
However, life priorities of Denys Bugay, the co-founder of law firm, are not limited to legal practice, because Denys is a well-known public figure. He was heading in 2013-2017 the Ukrainian Bar Association and is today aspiring to this position, having the global goal – to bring the Bar Association out of the systemic crisis, unite it and strengthen its leverage on the processes taking place in Ukraine.
Denys Bugay told to Ukrainskyi Yuryst Magazine about how strategic goals and their implementation change nowadays:
Your company is positioning itself as a legal boutique. What advantages do you see in this law firm format and on what basis you determine the niches, which you work in?
We held several strategic sessions and discussions and the whole team supported our approach.
Boutique is our answer to growing competition. The main advantage of such a strategy is an ability to engage only in your favorite practice. In this way, an extra level of expertise and, as a consequence, a high level of profitability is achieved. Legal Practice rating shows that TOP-5 companies have more revenue than 50 Bronze League companies. The indicators of these companies (number of lawyers, turnover, character and size of projects) are impressive. However, if you take income of one partner / lawyer, then the situation is not so clear. A small, balanced team may show a high financial result. Profitability is another argument in favor of specialization.
Boutique’s strategy allows you to significantly save resources, time, marketing costs, PR and office team. At the same time, it requires higher payment to lawyers. I should pay higher than market. A specialized law firm raises higher requirements to a lawyer, as to his professionalism, skills and personal qualities: stress tolerance, ability to simultaneously work with a large number of projects. Special skills include conflict management and ability not to lose motivation in an aggressive environment. The main resource and value of VB PARTNERS are its lawyers. Our colleagues are the progressive specialists with high ratings and recognition, and also combine professionalism and innovation.
Decision to reduce specialization was not taken in one day. This was the common decision of the entire VB PARTNERS team. We held several strategic sessions, a dozen of discussions, which resulted in a new vision and strategy. Practice shows that we were not mistaken, and just in a year we improved exponentially our results and not only financial ones.
Our expertise is recognized by all international and national research. We were awarded Band 2 by Chambers Europe in White-collar crime practice. Legal 500 consistently mentioned us in Dispute Resolution, and 4 our lawyers are recommended by Best Lawyers in two practices, being very important for us, as well as we are highly appraised by “Who is Who Legal” in respect of business protection, etc.
In addition, thanks to the support of our team and projects, which we took on, last year, I was awarded as the best lawyer in criminal cases within the frame of Yurydychna Premia (Legal Award).
One of the key specializations of VB Partners is the White-Collar Crime practice. Who are your clients, what exactly is the help in such matters?
Our clients are both corporations, their top managers and shareholders, as well as individuals, including the politically exposed person (PEP).
The main thing is that our client understands the value of quality legal aid, and does not expect the lawyer to provide “mediation” services. Yes, sometimes our services are more expensive than “the price of solving an issue,” but we guarantee an exit from trap, rather than falling into the needle of constant fear and extortion.
If we divide the practice into elements, we emphasize as follows: helping business corporations in communications with law enforcement agencies (including searches, interrogations), representing interests in cases where our client already has or is at risk to obtain the status of a suspect.
A separate direction is to protect victims. As a rule, it is the persons suffered from fraud, including business. It should be noted in respect of this category that lawyer possesses restricted tools to efficiently protect his/her client. We stand for the introduction of a private prosecution function, as in other countries.
Sufficiently large scope of our work relates to extraordinary affairs and work connected with Interpol, in particular: avoidance of search, removal from search through an appeal mechanism, etc.
Introduction of such a new anti-corruption infrastructure as National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has actually created a new sub-practice – representative office in the cases related to non-declared incomes, illegal enrichment and embezzlement of state resources. The objects of investigation are both PEP themselves, and the business, earning on state orders.
Only adherence to defense strategy, active work on gathering evidence, and a clear and understandable public position are important in the anti-corruption cases. Frequent change of political regimes in country “nulls” previous agreements. It also forms an understanding of importance of legal component. If case was closed illegally, without proper legal substantiation, then it provides an opportunity to reanimate it.
Our lawyers are recognized national experts in cross-border investigations. We are experienced in prosecuting the same case simultaneously in 6 jurisdictions. There are many cases related to activity and prosecution regarding participation in money laundering. As a rule, these investigations take place in Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, Baltic States.
In addition, as part of WCC practice, we actively carry out corporate investigations, form the evidence base and ensure bringing a perpetrator both to legal and property liability. Investigation may concern both an internal fraudster (starting with a storekeeper and ending with the CFO or CEO), and dishonest partners and counterparties. Often such investigations are not restricted to the country. Sometimes we conduct investigations on the orders of our foreign colleagues to form the evidence base for courts in foreign jurisdictions.
A new edition of the Law “On Legal Practice and Advocacy” is being currently actively discussed by the advocacy community (Draft Law 9055). What is your attitude to proposed innovations?
I am a supporter of the abovementioned Draft Law. It solves fundamental things – both in terms of guarantees and rights, exams, and in the part of self-government.
The main advantage is an expansion of our professional rights and guarantees.
We, attorneys, will gain considerable additional rights to collect evidence. We will be provided with the right of access to the client at anytime and anywhere. Unconditional right of technical fixing of investigative action is introduced without any permission of investigator or prosecutor.
In recent times it has become very popular among the law enforcement agencies to come with searches to lawyers’ offices. Of course, it is easy – to come to our office, to pick up materials and build accusations.
In turn, the above Draft Law stipulates that a lawyer may be searched only, if he/she is personally suspected of committing a crime!
Another very important norm consists in total prohibition to fix the lawyer’s communication with his/her client. If such a fixation occasionally happened, the data obtained as a result thereof may not be used as evidence. It is also important that lawyer is given an access to all state registers, except for state secrets, but only within the limits of his/her professional functions.
Are the risks, contained in the Draft Law, worthy of being taken into account by lawyers?
I do not see in the Draft Law the risks, which we could not correct between the first and second readings. The greatest debate is caused by the rules on abuse of rights. I am sure we may find a balance and remove any potential risks of using these rules against a lawyer.
You have headed the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA) in 2013-2017 and recently you were elected for the third term. What goals do you set before the Ukrainian Bar Association and what is its future?
I remember the Ukrainian Bar Association, when the number of events, held by the Bar Association, equaled dozens, and number of members equaled hundreds. Today, our influential professional community organizes and holds more than 300 events per year, and we unite more than 6,000 members. Of course, it is unpleasant for me to see how our influence over the legal processes in the state diminishes in the last years, and we do not see the results of the activity of our committees and regional centers in the media.
Likeminded people and desire to bring the Bar Association into a new orbit of influence inspired me personally and our entire team to run for leadership.
We are going to finish what we started. We want to introduce a completely new management system. A part of functions and powers of the UBA’s President and Management Board should be transferred to CEO, the head of executive body. Today, the President and Management Board are the actually executive bodies, which are involved in day-to-day activities. The latter should become political bodies which determine the strategy, priorities and monitor the Secretariat’s activities. Daily work should be performed by full-time professionals. The next step is to decentralize and strengthen regional network. We plan to introduce regional managers and open the UBA’s offices in Lviv, Kharkiv, Odessa.
Upcoming elections are not so much election of people as an answer to the question “Who are we?” Another NGO in the legal field which is funded by grants? Or an independent, financially self-sufficient association of professional lawyers who practice law every day (regardless of profession) and change legal landscape by introducing the rule of law? I am a supporter of the second position. The UBA is a community of professionals, not professional activists!
If we talk about global goals, then I emphasize three “megaprojects” – (1) independence of justice, (2) legal education, (3) advocacy.
We are talking about the independence and consolidation of justice in a broad sense of this word. Improving the competitive procedures for selecting judges, increasing their transparency shall be the basis of trust in justice. Functioning of the High Judicial Qualifications Commission of Ukraine (HJQCU) and High Judicial Council (HJC), further improvement of the Honesty Social Council (HSC) Institute will be the key points of our community’s attention!
The main objective of legal education is the only graduation exam for all lawyers (as in the US and Germany), regardless of specialization. The future lawyer, judge, prosecutor, detective, legal adviser, investigator of the State Bureau of Investigations should have a single qualification level and quality of training. And introduction of a single standard should ensure the applied nature of education.
The reform of the Bar Institution was and remains our priority. We, lawyers, should not be afraid of change. The law of 2012 launched important changes in the system of self-government, but it is time to move on.
What do you think the lawyer community should do that its influence on the process of reforming the Bar becomes more powerful and informative?
Let’s talk frankly, the Bar is in a systemic crisis. Society does not understand our role and constantly allows to identify a lawyer and a client. The state and law-enforcement bodies have no respect for our professional rights. We have no influence on legal situation and legislation in criminal justice. Lawyers are removed from self-government, do not believe in change.
Is it possible to change it? Yes. We need to concentrate on three tasks:
Firstly, to form a strategy aimed at developing the Ukrainian bar. This is the responsibility of the self-government leaders, who prioritize community goals over their own interests and ambitions, and leaders, who will not use disciplinary responsibility against those who are ready to express their position.
Secondly, to normatively strengthen our professional rights and guarantees. To involve broad masses of lawyers, human rights centers and international institutions, mass media and politicians, who understand what the right to protection is, to protect such professional rights and guarantees.
Thirdly, to make possible participation of all lawyers in the self-government. To remove any artificial barriers, to elect and be elected as much as possible to the governing bodies. To introduce a rotation in the self-government management. Self-management is the responsibility, but not privilege or profession. To make functioning and use of lawyers resources transparent.
What plans for this year have VB Partners and you personally?
There is a clear plan not only for 2019, but for the next 3-5 years. In January, we held with the core of our team a series of strategic sessions and meetings, which clarified our vision and priorities.
Firstly, it is strengthening and expanding our team. Today we are already 17. Our goal is to increase the number of projects, ensure maximum efficiency of their management, without losing the extra level of quality as achieved today.
Secondly, it is a further work in harmonizing the internal business processes. We will formalize, standardize and maximally refine them. Building a knowledge management system is a new challenge for us.
Thirdly, it is foreign clients and arbitration practice. Our current priority is the customers from Europe and the USA. Last year, I and Vladimir Vashchenko made a number of foreign trips. So, I became on a special invitation one of the speakers of the Annual Convention of the Association of Attorneys of Israel, where I discussed together with the leading experts from the USA and Israel the issues related to an international criminal investigation. In addition, I spoke at the Minsk Legal Forum, IBA Europe-Caucasus-Asia conference in Kazakhstan, where I discussed the reform of legal profession in Ukraine. The trip to the IBA Annual Conference in Rome showed us a great interest in our company by the law firms from Switzerland, Austria, United Kingdom and United States. We held together with Volodymyr dozens of personal meetings with their partners and identified the points of development of relationships. We see a clear perspective! We scheduled to hold again in 2019 several road shows.
As to arbitration practice, we are today involved in two investment disputes in the ICSID: one against Ukraine, another against the Republic of Belarus. We will try to capitalize acquired knowledge and skills.
This year, our lawyer Denys Shkarovsky was promoted to the status of adviser. Accordingly, this will also affect our activity. Denys should concentrate on increased complexity litigations, projects on business protection. His separate examination embraces compliance and anti-fraud. He provides services in investigating embezzlement and corruption in companies, protecting business and its beneficiaries from the counterparty’s unlawful actions, and bringing fraudsters to responsibility. He also audits clients’ security system and business model in respect of the existence of criminal law risks.
According to my personal plans, work in the Ukrainian Bar Association will be a key one for me, outside of VB Partners. Bar Association has always been for me one of my life priorities.
