RULG-Ukrainian Legal Group, P.A.

Irina Paliashvili began her private practice in 1992 by founding one of the first private law firms in Kiev and expanded by co-founding a private law firm in Moscow. In 1995, she founded the Washington-based RULG-Ukrainian Legal Group, P.A., where she serves as the President and Senior Counsel. Before going into private practice, Dr. Paliashvili served as General Counsel (International) to two major companies in Ukraine. In 1991, Dr. Paliashvili completed a six-month assignment with a prominent Chicago law firm as a part of the American Bar Association's Soviet Lawyers Internship Program followed by a four-month assignment in Frankfurt working with a leading German law. She has also served as a Professor of Law at the Kiev State University Law School. Dr. Paliashvili graduated with high honors from the Kiev State University School of International Law and received a Ph.D. in Private International Law from the same school. She also holds an LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from George Washington University. Dr. Paliashvili frequently speaks at international conferences on the legal and business climates in Ukraine and other countries of the CIS economic region. Her articles regularly appear in leading professional publications in the United States and Europe. Dr. Paliashvili is licensed to practice Ukrainian law as a Special Legal Consultant in the District of Columbia and is a member of the Kiev Bar, the American Bar Association, the Washington Foreign Law Society, the Committee on Non-Member Economies of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC), the Congress of Fellows of the Center for International Legal Studies, Russian International Law Association, the International Trademark Association (INTA), and other professional organizations. Dr. Paliashvili is a Member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Legal Affairs Group of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council and represents Ukraine at the Advisory Board of Best Lawyers®. Dr. Paliashvili is the founder and Co-Chair of the CIS Local Counsel Forum, the informal network of managing and senior partners of leading business law firms from the CIS economic region. She was individually designated as recommended corporate and M&A practitioner in Ukraine by the PLC Which Lawyer?. Dr. Paliashvili has special expertise in the area of oil and gas, intellectual property protection, commercial dispute settlement and mediation. She is a mediator trained and certified by the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution in New York and a member of its International Panel of Distinguished Neutrals. Dr. Paliashvili is fluent in English, Ukrainian, Russian, Georgian, and Spanish. She divides her working time between Washington, D.C. and Kiev. E-mail: irinap@rulg.com