Camerons names Kiev head at official office launch

CMS Cameron McKenna has appointed recent hire Adam Mycyk to run its new office in Ukraine, which opened officially yesterday (6 March).

While the firm has been operating in Kiev since last September, corporate partner Mycyk, who was lured from Chadbourne & Park last August, was named local managing partner at the office launch.

Camerons became the first City firm to move into the Eastern European country (The Lawyer, 17 September 2007) but will soon be joined by Clifford Chance, it was announced today. The magic circle firm plans to open an office in Kiev during the summer, led by Warsaw managing partner Nick Fletcher.

Mycyk welcomed the news that Clifford Chance was to move to the Ukrainian capital. "We think that's great," he said. "Now people will have two great English firms on the market."

Mycyk will head a Camerons team comprising five partners that joined from US and local firms last year, along with 30 associates. Camerons raided Baker & McKenzie, Chadbourne & Parke, local boutique Levenets Maciw & Partners and Ukraine's justice ministry for, respectively, corporate partner Olexander Martinenko, Mycyk, name partners Oleksiy Levenets and Christina Maciw, and corporate partner Daniel Bilak.

According to Mycyk the firm is looking into the possibility of making more lateral hires in Kiev. "We view Ukraine as having a huge amount of potential," he added.

The Kiev office of Camerons has doubled in size since September and has received work from clients such as HypoReal, Eurohypo and West LB.