Magister turns up the heat in Kiev with new COO

Competition in the legal hot spot of Ukraine is intensifying after Kiev-based Magister & Partners hired its first chief operating officer (COO) to boost its $22m (£10.92m) annual turnover.

Magister has given Jason Bruzdzinski a mandate to develop an aggressive growth plan for the Ukrainian firm. Bruzdzinski joins from the Mitre Corporation, which is a US-funded R&D centre.

Bruzdzinski was a senior adviser at Mitre for seven years and previously worked at the US House of Representatives.

Magister managing partner Oleg Riabokon said: "He'll work with myself and the executive committee to optimise management processes."

Ukraine has surfaced as an emerging legal market after CMS Cameron McKenna launched a series of raids to kick-start its new office in Kiev.