In 2025, UZ will spend more on legal services than last year, but half as much as planned
22 November 2024 10:05
On November 13, the Service Center branch of Ukrzaliznytsia JSC signed an agreement with the British law firm Dechert LLP to provide services worth EUR 280 thousand, or UAH 12.91 million. According to information in the Prozorro system, the contract will be valid until the end of 2025, reports "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Nashi Hroshi.
What is stipulated by the contract
British lawyers will advise Ukrzaliznytsia on issues related to English law, legislation of other countries and its compliance with Ukrainian law. In particular, this applies to the following tasks
- structuring and restructuring of debt obligations;
- support of international financial leasing transactions;
- advising on foreign economic contracts;
- representation of the company’s interests in relations with creditors and public authorities to attract financing;
- corporate governance, personal data protection, intellectual property, antitrust and compliance issues.
It also involves participation in negotiations, drafting contracts, and interacting with authorities in various jurisdictions.
Payment details
The contract is for 1,600 hours of work at a mixed hourly rate of EUR 175. This amount covers fees, expenses for engaging third-party experts, travel, and technical support. For comparison, in 2022, the rate was EUR 125 (29% lower), and in 2021, EUR 252 (31% higher).
Half of the work will be performed by the Ukrainian law firm Asters. Its founders are Sergiy Sviriba, Hlib Bialyi, Igor Svechkar and others.
Follow us on Telegram: the main news in brief
The tender process
The expected value of the tender was UAH 26 million. Four companies took part in the tender:
- “Dechert LLP (UK),
- “Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (UK),
- “Baker McKenzie Ukraine B.V,
- and Ario Law Firm.
The offers of the latter two were initially close to the expected amount, while Dechert and Norton Rose Fulbright immediately offered significantly lower prices – UAH 16.09 million and UAH 17.76 million, respectively. As the bidding process progressed, the prices went down: Dechert’s final offer amounted to UAH 12.907 million, which allowed them to win. Formal savings relative to the expected amount amounted to 50%.
Why did Dechert offer such a low price?
The ProZorro system identified Dechert’s price as abnormally low. The company justified this by citing its longstanding cooperation with Ukrzaliznytsia in the capital markets. The company was able to optimize costs thanks to its established document templates and deep understanding of UZ’s business. Additional savings were achieved by engaging Asters as a subcontractor with flexible hourly rates.
In total, since 2019, Dechert has signed contracts with Ukrzaliznytsia worth UAH 25.27 million.
Follow us on Telegram: main news in brief
