Paine Stevens is headquartered in Tbilisi, Georgia with a focus on English law governed transactions in the three Caucasian (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia) and five Central Asian (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) republics of the former Soviet Union and in the Republic of Turkey.
We are also active in countries outside this region, assisting our clients on projects in Africa, South Asia, South-East Asia, the Middle East and Mongolia.
Georgia is an ideal location, being one of the most business friendly jurisdictions in the region with a liberal legal regime. It is critical for us and for our clients that we be in close proximity to where our transactions take place as well as staying in touch with developments in the market, whether legal, political or economic.
Tbilisi is also located in a convenient time zone, meaning that within our area of operation there is no more than a 2-hour time difference between Tbilisi and each of Almaty and Istanbul and for clients based outside the region there is no more than a 4-hour time difference between Tbilisi and each of Hong Kong, Singapore and London.
Our firm practises English law. We are nevertheless very familiar with the legal and practical challenges that exist in each jurisdiction. We do not seek to practise local law; rather we cooperate with the best local law firms in the region. In almost all cases we have met local counsel personally and have previously worked with them on transactions and/or advice.
Our relationships with local law firms are non-exclusive. This enables us in each case to work with our client’s preferred local legal counsel and to select the lawyers most appropriate for the transaction.