GRATA International

The firm

GRATA International is an international law firm, founded on 22 April 1992.

Today, clients have more than 200 professionals in 21 countries at their disposal. GRATA International is a global team representing different countries and nationalities and which has experience advising on all areas of law.

The firm’s competitive advantages include a wide network of offices mostly covering Eurasia, optimal price and quality ratio, and understanding of the local mentality of doing business. The opportunity to utilise resources without regional boundaries enables it to increase the cost-effectiveness and the efficiency of services provided.

Areas of practice

Contract: commercial agreements; legal support for the participation in procurement procedures; legal support of infrastructure projects and PPP projects; special economic zones.

Corporate: antitrust l?w; apostile/legalisation of documents to be provided to state authorities; corporate changes; corporate governance; defence against hostile takeovers; development of foundation documents; incorporation; liquidation.

Data protection and privacy: DD of internal documents of companies for compliance with legal requirements on data protection; advising on different IT law issues (data protection, data localisation).

Dispute resolution: representing in courts; protection against illegal takeover; pretrial dispute settlement; representation in arbitration proceedings; legal support during enforcement proceedings; enforcement of court acts and arbitral awards; injunctive relief measures in foreign arbitrage proceedings; legal due diligence including internal investigations.

Environment: environmental disputes and liability for environmental violations; environmental due diligence; environmental requirements in contractual practice.

Finance and securities: aircraft; maritime and railcar finance and leasing; bank and corporate lending; banking and insurance disputes; bond offerings; derivatives; financial services regulation; foreign direct investment; M&A; debt restructuring and insolvency.

International trade, customs and WTO: customs regulations; taxes and customs duties at import and export of goods.

Intellectual property: pre-trial protection of intellectual property rights; registration of intellectual property rights.

Employment: audit and development of employment documentation; engaging foreign labour in Kazakhstan; instruction on hiring, changing working conditions and termination of employment agreements.

Licences and permits: advising on licensing of company activities; obtaining/renewing licences in the industry and trade sectors; obtaining/advising on permits; advising on sanitary and epidemiological requirements; ratios of components in food and non-food items.

Project finance and public-private partnerships (PPP): structuring the PPP scheme, determining most effective implementation schemes, negotiations with state authorities; legal due diligence; drafting and harmonisation of agreements including PPP contracts and concession agreements.

Real estate: registration and transfer and lease of immovable property; application of international standard construction contracts in Kazakhstan; real estate acquisition and registration.

Restructuring and insolvency: debt restructuring and general insolvency advice; insolvency and related litigation, filing for rehabilitation/bankruptcy; representing creditors and debtors within rehabilitation/bankruptcy procedures.

Subsoil use: contract for drilling works and other services agreements exploration and production of minerals; Kazakhstani content requirements relating to procurement; personal taxation; pledge of a subsoil use right.

Tax: appealing tax audit results and tax litigation; corporate taxation and tax planning; tax due diligence; VAT refund from the state budget; representation of companies’ interests in courts; international arbitration.

In 2014, GRATA International Kazakhstan underwent the certification procedure for Quality Management System and received ISO 9001:2009 certificate. The firm also has professional indemnity insurance for legal services. In 2019, GRATA International was registered on the territory of Astana International Financial Centre in accordance with its existing laws and received license AFSA-A-LA-2019-0010.