Leveraging the knowledge of a number of highly experienced partners, the ‘responsive and knowledgeable’ team at BGI Legal has the critical mass and level of expertise to handle a broad range of mandates for lenders and borrowers. The firm is ’an ideal choice on cross-border transactions involving a Georgian element’ because of its ability to effectively meld strong local knowledge with an international mindset. Dual New York and Georgian qualified Lasha Gogiberidze has the ‘ability to effectively handle challenging legal issues that financial institutions in Georgia may encounter,’ including capital markets and project finance work. Unana Gogokhia is adept at handling debt and equity capital markets work for issuers and underwriters, which she combines with a more general finance offering. The team is rounded out by Sandro Bibilashvili, who excels at handing project and energy financing transactions.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'The team is very responsive and knowledgeable.'

  • 'The lawyers are dedicated problem solvers, lateral thinkers, and are always willing to consider new approaches and angles.'

  • 'The BGI team is highly experienced in the Georgian market, making them a reliable and quality choice. It is an ideal choice on cross-border transactions involving a Georgian element.'

  • 'Lasha Gogiberidze possesses the ability to effectively handle challenging legal issues that financial institutions in Georgia may encounter.'

  • 'Unana Gogokhia is always available, easy to reach, responsive, and had in depth knowledge that she could apply to our case.'

  • 'The partners were reachable throughout the assignment and the team has been accommodating client requests.'

  • 'Unana and her team were more than happy to guide our team throughout the process, they were always available to answer questions and provide information, attend meetings with us and/or with our counterparty, advise what would be the best way for us to proceed.'

  • 'Unana is definitely the team member who is worth a special mention. She was always available, easy to reach, swift in responding, answerable to the work product and had in depth knowledge that she could apply to our case. We felt very comfortable working with her and the BGI team.'

Key clients

  • Binance
  • EFSE
  • Green for Growth Fund
  • Global Climate Partnership Fund
  • ResponsAbility Investments AG
  • 4finance
  • Citi
  • Jeffrey’s
  • Merrill Lynch
  • J.P. Morgan
  • Barclays
  • BNP Paribas
  • UBS
  • Goldman Sachs
  • Société Générale
  • Ceska exportni banka a.s.
  • Amsterdam Trade Bank
  • East-West United Bank
  • Procredit Bank
  • IQ option
  • MoneyGram
  • Western Union
  • Mastercard
  • AC Maritime Lending
  • ACT Maritime LLC
  • Liberty Bank
  • Coinbase
  • TBC Bank
  • E-Toro
  • Alipay
  • Bitgo
  • Bene Shipping & Star Shipping

Work highlights

  • Advised a multilateral development bank on its debut issuance of GEL denominated bonds.
  • Advised a number of lenders managed by a leading alternative capital provider to the shipping industry on financing of the borrower's acquisition of sea vessels, with a total value of the deals over $40bn.
  • Advised a leading fintech platform on licensing and consumer protection regimes in Georgia.

Lawyers

Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Lasha Gogiberidze, Unana Gogokhia

Other key lawyers

Sandro Bibilashvili