BGI is delighted to announce that the firm's partner Sandro Bibilashvili has passed the New York State Bar exam and was admitted to the New York State Bar in August 2016.

Admission to the New York State Bar allows attorneys to practice law in the State of New York. Only a handful of Georgian attorneys have ever been admitted to the NY Bar. Sandro will be the second member of BGI team (the first being the firm's founding partner Lasha Gogiberidze) to be admitted to practice law in New York which puts the firm in the unique position on the Georgian legal market to have two dually qualified (Georgia and NY State) lawyers. 

“This will no doubt boost our international practice and reinforce BGI's leading position on the market,” says Bibilashvili.

BGI Legal has just won a landmark case on behalf of Coca-Cola Bottlers Georgia, the largest bottler and distributor of soft drinks in Georgia. The Supreme Court of Georgia granted BGI's application to refuse recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award rendered by an ad hoc tribunal seated in London. 

The Supreme Court ruled that the arbitration award was not subject to recognition and enforcement under the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards on the grounds that the award contained decisions on matters beyond the scope of the submission to arbitration.

“The ruling of the Supreme Court of Georgia proves that the courts of Georgia are ready to apply international standards to recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and follow best practices in this field”, says Sandro Bibilashvili who led BGI's team to this success. “We believe that this decision will serve as a guideline for practitioners and increase the level of certainty for parties seeking enforcement of arbitration awards”, noted Mr. Bibilashvili.

Following a complex legal battle on behalf of a multinational confectionery giant Ferrero, BGI has achieved registration of a trademark based on exceptional legal grounds – ‘distinctiveness acquired through use'.

The Georgian Trademark Authority has ruled that the sales volumes and advertising campaign conducted by Ferrero in Georgia enables Georgian customers to identify the requested trademark with respective goods.

“This will certainly be a landmark case, providing valuable guidance for other practitioners as well as courts in this area of IP law”, says George Sarajishvili who led BGI's team to this success.

BGI Legal has recently advised the joint lead managers – Barclays Bank PLC and J.P. Morgan Securities plc – in connection with refinancing of Eurobonds issued by JSC Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation (GOGC) in 2012.

The transaction involved the tender offer for the Notes due 2017 and the new issuance of the US$250,000,000 6.750% Notes due in 2021. The Notes were offered in reliance on Regulation S and Rule 144A under the U.S. Securities Act and are listed on the London Stock Exchange.

GOGC is the sole “national oil company” of Georgia, wholly-owned by the State of Georgia.