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Expertise. Experience. Efficiency.

Giorgi Sarajishvili

Giorgi (George) Sarajishvili is a Partner at BGI Advisory Services Georgia. Mr. Sarajishvili joined the firm in September 2010. He holds  LL.M degree in International Commercial Law from Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherland and Executive Master degree from Berkeley Law School, the USA.

Prior to joining the firm Mr. Sarajishvili served as a Senior Specialist at the Division of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. His responsibilities covered intergovernmental negotiations and reporting to international organizations. Professional experience of Mr. Sarajishvili includes a practice at the Office of the State Minister for Civil Integration Issues (short-term contractual employee) and Tbilisi City Court (legal intern).

Mr. Sarajishvilis practice areas cover litigation, arbitration, intellectual property, taxation and corporate law. His notable engagements include the following:

  • Represented the interests of foreign investors operating in various fields of business in Georgian Courts;
  • Represented foreign companies in local procedures for recognition and enforcement of foreign awards;
  • Advised and represented Apple, Facebook, Hewlett-Packard, Ferrero group, Amazon.com, Sony Corporation and other international companies on Intellectual Property matters;
  • Represented a client in the biggest ever (from financial standpoint) matrimonial case in Georgia;
  • Represented the interests of one of the largest companies in Georgia (producer of fertilizers) concerning a dispute over the legality of auctioning all its assets (worth over USD 100 mln) by the creditor (local bank); 
  • Successfully established the court practice on veil piercing in private disputes in a case representing the interests of a subsidiary of the international commodity giant Glencore;
  • In representing the interests of Facebook.Inc, established a court practice on the cancellation of domain names incorporating a trademark;
  • Successfully completed two landmark cases in favour of multinational confectionary giant Ferrero Group, establishing standards for: a) the registration of a trademark which "acquired distinctiveness through usage," b) the exception from general prohibition of the registration of a geographical indication as a trademark;
  • Revised a taxation section of the Prospectus of the Georgian Government for the issuance of sovereign debt securities at an amount of USD 500 mln;
  • Revised a taxation section of the Prospectus of a Georgian bank for the issuance of Securities for the London Stock Exchange;
  • Represented the Georgian Government in bilateral negotiations with the European Commission on Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements.

Mr. Sarajishvili was a successful participant at international moot court competitions - Vis International Commercial Moot Arbitration (Vienna, Austria), Jessup Moot Court Competition (Washington, the USA), Price International Media Law Moot Court Competition (Oxford, Great Britain), Central and Eastern European Moot Competition (Poznan, Poland), etc.

Together with his native Georgian, Mr. Sarajishvili is fluent in English and Russian.

A leading figure in capital markets and M&A, Lasha Gogiberidze has an enviable track record of acting on the market's highlight deals, primarily advising banks, including international developmental institutions. He wins praise for his responsiveness and is described as "very client-focused and understanding of our needs."

 

Chambers Global - 2018

"One of the leading firms in Georgia adept at both finance and corporate work". Client feedback: "Very good law firm for this jurisdiction. Strong knowledge." - Banking and finance, Restructuring and insolvency. Of Lasha Gogiberidze: "Good communication skills, responsive." Previous comments have included: "BGI Legal is one of the leading firms in Georgia adept at both finance and corporate work...Very good law firm for this jurisdiction...very knowledgeable, they get the job done on time and on budget". Lasha Gogiberidze is described as "prompt and quick to point out problems and pitfalls".

IFLR1000 - 2018

Zaza Bibilashvili is able to suggest winning strategies and is active across a range of contentious and non-contentious work, including real estate and intellectual property matters. Previous comments include: BGI Legal fields ‘a team of true professionals with good knowledge of law and a proper understanding of business needs`. It provides full-service support to leading multinational and Georgian clients, handling general legal matters alongside more complex financing, M&A, dispute resolution and capital markets mandates.

Legal 500 - 2016