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Another Seminal Case Won by BGI

On April 17, 2019, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Fady Asly, the Chairman of International Chamber of Commerce in Georgia, in a defamation case brought by a sitting judge. Asly had publicly criticized the Judge in connection with his highly controversial rulings issued against the foreign investors charging them almost USD 150 million. The Judge considered the criticism defamatory and filed a claim, which, if successful, could have potentially led to restrictions on free speech in Georgia.

After lengthy battles in Tbilisi City and the Appellate Courts, the Supreme Court reversed the decisions of the lower courts, fully rejected the defamation claim of Judge Vladimir Kakabadze, and ruled in favor of the Chairman of ICC Georgia, represented by BGI.

“This was a precedential case, and we are proud to have acted on this mandate. The Supreme Court shared our argument that freedom of expression is a fundamental right in any democratic society and the Judiciary should respect the different opinions and tolerate criticism,” noted George Sarajishvili, Head of BGI’s Litigation Practice who led the effort.

BGI Legal is ‘exceptional' in M&A, financing and real estate, and is especially prominent in the energy sector. Lasha Gogiberidze, whom clients regard as ‘the top lawyer in Georgia for banking, finance and capital markets transactions', and Sandro Bibilashvili handled a number of innovative regional energy projects and joint ventures, such as the Adjaristsqali hydropower project.

Legal 500 - 2017

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

The four-partner team at BGI Legal provides a ‘responsive, proactive and solution-oriented service to a wide range of international corporates both directly and on a referral basis from major international law firms; it has built a strong reputation acting for investors and lenders on many of the country s largest projects. The ‘excellent Lasha Gogiberidze has led the team s work in several major energy mandates, including advising an Asian investor on a hydropower project. Gogiberidze is also regularly involved in financing work, including inter-bank lending, regulatory lending (to comply with capital adequacy requirements) and capital markets work, where Unana Gogokhia is also establishing a strong reputation.

Legal 500 - 2016