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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.

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

Solid team with vast experience of handling a wide spectrum of corporate and commercial as well as financial matters. Particularly well versed in project finance and boasts an impressive track record in some of the country's biggest energy and infrastructure projects. Popular choice for prominent international and local clients, including financial institutions and corporates from an array of industry sectors. Clients are impressed with the team's approach, saying: "The best thing is their coming up with proactive advice and suggesting a structure. They are able to work under pressure and respond immediately." Another client adds: "As soon as we give them a project we don't need to double-check anything." Other typical comments are: "They are a top-tier firm on the market with highly skilled, efficient and solution-oriented lawyers."

Chambers Europe - 2017

Lasha Gogiberidze maintains an excellent reputation for his expertise in capital markets and project finance, handling some of the market's most prominent lending transactions. Clients highlight him as an "open-minded" practitioner who "always comes up with a good solution" and provides advice which is "straight to the point and concise." Zaza Bibilashvili has experience of handling some of the biggest mandates in the market, most recently advising on substantial real estate projects. He is also a noted practitioner in the dispute resolution arena.

Chambers Global - 2017