Following its development strategy aimed to the West, Integrites International Law Firm announced the joining of three partners from Gide Loyrette Nouel – one of the key events of such scale over the last few years. The three partners – Julian Ries ph.d., Oleksiy Feliv ph.d., and Oleg Zagnitko ph.d.– with a 13-strong team join Integrites in October 2015. The partners have more than 12 years of experience in international law firms Gide Loyrette Nouel and Beiten Burkhardt. The merger will allow Integrites to consolidate best practices in banking and finance, real estate and construction, corporate law, M&A, and significantly expand the range of services offered, as well as to become a leading advisor on major projects in Europe and the CIS. The new team will be the basis for Integrites European Desk, led by Oleksiy Feliv, and will focus on supporting clients from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and Italy. At the same time, Integrites opens an office in Munich, which will be headed by former co-head of the office of Gide Loyrette Nouel in Kiev – Julian Ries. The expanded firm, with its staff increased to 210 employees, including 20 partners, will continue to provide legal services through its own offices in Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine and representative offices in the UK, Germany, Netherlands and China. Partner Julian Ries believes that "strengthening of Integrites with the Munich office, as well as the European Desk, meets a growing demand among clients currently actively exploring Western European markets. The Munich office is primarily intended to accompany Integrites’ clients together with partner law firms in German-speaking countries." Commenting on the merger, Partner Oleksiy Feliv notes that "Integrites’ strategy to become one of the strongest international law firms in Ukraine, and to take a leading position in the CIS market, as well bringing clients from Eastern European countries to the Western European markets, corresponds to the ambitions of the new team and our vision of the medium-term development of the company. We are confident that our international experience and work standards will strengthen Integrites, and open for our customers new possibilities of our support in countries where Integrites is already present." In turn, expressing his point of view, Integrites Senior Partner Vyacheslav Korchev says: "Teaming up with the new partners and their team, we complement our litigation, banking, arbitration and government relations practices with first-class services in real estate and construction, corporate law and M&A, mediation and restructuring. In our endeavors to be a leader in the market - this is the first strategic decision." "The fact that Integrites is joined by a team with an excellent reputation in the market, which for several years occupies a prominent position in The Legal 500, Chambers and other legal rating, suggests that Integrites enters a new international level and creates conditions for reliable and consistent global development of the company," – says Integrites’ Managing Partner Ruslan Bernatsky. After a series of high-profile hires by Integrites of such vivid personalities as Elena Perepelynska, Denis Statnikov with a team of attorneys-at-law, as well as of Mikhail Marinin with a Moscow-based team of lawyers, Integrites startled the market with news regarding joinder of Gide Loyrette Nouel partners and the opening of offices in China and Germany.