BRITISH KAZAKH SOCIETY
LAW GROUP COMMITTEE
The British-Kazakh Society is pleased to announce the formation of a Law Group comprising leading legal professionals and industry partners from the United Kingdom and Kazakhstan.
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OBJECTIVES
The Law Group was established under the auspices of the British-Kazakh Society (BKS), a not-for-profit society founded in 2002. Much like the BKS as a whole, the Law Group aims to promote relations between the United Kingdom and Kazakhstan, focused on the intersection of law, justice, and commerce. Through its actions, the Law Group seeks to enhance the commercial and legal relationship between the two countries, doing so by hosting events which bring together industry leaders and innovative thinkers to tackle the big questions affecting law, justice and commerce.
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THE COMMITTEE
The first committee of the Law Group comprises Lord Dan Brennan QC (Matrix Chambers); Rashid Gaissin (Eldwick Law); Mark Beer (Seven Pillars Law); Natalia Perova (Lamb Chambers); Bakhyt Tukulov (Tukulov Kassilgov Shaikenov Litigation & Arbitration (TKS)); Ardak Idayatova (Aequitas) and David Skeels (British-Kazakh Society) with Stephanie Balsys (Mishcon de Reya) as its Chair.
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GENERAL COMMENTS ABOUT ACTIVITIES & PLANS
The Law Group will comprise members from in-house, Government, and private practice legal teams. This balance of perspectives will provide a strong platform to develop the commercial and legal relationships between the countries. The development of these relationships will have benefits beyond just developing international relations, including increasing foreign investment flows between the UK and Kazakhstan. This is in line with His Excellency, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s plans for reform to create a ‘new Kazakhstan’ open to sustainable international investment, and one in which investors are protected pursuant to the rule of law.
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“I have worked in many jurisdictions in my career and few have shown the promise and potential that I have seen since I began working with Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is at the heart of Central Asia, which itself is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world. It is therefore with great pride that I have served as the first Chair of the BKS Law Group. Working with my colleagues on the Law Group committee, I am confident that we will build a vibrant bridger between the legal communities in the UK and Kazakhstan.” said Mark Beer OBE, member and ex-Chair of the BKS Law Group.
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If you would like to find more about how you or your company can get involved with the BKS Law Group, please contact us at secretariat@bksoc.org.uk
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COMMITTEE MEMBER BIOGRAPHIES
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Mark Beer OBE - A highly regarded commercial and disputes lawyer. Co-founder of Seven Pillars Law, headquartered in the AIFC and Chairman of the AIFC's LegalTech Advisory Council. Mark was involved in creating the AIFC Courts, and is a Professor of Artificial Intelligence and the Law at Shanghai's prestigious university, SHUPL. Mark also works with Governments worldwide, including the UK, on enhancing access to justice and the use of technology in legal and judicial systems.
Stephanie Balsys (Chairperson) - is an English-qualified dispute resolution lawyer and Partner at Mishcon de Reya LLP. She advises on complex commercial cases, acting for corporations and high net worth individuals and their entities. Stephanie has extensive experience of matters connected to the CIS, Central Eastern Europe and Ukraine which are heard before the English High Court or which proceed to international commercial arbitration.
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Lord Brennan QC - has been a Queen’s Counsel since 1985 and is a senior associate member of Matrix. His areas of expertise include commercial law, public, and private international law and international arbitration. Lord Brennan QC, as an appointed life peer, is active in politics as well as dedicating time to his incredibly varied legal practice. His most notable case during 2009 was the landmark civil Omagh bombing case. The outcome, in favour of his clients – relatives of those killed in the Omagh bombing – has become the first civil case of its kind in Europe in which the victims of terrorism were able to sue those responsible.
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Rashid Gaissin - is a partner Eldwick Law with over 20 years of experience advising local and international clients on a wide range of legal issues. His experience spans numerous sectors including banking and corporate finance, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, retail and consumer markets, metals and mining, aviation, and electronics. Rashid currently works in London, UK. He has long been part of BKS by heading the British-Kazakh Law Association and closely working with the British-Kazakh Society.
Ardak Idayatova - is a Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution practice at AEQUITAS Law Firm (Kazakhstan). AEQUITAS Dispute Resolution practice focuses on complex cross-border litigation and commercial arbitration (particularly, those concerning FIDIC contracts), as well as investment arbitration. Ardak also heads the firm’s infrastructure and PPP practice and has extensive experience in rendering all-round support to major infrastructure projects, primarily representing foreign investors, international development banks and foreign contractors.
Dr Natalia Perova - is a Russian-speaking English barrister, international arbitrator and Head of International Dispute Resolution Group at Lamb Chambers. Natalia deals with international commercial disputes in English courts and international arbitration. She acts as an advocate or arbitrator in the matters involving commercial contracts, international trade, investments, international civil fraud, company and shareholder disputes. Natalia has rights of audience in the AIFC Court.
David Skeels - is currently a Director of Eurasian Energy Ventures Limited a consultancy for upstream oil and gas in the Eurasia area. His career has included over 20 years with Conoco in technical and managerial positions in exploration and field development. This was followed by a 10 year career with BG Group as General Manager BG Kazakhstan. More recent years have included working with DEA as a Representative in Azerbaijan and Advisor for Central Asia based in Kazakhstan. He was the founding Chairman of the Kazakhstan Petroleum Association and founding Chairman of the Kazakhstan Foreign Investors Council Association.
Bakhyt Tukulov - is a Partner at Tukulov Kassilgov Shaikenov Litigation & Arbitration (TKS) (since 2020). Formerly he was Head of Kazakhstan Dispute Resolution practice at GRATA International. Bakhyt’s practice focuses on a wide range of contentious matters relating to Kazakhstan, including commercial litigation and arbitration in Kazakhstan and abroad, enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and judicial acts, insolvency, and restructuring, structuring of transactions from a dispute resolution perspective (choice of law, forum, investment treaty protection, jurisdictional matters), legal support in the course of audits of state authorities, etc. Bakhyt is consistently recognised by Chambers and Partners and Legal 500.