October 2008 - The new identity of the Linklaters Central & Eastern European spin-off firm is unveiled today: Kinstellar. From November 1st 2008, Kinstellar will operate as a fully independent law firm while maintaining a strong “best friends” relationship with Linklaters.
Kinstellar will be the leading premium regional law firm, focused on serving the most discerning and demanding clients on their most challenging transactions in emerging Europe. There will be continuity in the high quality legal expertise and blue chip client base which has made the Linklaters CEE offices financially successful and leaders in their markets. Kinstellar will focus on quality and deliver excellence in the same way that Linklaters has always done. Kinstellar will share training, know-how and retain a secondment programme with Linklaters and it will continue to work with the same clients. However, Kinstellar will be independent and free to develop relationships beyond Linklaters.
Jason Mogg, Linklaters’ former Managing Partner for Central and Eastern Europe, will be Managing Partner of Kinstellar. Jason has 18 years of practice experience in North America and Europe. He has been practising in Central & Eastern Europe as a corporate/M&A and project finance lawyer since 1993. Jason joined Linklaters in January 2000 and was the managing partner of Linklaters office in Bratislava through 2005 when he was appointed Linklaters CEE Managing Partner responsible for Moscow, Warsaw, Prague, Bratislava, Bucharest and Budapest.
Jason will be supported by nine partners throughout the region. Csilla Andrékó, Daniel Torsher and Klára Štěpánková, together with Jason, will form the senior management team, of Kinstellar.
Jason Mogg comments: "In this era of constant change and uncertainty Kinstellar is in the fortunate position of being a market leader from day one, our people have a history of delivering a distinguished quality of service and working on some of the region’s most exciting and most important transactions. Our commitment to excellence will not change.
"The Linklaters legacy and ongoing relationship, our proven ability to deliver excellent service to our cherished clients and the flexibility that we will gain through independence to invest and focus on the region all put Kinstellar in the perfect position to build the premium law firm dedicated to serving the needs of those wishing to seize the business opportunities across the entire emerging European region.
"As the economies in Eastern, Central and South Eastern Europe mature, they continue to attract ever greater interest from Western European and US companies and investors as well as, increasingly, those from Asia and the Middle East. Unlike some other parts of the world which have relied heavily on leverage and financial engineering in the recent past, the Emerging European region has relatively strong fundamentals and is still expected to continue to grow at twice the pace of Western Europe. With the security of energy supplies emerging as a key business and economic issue, the region’s position between Russia and Western Europe further underlines its importance. We have ambitious plans for rapid growth across the region in order to seize the opportunities that exist here".
"Our new brand name articulates our position in the market and our plans for the future. The Kinstellar name has a faint memory of Linklaters, ‘Kin’ evokes strong feeling of friendship and family, while ‘stellar’ points to our aspiration for, and confidence in, a very bright future."
Nick Eastwell, Linklaters' Managing Partner of Linklaters EEMENA, the group servicing emerging markets in Europe, Middle East and North Africa commented: "Linklaters has worked closely with Jason and the Kinstellar team to launch this exciting new brand in Central and South Eastern Europe. We retain a strong interest in its development. With a proven track record and the best lawyers in the region, I am confident that Kinstellar will retain and build on the strong Linklaters legacy."
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