Ihor Shevchenko

Ihor Anatoliyovych Shevchenko ( uk, Ігор Анатолійович Шевченко; born January 10, 1971, in Oleksandriia) is a Ukrainian lawyer and public figure. He was Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources from December 2014 until July 2015.

Shevchenko was the founder and President of th
Ukrainian Bar Association
(2002-2007). He also founded and led the leading Ukrainian law firm “Shevchenko Didkovskiy & Partners” from 1995 to 2008 (currently �
Asters
��).

Education

In September 1977 Shevchenko’s family moved to Kiev. In 1978-1988 Shevchenko attended Kyiv public school #206.

In 1988 he enrolled into the National University of Physical Education and Sport of Ukraine, where he studied in the faculty of professional sport, specializing in athletics. Having decided not to pursue a career as a professional athlete, in 1991 Shevchenko transferred to the History Faculty of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

In September 1992, Shevchenko transferred to the law faculty of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Two months later, following a competitive selection process, he entered the university's newly-establishe
Institute of International Relations
in the faculty of International Law. In 1996 Shevchenko graduated with a degree in International Law and English. During his studies Shevchenko played an active role in university life, founding the League of Law Students of the Institute of International Relations and being one of the founders of the all-Ukrainian Association of Law Students (which in 2006 was converted into th
League of Law Students of Ukrainian Bar Association
and was a member of the International Law Students Association. In 1996, Shevchenko organized and led the first ever visit by a delegation of Ukrainian law students to the congress of the International Law Students Association in Washington DC and the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition.

In 1995 Shevchenko studied European Union Law and Human Rights in the European University Institute (Florence, Italy).

In 1996 Shevchenko won a Muskie Scholarship of University of Minnesota Law School to study in America where he earned a Master's degree. In 2003 Shevchenko was recognized by the US State Department as the most outstanding Ukrainian graduate of the Muskie program.

In 1998 Shevchenko earned the diploma of specialist in international capital markets of the London Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment for Securities & Investment.

In 2006, Shevchenko won an international competition and became the first Ukrainian to receive a scholarship from the Yale World Fellows program to study at Yale University. The two other Ukrainians who have been selected for this program is the former Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) deputy and Ambassador to Canada Andriy Shevchenko (2008) and frontman of Ukraine's most popular band “ Okean Elzy” Svyatoslav Vakarchuk (2015).

In 2007, Shevchenko was selected by the World Economic Forum in Davos from the members of the Forum of Young Global Leaders to participate in the “Global Leadership and Public Policy in the 21st Century” program in Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

In 1994, Shevchenko undertook an internship in the Ukrainian Embassy in Brussels at the invitation of Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 1996 he completed an internship in the central apparatus of the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine.

Legal Practice

Shevchenko began his career as a lawyer in 1991 at th
Legis
law firm, which was founded by Alexander Chaliy.

In 1992, Shevchenko established his own law firm Principle, which he sold in 1993 and continued his law practice in a successful fir
Frishberg and Partners
under the leadership of the firm's founder Alex Frishberg. Starting in 1994, Shevchenko worked at another well-known law fir
Vasil Kisil & Partners
working with Vasil Kisil. At the same time, Shevchenko began independent legal practice, consulting companies such as Alcatel Business Systems (Austria) an
Osnova-Solsif
(Ukrainian-French)

In October 1995 Shevchenko founded Shevchenko Didkovskiy and Partners law firm together with his classmate Oleksiy Didkovskiy. In 2003 the firm became the most profitable in Ukraine and in 2004 it was acknowledged as the best law firm in the country according to the respected rating of the “Legal Practice” newspaper. In 2006 Shevchenko Didkovskiy and Partners was acknowledged as the best employer in Ukraine among leading law and audit firms by the rating in “Korrespondent” magazine.

In 1996 Shevchenko successfully passed the qualification exam and received the right to be an attorney-in-law in Ukraine.

In 1997 he successfully passed th
New York State Bar Exam
and worked as a foreign lawyer in the headquarters of the prestigious Coudert Brothers law firm in New York. There he worked in the areas of international tax law, corporate law and international securities market regulation and also took part in legal processes for energy production sharing agreements on Sakhalin Island involving the most successful  companies such as ExxonMobil, British Petroleum (BP), Shell, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips.

Ihor Shevchenko was offered to stay in the USA and become a constant member of the Coudert Brothers company, but Shevchenko wanted to develop his own law firm in Ukraine and implement his international experience there. In 1998 Shevchenko returned to Ukraine and continued to lead his law firm.

Shevchenko Didkovskiy and Partners provided legal services to leading international companies, worked as an advisor in resonant investment projects which brought billions of dollars of investment to key sectors of the Ukrainian economy, generated thousands of new jobs and introduced cutting-edge global technologies to Ukraine.

Shevchenko Didkovskiy and Partners was the first Ukrainian law firm of the Western model. Among its clients were: Microsoft, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, IKEA, Boeing, British Petroleum (BP), Gas de France, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank, General Electric, Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz, Maybach) Rolls-Royce, Telenor, Adidas, Siemens, Samsung, Nokia, Raiffeisen Bank Aval, Ukreximbank, Alcatel, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault, Fiat, Levi's, Philip Morris, Citibank, UBS, Deutsche Bank, UniCredit Group, Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan, Leahman Brothers, McKinsey & Company, Arcelor, Glencore, VISA, Western Union, Aerosvit, Miele, Hilti, Velux, Ecolab and many more. Shevchenko Didkovskiy and Partners also represented the interests of star footballer Andriy Shevchenko regarding the international advertising contracts. In 2006-2007 Ihor Shevchenko was a member of the board of Kyivstar, the leading Ukrainian mobile company, representing the interests of shareholder Telenor (Norway).

In 2007 Shevchenko sold his share in the firm in order to focus on public and charitable activities. The firm was renamed �
Asters
�� and remains one of Ukraine's leading legal practices.

''«Leaving the legal profession was a revolutionary development for me. I left not only jurisprudence, but I left the entire field of business. The legal profession was a very important stage of my life. If a person knows the law and its applications, not only for himself but also to help others, this is a solid foundation for growth in many spheres, for example, politics and public governance».''

- From an interview with Ihor Shevchenko

Shevchenko is a member of the International Bar Association, American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association
Ukrainian-American Bar Association
an
Ukrainian-British Bar Association

Ukrainian Bar Association

In 2002 Ihor Shevchenko established th
Ukrainian Bar Association
and became its first leader. He was elected as a president of the Association in 2002 and 2007 and since 2008 has been its Honorary President. The Ukrainian Bar Association brings together more than 6000 progressive Ukrainian legal professionals from diverse spheres of practice: advocates, corporate lawyers, judges, notaries public, prosecutors and state officials.

Today Ukrainian Bar Association is the most respected association of lawyers in Ukraine with members including the deputy head of the Presidential Administration Oleksiy Filatov, Constitutional Court Judge Stanislav Shevchuk, deputy head of the Supreme Court of Ukraine