Alexander Katzarsky
Managing Partner
Email: alex@gklaw.bg
Alexander Katzarsky is among the authors of most of the significant amendments in the Commercial Act and Bulgarian Commercial Law in the past decades, arbitrator in international and domestic arbitration proceedings with experience also in proceedings before the International Court of Arbitration with the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Alexander has been vice-president of many years of the Arbitration Court with Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and is among the highly esteemed professors at the Law Faculty at the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.
Georgi Valentinov Georgiev, PhD
Founder and Partner until Jan 2025
Email: georgiev@gklaw.bg
Georgi Georgiev successfully defended his doctoral thesis in law at Sofia University with dissertation with subject “Charge over Commercial Enterprise” in 2019. He graduated from the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” in 2010 with distinction. He studied English Obligation Law in Cambridge University in 2007 and English Commercial Law in the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2010. In 2012, he completed his Master’s program in International and Comparative Commercial Law at King’s College London, specializing in company law, capital markets (securitization and derivatives, syndicated loans, debt and project finance) and commercial arbitration. In 2012, he was selected for consultant for Bulgaria and member of a workgroup for a research project of the London School of Economics and Political Science, funded by EC, for doing research of the legislature and court practice of member states in the area of corporate governance.
Between 2013 and 2016, he was a part-time assistant professor in commercial law in the Law Faculty of the University of National and World Economy. From 2016 he is a full-time assistant in commercial and civil law at the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski ". In 2017, he was a guest research worker at the Commercial Law Centre at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford. Since 2016 he has been a member of an insolvency workgroup at the City University, London, and Cross-Border Corporate Insolvency & Commercial Law (CI&CL) Group, London, which is conducting international research on insolvency issues in over 30 countries around the world http://www.ciclresearch.com/about-the-project/
Since 2012 until the establishment of Georgiev, Kolev & Katzarski in 2018, he has been a lawyer in one of the leading law firms in Bulgaria – Georgiev, Todorov & Co. In that capacity he participated in transactions for debt and project financing with EBRD and other credit institutions in a total amount of over EUR 50 million, mergers and acquisitions, as well as commercial and arbitration proceedings, and insolvency proceedings for over BGN 200 million in total. For his work as a team leader for credit financing transactions amounting to over Euro 40 million, and the restructuring of corporate clients’ debt in amounts of over Euro 250 million, he was distinguished in one of the leading lawyers’ rankings in the world – International Financial Law Review: https://www.iflr1000.com in various categories for 2017 and 2018.
Mr. Georgiev is practicing mainly in the areas of company law, commercial insolvency, legal representation in domestic and international arbitration cases, including cases concerning FIDIC conditions of construction contracts, corporate mergers and acquisitions, licensing proceedings before the Financial Supervision Commission and the Bulgarian National Bank. Mr. Georgiev also specializes in the field of public procurement procedures - he has consulted a large number of public procurers under the Public Procurement Act as regards to the preparation of documentation for the procedures and their implementation as well as Bulgarian and foreign participants in public procurement procedures for the selection of a public procurement contractor. His experience also includes a rich procedural practice before the Commission for Protection of Competition and the Supreme Administrative Court in proceedings for challenging acts and actions of public procurers.
Publications:
- On the Sale of Shares Owned by a Limited Liability Company without Resolution of the General Assembly under Art. 137(1) item 6 of the Commercial Act, Commercial Law Journal, issue 4/2010, p.87-97;
- Author of analysis of the Bulgarian legislation in an international comparative study under the topic “Duties and Liability of the Directors of Joint-Stock Companies in EU”, in collaboration with other authors from London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom- Carsten Gerner – Beuerle, Philipp Paech and Edmund Philipp Schuster, LSE Enterprise (2013), p. 69-100 of Appendix A to the Study, available at http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/Libfile;
- Co-author with Alexander Katzarsky of studies regarding the arbitration proceedings under Bulgarian law in the “International Comparative Legal Guide: International Arbitration” 2013, 2014 and 2016, as well as in the Corporate Governance guide in 2014 and 2017, issued by the Global Legal Group, London, United Kingdom: https://iclg.com;
- A Comparative Legal View on the “Piercing the Corporate Veil” Doctrine and Other Concepts for Engaging Liability of Third Parties for Companies’ Debts”, Business Law, issue 2/2014, p. 41-62;
- Is the Suspension of a Registration in the Commercial Register of Proceeding with an Execution of a Commercial Enterprise or a Company Share Pledged under a Special Pledge Admissible?”, Business Law, issue 3/2015, p. 25-44;
- On the validity of a stipulation that a debtor in insolvency proceedings does not file claims under Art. 694 of the Criminal Code against accepted claims of a certain creditor”, in Problems of legislation and law enforcement related to the development of business in the Republic of Bulgaria and Europe, Publishing complex - UNWE, 2015;
- Are Non-Compete Restrictions Provided for in the Management Agreement Valid after its Termination?” Business Law, issue 4/2016, p. 51-68;
- Historical Development of the Pledge on Company Enterprise”, Business Law, issue 4/2017, p. 51-72;
- Recent Amendments in the Regime of the Enterprise Charge Under Bulgarian Law, Current Issues in Law and Beyond on EU Level, editors: Aleks Ember and Ina Vishogradska, St. Climent Ohridski University Press, 2018, p.21-32;
- Regarding Some Challenges Regarding Subsequent Charge Over Commercial Enterprise, Business Law, Issue 3, 2018, p. 83-99;
- Legal Characteristics of the Charged Commercial Enterprise, digest with publications from research conference, organized by the Faculty of Law at the University of National and World Economy, October, 2018;
- Incorporation of an Enterprise Charge and effects of its Entry In the Respective Registries – in Digest with publications from conference In Memoriam Christian Takov , Sofia: St. Climent Ohridski University Press, 2019;
- Regarding the Content of the Charged Commercial Enterprise – in Yearbook of 2018 of the Faculty of Law of Sofia University “St. Climent Ohridski”, St. Climent Ohridski University Press, 2019;
- Methods for Execution Over Charged Enterprise under the Law on Registered Chagres Act, Business Law, Issue 2, 2019 г. p. 83-101
- Co-Author of the Chapter for Bulgaria in the comparative legal study “Executory Contracts in Insolvency Law. A Global Guide”, author of the chapter on Bulgarian law, edited by prof. Jason Chuah and Eugenio Vaccario, City University, London: Edward Elgar Publishing, United Kingdom, 2019: https://www.e-elgar.com
- Author of the monograph “Charge over Commercial Enterprise” [In Bulgarian] (Sofia: Ciela, 2021)
Nikolay Kolev
Founder and Partner until May 2023
Email: n.kolev@gklaw.bg
Nikolay Kolev graduated with honors from the Faculty of Law of the Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’ in 1982. Attorney Kolev has over 30 years of professional experience - from 1984 until 1991 he worked as a prosecutor and since 1991 he has been a lawyer practicing in the areas of civil, commercial, tax, criminal and administrative law. From 2008 to 2012 he was a member of the Supreme Supervisory Council of the Supreme Bar Council.
The considerable experience of Nikolay Kolev includes the consulting of a number of trade companies, leaders in the relevant field of the Bulgarian market - such as Neochim AD, Junona EOOD, as well as the consulting of a municipal authorities and non-governmental organizations in all aspects of their activity - current subscription services, procedural representation on cases, preparation of drafts for normative acts and others.
Kolev’s long-term attorney's experience, combined with the experience gained through his job on senior administrative positions and his work as a magistrate, is a guarantee of competence and comprehensiveness in the consultancy activity, especially in the field of tax law, administrative law and procedure, including counselling local and central authorities on the elaboration and coordination of various legal acts, preparation of documentation and consultancy on public procurement procedures and concessions, insurance law and procedural representation.
Attorney Kolev is fluent in Russian and English languages.
Vanina Popova
Partner
Email: popova@gklaw.bg
Vanina Popova graduated from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Faculty of Law, with distinction.
In 2019, she successfully completed a training course for young arbitrators at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In 2022 she successfully acquired postgraduate qualification in the field of international mergers and acquisitions under the program “The Law and Economics of Mergers and Acquisitions” at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
At “Georgiev, Kolev & Katzarski” Vanina practices in the field of commercial and contract law, mergers and acquisitions, civil law and real estate law, whereby she does legal research in various areas of law, drafts contracts, corporate documents, legal opinions and analyses. In her practice she consults clients on transactions with real estates and construction. She provides legal representation in judicial proceedings and has experience in international cases.
Vanina is the head of our Venture Capital team and plays a major role in the structuring of clients’ private equity and quasi-equity investments.
In her work she has gained expertise in connection with the establishment of alternative investment funds for venture capital (AIF), in the preparation and participation in the public procurements for their establishment, the structuring of their investments in other companies, in negotiating with final recipients of the financing, including in fulfilling the requirements related to the provision of public financial resource, compliance with the legal framework in the field of state aid and de minimis aid, as well as in the preparation of the necessary documents – investment agreements, convertible loan agreements, capital increases, disbursement requests, etc.
Vanina also consults companies in order to bring them in compliance with the requirements of the Directive (EC) 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, the Bulgarian Law on Measures against Money Laundering and the Rules for its application.
Maria-Magdalena Stoilkova
Partner
Email: stoilkova@gklaw.bg
Maria-Magdalena Stoilkova graduated in 2019 from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Faculty of Law, with distinction.
From 2016 to 2020 she worked at “Varbanov & Ralcheva” Law Office where she gained practical experience in the field of commercial and administrative law
From 2020 to 2021 she worked as a legal counsel at an insurance company where she provided legal and administrative services to the company and made sure the company followed the requirements of the regulatory body. Since Maria-Magdalena speaks both English and Spanish, she also participated in thecompany’s projects to approach the international market, which gave her the opportunity to gain experience in the field of international law.
At “Georgiev, Kolev & Katzarski” Maria-Magdalena takes part in the law firm’s consultancy activity in the structuring of investments realized by alternative investments funds, including by making sure they comply with the requirements related to public financing, in the preparation of the necessary documents for the finalization of the investments, and in negotiations with final recipients of investments. As part of the Venture Capital team she also provides full legal services to the Fund Managers in the management of alternative investment funds. She also advises innovative local start-up companies with regard to their whole activity, restructuring and reorganization of their businesses.
Maria-Magdalena also provides legal advice and opinions on cases of clients of “Georgiev, Kolev & Katzarski” in various fields of law, but predominantly in the field of insurance, commercial, contract and property law. She provides full legal services to a large international company in the tourism industry, and she supports the activity of the owner of a large business center. Maria-Magdalena also provides legal representation in court and arbitration proceedings.
She is fluent in Spanish and English.
Ana Cheneshkova - Stoeva
Senior Associate, Attorney-at-law
Email: cheneshkova@gklaw.bg
Ana Cheneshkova graduated in 2018 from the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Faculty of Law, with distinction. She is a member of the Sofia Bar Association
From October 2018 until May 2019 she was a trainee at the Sofia Regional Court under an internship program of the Commission for Educational Exchange “Fulbright”, which program enabled her to acquire practical legal skills and to work with judges from the court’s Civil Division.
At “Georgiev, Kolev & Katzarski” Ana provides the full range of legal services to large corporate clients. One of them is an investment fund, owner of the largest chain of retail parks and commercial centres in Bulgaria and professional investor in real estates in the segment of commercial centres - retail parks. Ana provides assistance regarding the whole activity of the fund in the field of corporate law, in the structuring of projects, in negotiations and in the preparation of various types of agreements, as well as in the subsequent execution of the investment projects. She takes active part in the structuring and re-structuring of the relationships between shareholders or company members. Ana has experience in the acquisition of companies and provides advice on all kinds of commercial transactions – from the stage of negotiations to the performance or non-performance of the contractual relations and the consequences thereof.
Ana has experience in transactions with real estates, as well as in conducting procedures under the Spatial Planning Act in the construction of commercial sites. Her practice is focused on providing legal advice and preparing various types of agreements necessary for the organization and execution of the whole construction process and representing clients in negotiating competitive conditions and liabilities of the participants in the construction process.
She provides legal representation before all Bulgarian courts, in domestic and international arbitration proceedings.
Ana also provides legal advice and prepares documents in regard to bringing companies in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation and privacy policies.
She is fluent in English.
Neli Karaycheva
Associate, Attorney-at-law
Email: n.karaicheva@gklaw.bg
Neli Karaycheva graduated from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Faculty of Law, with distinction. As a student she was also a member of the Student Council of the Faculty of Law. She is currently a member of the Sofia Bar Association.
She began her work at Georgiev, Kolev & Katzarski Law Office in 2018 as a legal trainee. Here she has gained invaluable practical experience, especially in the field of commercial, contract, property and civil law.
Neli provides advice in the field of company law, prepares corporate documents related to the registration, reorganization and liquidation of companies and enters changes in the companies’ files in the Commercial Register. She drafts opinions and analyses concerning various legal issues and their practical aspects.
Neli also provides legal assistance to the owner of the largest chain of commercial parks and open-air shopping centres in the country and professional investor in real estates regarding all matters related to its activity, incl. management of the retail parks, relations with banks and tenants.
She assists and consults companies in order to bring them in compliance with the requirements of the Directive (EC) 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing and the Bulgarian Law on Measures against Money Laundering.
She provides legal representation in civil and administrative proceedings and prepares the necessary documents for the purposes of court proceedings, including but not limited to statement of claim, replies to statements of claim, appeals, agreements, statements of defence, post hearing briefs, etc.
Neli is fluent in English and Spanish.
Antoan Marinov
Associate, Attorney-at-law
Email: marinov@gklaw.bg
In 2021, Antoan Marinov graduated with distinction from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” with Master’s degree in Law. In 2023, he became a member of the Sofia Bar Association as an attorney-at-law.
During the period between 2018 and 2021, he participated in internship programs in the legal departments of Bulgarian companies operating in the field of manufacturing and leasing.
At the beginning of 2022, Antoan joined the team of a law firm, where he acquired practical skills and additional theoretical knowledge in the field of civil procedure, commercial, contract, property, labour and tax law.
At “Georgiev, Kolev & Katzarski” Antoan has been involved in the process of structuring and preparing documents for investments to be made by alternative investment funds. He also practices in the areas of corporate, property, contract and employment law. Antoan provides legal advice and drafts opinions, analyses, contracts, statements of claim, appeals and any other legal documents related to his expertise. He provides legal advice in relation to the compliance of commercial companies with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation.
Antoan is fluent in English and Spanish.
Preslava Petrova
Junior Associate
Email: petrova@gklaw.bg
Preslava Petrova graduated with distinction from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Faculty of Law at the end of 2022, and in 2023, she joined the team of “Georgiev, Kolev & Katzarski” Law Office.
Her professional experience began in 2018 as a trainee at “Tsvetanov & Metodiev” Law Office, where she acquired practical experience in the field of contractual and commercial law. Later she worked in the legal department of the insurance company DZI, where she accumulated knowledge of various aspects of life and non-life insurance.
At “Georgiev, Kolev & Katzarski” Preslava is part of the team providing legal services to alternative investment funds for venture capital, where she drafts articles of association, investment agreements, legal due diligence, and other necessary documents related to the capital, management and structure of commercial companies
She is fluent in English and has a good command of German.
Hristina Ivanova
Office Manager
Email: office@gklaw.bg
Hristina Ivanova is our office manager. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Indology and a Master’s degree in Translation and Editing, both from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridsky”. Before joining “Georgiev, Kolev & Katzarski”, Hristina gained significant experience in a similar position at a major law company in Bulgaria. She also translates books, academic publications and legal documents.
Galabina Cifudina
Business Administrator
Email: g.tsifudina@gklaw.bg
Galabina Cifudina has a degree in Economics with a Major in Management of Small and Medium-sized Company from New Bulgarian University and in Industrial Management from St. Ivan Rilski University of Mining and Geology.
Galabina has considerable practical experience as Project Manager and Coordinator. She is a specialist in Business Planning, Financial Analysis and Project Management.
At the Georgiev, Kolev & Katzarski she supports the law firm’s business development, and she is responsible for communication with clients and partners, marketing research and strategy, as well as organization of events, trainings, etc.
