Olena Sidei

Senior Associate

Attorney-at-Law (since 2018)
Arbitrator (since 2019)

Olena Sidei joined the EQUITY team in 2022. She specializes in criminal proceedings with an international element, combining deep theoretical knowledge with hands-on experience in client defense.

She develops effective defense strategies in criminal cases — both at the pre-trial investigation stage and during court proceedings. Her approach is distinguished by attention to detail, strategic thinking, and a strong results-oriented mindset.

Recent experience (projects):

• Defense of a former Member of Parliament of Ukraine (2014–2019), who was served with a politically motivated notice of suspicion by the NABU in 2022 in connection with the allegedly undervalued sale of fertilisers in 2015. The team provides national and international defence: it has proved the absence of reasonable suspicion before the High Anti-Corruption Court, collects exculpatory evidence in Ukraine and abroad, and implements a strategy to prevent extradition.
• Legal support of the largest private gas production group in Ukraine in a case concerning ownership rights to assets worth USD 24 million and a USD 1 million debt.
• Legal support of a major municipal water supplier in disputes over the recovery of USD 72 million for the lease of municipal property.

Education:Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs — Master’s Degree
Ph.D. in Law (since 2017)

Membership in professional organisations:

• Ukrainian National Bar Association
• Ukrainian Advocates' Association

Recognition:

• Finalist in the Civil Law category of the All-Ukrainian Independent Public Competition “Lawyer of the Year 2020”
• Finalist in the Civil Law category of the All-Ukrainian Independent Public Competition “Lawyer of the Year 2021”
• Recognized in White-Collar Crime,The Legal 500 EMEA 2025

Publications:

• Comment for “Jurist” magazine on the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies’ use of covert investigative actions (2021); Jurist
• A Year of the High Anti-Corruption Court: Conclusions and Forecasts (2020); Yurydychna Hazeta
• How to Recover the Lost? Specifics of Returning Property Seized During Searches (2020); Yurydychna Hazeta
• Protecting Business from Corporate Fraud (2020); Yurydychna Praktyka
• Bankruptcy in a New Way: Analysis of Court Practice (2020); Yurydychna Hazeta
• Comment for “Yurydychna Praktyka” on Legal Succession During Bankruptcy Proceedings in Ukraine (2020); Yurydychna Praktyka
• Comment for “Yurydychna Praktyka” on the New Health Care Financing System in Ukraine (2020); Yurydychna Praktyka
• Comment for “Yurydychna Praktyka” on Subsidiary Liability in Bankruptcy Proceedings (2020); Yurydychna Praktyka
• Comment for “Yurydychna Praktyka” on the System of Arbitration Courts in Ukraine (2020); Yurydychna Praktyka
• Ukraine in Digital Style (2019); Yurydychna Hazeta
• Bankruptcy Procedure in Ukraine (2019); Yurydychna Praktyka