A lawyer based out of CMS’s Kyiv office is among a record tally of 60 partners being promoted across the firm's global network, up from 52 last year.

Olga Shenk, a counsel who serves as Ukraine dispute resolution coordinator, is one of 39 lawyers being promoted across mainland Europe in a partnership round noticeably skewed towards the continent at the expense of the UK, where there are 15 promotions, down from 23 last year.

Shenk joined the firm in 2016 from Baker McKenzie and was promoted to counsel in 2019. Her practice encompasses litigation, investment and international commercial arbitration, bankruptcy, criminal proceedings and compliance.
 
The firm’s Kyiv office was closed when Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February and remains shuttered for the foreseeable future. However, the Ukraine team is ‘fully operational’ either working remotely or out of a hub in Budapest.

‘We are delighted to promote Olga and be able to acknowledge our great talent in Ukraine,’ a spokesperson said in a statement. 
 
She added: ‘We are pleased and relieved to confirm that all of our Kyiv colleagues remain physically safe and accounted for, with the majority now moved to Budapest or to western parts of Ukraine.’

Elsewhere across CMS’s Central and Eastern Europe network there were three promotions in Austria, and one apiece in Switzerland, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Turkey. 
 
Germany accounted for 11 new partners – the second-highest tally after the UK – four were made up in France, seven in the Benelux region and three in Portugal.

For the first time Norway, home to the latest addition to the CMS network, CMS Kluge, featured on the roster, with two partners being made up.
 
Outside Europe, there were three promotions in Peru and one apiece in Mexico, Kenya and The United Arab Emirates. In all, the appointments spanned 33 cities.
 
Penelope Warne, senior partner of CMS UK said: “We are very pleased to welcome these 60 diverse and talented lawyers to the partnership and congratulate them on achieving this significant milestone.”
 
In terms of the gender balance of the successful candidates, 43% of the cohort are women, up from 37% last year. 
 
A growing number of UK-based firms are publishing diversity targets. However, the CMS spokesperson said the firm ‘aspire[s] for significant and continuous improvement in all areas of diversity rather than strict targets’.
 
She added that 53% of UK and 42% of global promotions have been women over the last four years.

CMS announced the closure of its Moscow office in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 14 March.

Read the GLP UK partner promotions gender diversity tracker