CONCERN-DIALOG LAW FIRM

Community Connections alumni Sedrak Asatryan and Ovsanna Stepanyan signed a partnership agreement between their law firms to enhance their clientele base and offer them needs-based specialized service. From now on, customers applying to "Concern Dialog" CJSC with customs related issues will be referred to "JIT Express" LLC, and vise versa, those applying to "JIT Express" LLC for legal counseling services on comprehensive/corporate or investment issues will be referred to "Concern Dialog" CJSC.
Sedrak Asatryan, the General Director of "Concern Dialog" CJSC highly appreciates his participation in the USAID funded Community Connections program “"ndependent Practice by Emerging Legal Professionals", which took place in July, 2010, Cincinnati, Ohio. When applying for the program, Asatryan was familiar with the American legal system and had clear understanding of his professional needs from the exchange program in the US. Along with partnership issues, he was interested in marketing and building relationship with clientele. It could never come to his mind that some day his dream would come true and he will have a chance to see all this with his own eyes.

Asatryan highly valued the work done by Charles F. Hollis, principal attorney at Benjamin, Yocum & Heather LLC, who acted as the action planning facilitator in the course of the program. Thanks to him, he gained profound knowledge in partnership issues and unfolded his ideas on potential partnership between two law firms participating in that exchange program. In addition to this, visits to the law firms Graydon Head and DBL Law reinforced the theoretical knowledge gained at the action planning sessions.

Already in Armenia, Ovsanna Stepanyan, the young director of "JIT Express" LLC and participant of the same group, supported Asatryan’s ideas in signing an agreement between their two firms by acknowledging the mutual benefits of that initiative. Now, when both they were equipped with new ideas and knowledge they could easily bring that into life. The first step is already done: partnership agreement signed which has put the basis for the future fruitful cooperation between the two law firms which, in its turn, will lead to increased scope of customer service and customer satisfaction.

"I always had the idea of partnership in my mind. What I lacked was confidence and exposure to others’ experience. I was able to feed these gaps through participation in this program which gave me a vital exposure to the US legal system and proved the benefits of partnership", mentioned Asatryan.

Published 08.10. 2010
Source: http://www.ph-int.org/success_story/pr71/186/

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CINCINNATI - Cincinnati law firms and courts have worked with 10 Armenian lawyers completing a three-week Community Connections program. The USAID-funded program was designed to expose the Armenians to how American law firms operate in the context of the American legal system and to foster linkages between the Armenian lawyers and their American counterparts.

The Armenian lawyers visited five local law firms as well as courts on the county, state and federal levels. They also visited the Cincinnati Bar Association and the University of Cincinnati School of Law and its Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights. In Ohio's capital, Columbus, they visited the Ohio State Bar Association and the Ohio Supreme Court.

Making Armenian connections, the group met with Cincinnati businessperson and former Congressional candidate David Krikorian and enjoyed hospitality at the home of Samvel and Sofik Mnatsakanian in Cincinnati and Tigran Safaryan in Columbus. The visiting lawyers stayed in Cincinnati homes and treated their home hosts to a genuine Armenian barbecue.

The topic of this Community Connections program was Independent Private Practice by Emerging Legal Professionals. The 10 lawyers in this Community Connections program work either in new law firms or in Armenia's new public defender system. With international help, Armenia is transitioning to a more democratic legal system and independent judiciary.

During the 3-week program, the group covered topics such as law firm organization and practices, technology, ethics and the role of the judiciary.

"The Armenian lawyers are intensely interested in every aspect of their counterparts' professional lives, from the nuts and bolts of running a law office to the principles and ethics of a democratic legal system," says Jan Sherbin, managing this Community Connections program for the Greater Cincinnati World Affairs Council. "We are showing them ideas they can implement immediately and also ideas they can work toward over the years."

The program is funded by USAID, with World Learning as the programming agent. As the local training organization, the World Affairs Council is designing and conducting the program, its 45th.

The broad public diplomacy goals of Community Connections are to contribute to economic and democratic reform and to promote mutual understanding in Eurasia, providing visitors broad exposure to U.S. society, helping create personal connections with Americans and advancing democratic and free-market principles in a region where these principles are still tenuous.

Community Connections participants:

Mr. Arayik Papikyan
Mr. Armen Baghdasaryan
Ms. Arpine Melikbekyan
Mr. Babken Sahradyan
Ms. Inessa Petrosyan
Mr. Karapet Aghajanyan
Mr. Karen Manucharyan
Ms. Marine Ghandilyan
Ms. Ovsanna Stepanyan
Mr. Sedrak Asatryan

17 August, 2010
Source: http://www.reporter.am/index.cfm?objectid=D271C503-A9CF-11DF-98620003FF3452C2

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The American Arbitration Association recently participated in a program hosted by a Cincinnati organization that introduced a group of Armenian lawyers to the workings of the American legal system.

Vice President James Noll of the AAA's Labor, Employment, and Elections Division briefed 10 Armenian lawyers on the basics of alternative dispute resolution processes and the role of the American Arbitration Association as an ADR-services provider in a presentation on July 15. The group is visiting the United States this month as part of the Community Connections Program, sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and hosted by the Greater Cincinnati World Affairs Council.
Noll (shown standing with an interpreter during the presentation) spoke about the International Centre for Dispute Resolution, the AAA's international division; the different models and uses of ADR; and how the models might apply in Armenia. "It was an honor to speak with the group about ADR and our legal system. I hope they take back what they have learned to improve their own system," said Noll, who is based in the AAA's Cincinnati regional office.

Armenia, located in southwestern Asia (east of Turkey), was part of the former Soviet Union. Its legal system is based on civil law.

"The Armenian lawyers are intensely interested in every aspect of their counterparts' professional lives, from the nuts and bolts of running a law office to the principles and ethics of a democratic legal system," said Jan Sherbin, manager of this particular Community Connections Program. "We are showing them ideas they can implement immediately and also ideas they can work toward over the years."

Community Connections is designed as a partnership between the USAID and private organizations in the United States. The Greater Cincinnati World Affairs Council coordinated the program for the Armenian group and arranged opportunities for an exchange of information with local organizations, including the AAA's Cincinnati regional office.

Published: 2 August, 2010
Source: http://www.adr.org/sp.asp?id=38337

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The visit was part of a Community Connections program designed to give the Armenian lawyers some insight into how American law firms operate and also build relationships between the two countries lawyers.

The 10 lawyers are from the Armenian capital of Yerevan. All work in a new law firm or Armenia’s new public defender program. Armenia is transitioning to a more democratic judiciary system.

"We are showing them ideas they can implement immediately and also ideas they can work toward over the years," said Jan Sherbin, who is managing the Community Connections program.

The Armenian lawyers will spend three weeks in the Cincinnati area, visiting law firms, courts, judges, law professionals and universities.

Published: 27 July 2010
Source: http://www.kypost.com/dpp/news/local_news/armenian-lawyers-learning-from-crestview-hills-law-firm

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Three Supreme Court of Ohio administrators briefed a delegation of 10 Armenian attorneys on court responsibilities and operations on July 21.

The afternoon briefing was part of a three week program for the Armenian lawyers sponsored by Greater Cincinnati World Affairs Council and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The program is designed to assist the Armenians to better understand the inner workings of American law firms and courts.

Assistant Administrative Director Richard A. Dove provided the delegates with an overview of the role and responsibilities of the Supreme Court and the appellate process.

Jonathan W. Marshall, Secretary to the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline, addressed the codes of professional conduct and the disciplinary system.

Director Lee Ann Ward outlined procedures and oversight of the Office of Bar Admissions.

The specific topics were requested by the program organizers.

The Armenian delegates over the past two weeks have met with an array of attorneys, judges, court administrators and educators in the Cincinnati area. Program discussion topics include:

Law firm organization, policies and regulations
Marketing and personnel management skills
Case management practices
Independence of U.S. attorneys and courts.
Legal reform in Armenia has slowly evolved during the past two decades. Armenia instituted sweeping reforms to its constitution, codes and laws to comply with Council of Europe and Organization for Security and Cooperation requirements. Observers note corruption has undermined the credibility of the legal system.

The Armenian legal system has taken a series of important steps to advance rule of law. A new Constitution was adopted in 1995 and amended in 2005. New civil and criminal codes were enacted, as well as judicial code restructuring the court system. The roles of prosecutor and advocate were also better balanced.

A law enacted in 2004 established advocates as private practitioners, independent of the Ministry of Justice, and provided ethical guidelines.

The delegates were scheduled to return to Cincinnati July 22 and will return to Armenia next week.

23 July, 2010
Source: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/PIO/news/2010/armenianAttys_072310.asp

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According to the co-author of the book Hovsep Poghosyan, the
publication contains those legal acts of the employer that immediately
proceed from the requirements of the Labor Code of Armenia. In
particular, according to him, the point is about mandatory legal acts,
particularly internal disciplinary rules.

The book also contains examples of canceling job contracts, job
descriptions, contracts on full material responsibility, orders of
announcing contests for filling vacant positions, holding of qualified
exams for eligibility for a position, and also governmental acts,
provided by the Labor Code of Armenia.

”According to the new Labor Code, a new culture of interrelations
between employers and employees that require clear-cut and
understandable rules of the game is established” Poghosyan said.

He reported that this book is the second publication of the series of
four books concerning the Armenian Labor Code. The first publication,
issued in 2005, was devoted to job contracts and was out of print
for a month. “The third book will be devoted to the issues of
social partnership and activity of the public labor inspection”
Poghosyan said.

Besides this, a decision was made to publish a periodical with its
website that will contain problems of employers and employees and
suggestions for solutions to these problems.

The book's edition consists of 600 copies. It costs AMD 3000 (about
$7). The authors are Hovsep Poghosyan, Sedrak Asatryan and Olga
Hovhannisyan.


Published June 28 2006
Source: http://www.armeniandiaspora.com/forum/showthread.php?p=55199

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A district court of Kentron and Norq Marash communities was supposed to hear the case of citizen Khachikyan against major of road police Harutunyan. Trying to stop the car of citizen Khachikyan, Harutunyan blamed him in 'escape.' Saying that the policeman's accusation is groundless, citizen Khachikyan filed a court case. Today the court was supposed to hear the lawsuit of the citizen against the road police but the latter did not appear with an appropriate authorization letter and a passport due to which the hearing was put off until September 17.

The representative of the citizen in the court, Sedrak Asatryan, presented the happening in a talk with a correspondent of Panorama.am. The policeman had stopped Khachikyan making some moves with his hands, which is banned by law. Referring to article 17 of the law ''On road traffic safety,'' Sedrak Asatryan says road police may stop cars only with a stick, red siren or a loudspeaker.

''The person sitting next to my defendant testifies that the policeman stopped him using his hand. They even thought he was catching a taxi. The whole problem is that these policemen are working ''approximately.'' Regulations mean nothing to this policemen. He has got a heritage – whatever he wants, he can do with the drivers,'' Sedrak Asatryan explained.
Asatryan beleives in case they win the case, it will be a good precedent for the road police. Otherwise, citizen Khachikyan has to pay 200,000 Armenian drams in fine.

Published: 28,08,2007
Source: Panorama.am
http://www.panorama.am/en/law/2007/08/28/avtotesuch/

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In the conditions of global crisis, encouraging investments in Armenia has become a great issue. Taking into account the importance of this issue, Panorama.am had an interview with Sedrak Asatryan, director of Concern-Dialog Law firm.
Panorama.am – your company provides legal services to trading companies, including companies with foreign investments. In your opinion, is the Armenian legislative field convenient for the foreign investors?
S.A.: If we estimate the legislative field in RA from the point of view of performing foreign investments, in general the conditions are not so bad. There is a law on “Foreign investments” which gives the investor some guarantees, that’s, according to the 7th article of the law regulating the foreign investments in case of amendments in the legislation; the investor can use the legislation acting at that period while making investment.  Another issue is the problem of application of laws and here we have certain problems.
Panorama.am – can you give an example where the law is not used or is not used properly?
S.A: unfortunately the list of such laws is large, but I will try to give examples of the application of laws connected mainly with investors’ sphere. The law on “State Registration of Legal Entities” was amended in 2008 and a term came into force on the first of September of that year, that’s, the whole information about General State Register Book, as well as the charters of the legal entities should be placed in the web-site. But the law does not indicate in which web-site this information should be placed. May be one of the main reasons is this factor, that the information is not provided by internet yet. There are more serious problems in this law as well, which do not appear in the list of so called amendments. For example, in the 21 article, if the founder is a legal entity, he must provide the state registration the decision of the authorized body of the legal entity together with the list of necessary documents for state registration.
The problem is that the name of the authorized body is not mentioned in the charters of legal entities of all foreign countries, so, if the founder is a foreign legal entity, in this case a serious problem occurs concerning the state registration of the legal entity which contains real corruption risks.
I would also like to speak about the usage of the RA law on “Electronic documents and electronic signature” which came into force in January 2005, but does not act, or acts partially in the state bodies. And though all the sub-legislative acts determined by the decree of the Government of RA are accepted for the usage of the law, they are incomplete; especially the procedures of creating certification centers are not regulated by them. This is the main reason that such certification centers have not been created yet.
Another issue is the RA law on “Special delivery of documents” which came into force in May 2007, but it does not act yet. We periodically ask for information the national operator of postal service why documents are not delivered by postal offices according to the procedures of this law. This law can solve serious problems connected with the notifications and content of other documents by presenting thorough evidence and lessening the risk of good delivery of important documents by post.
The next issue is the RA law on “Foreigners”, which came into force in February 2007, but since now the authorized body who gives permission to the foreigners to work in Armenia, is not appointed by the government yet. Moreover, while providing living status to the foreigners, the department of visas of the Police is guided by the old list of the necessary documents, instead of the new one, etc.
Panorama.am – You spoke about legal usage of the laws. In your opinion are there any laws in that field, which are used  but do not allow the investors ability to act more flexible in business? 
S.A.: Yes, there are a lot. I will try to mention the most important ones. The non-flexibility of the above mentioned laws is one of the main reasons why they are not used properly. But I would like to speak about the absence of the Tax legislation which makes a real mess in the legislative field.
The foreign investor or generally any entity should have a compact legislation with the help of which will regulate the whole tax correlations but not laws, orders, instructions, clarifications of hundreds of pages, etc.
The next field that I would like to mention is the field of regulation of labour relations. This field is regulated by the labour code, more or less it solves the problems of this field but is nor flexible as well. Mainly, the employers are not able to regulate the problems of providing their employees with good and effective training courses in abroad, and then keep them working in their companies for a certain period. 
One of the problems in Armenia is the non-flexibility of real estate rental institute. It does not allow formulating the renting in a way to perform many business plans.  The institute of Commercial Lease is not separated and notary validation and state registration is required even for real estate lease agreements of 10 days.
Taking into account our experience of cooperation with foreign investors of the last years, these problems can be listed but they are highly specialized.
Panorama.am – In your opinion, if flexibility is provided to the listed laws mentioned above, will the mentioned problems be able to be solved?
S.A. – I think it’s not enough. The proposed changes are only the first steps for rectifying the situation. The experience proves that we can have good law but some people from State offices and local self-government bodies who apply the law, have not read the law or have read it but continue to use the laws in a way they want.