Full support. How Andriy Romanchuk, the founder of the MORIS law firm, joined the "Charter" and what it gave him.

A year ago, the managing partner and one of the founders of the MORIS law firm, which is part of the Top 5 law firms that influenced the development of the marketAndriy Romanchuk was mobilized to the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, "Khartia". Currently, Andriy heads the organizational and legal work in the corps, and MORIS became the first company in Ukraine to provide pro bono legal support to a corps of the Defense Forces. Tasks from "Khartia" take up half of the working time of MORIS employees.

How the company interacts with the "Charter" and why mobilization is the best way to delve into the legal affairs of a combat unit – in the article LIGA.net.

A dream come true.

Andriy Romanchuk is 47 years old. While still at school, he firmly decided he wanted to become a lawyer. "It's like rock and roll, like love," Romanchuk replies when asked how he chose his profession, adding, "I don't remember who I wanted to be as a child. From the ninth grade, I was 100% sure I wanted to be a lawyer. I liked communicating with people, convincing them. Moreover, I clearly understood that I wanted to be a lawyer who defends, not accuses."

As he grew older, Andriy began to fulfill his school-day aspirations. He earned a law degree from the Precarpathian University in his native Ivano-Frankivsk, and then another from the Faculty of International Law and Business at Lviv National University. At the same time, he became involved in activism: as a schoolboy in Soviet times, he was in the then-banned scout organization "Plast" in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, and as a student, he was in the "Student Brotherhood."

"Community work is mostly about protecting rights or interests, and jurisprudence is also about rights, but at a professional level," Andriy explains. "I was always drawn to projects where I had to build legal strategies. It started with student strikes and the implementation of student self-government – that's when I first felt the fine line between civic activism and the need to comply with the law and stay within the legal framework."

After graduating, he built a career as a lawyer and eventually, in 2004, co-founded the MORIS company in Ivano-Frankivsk with a partner. In 2007, the entire team moved to Kyiv, and Romanchuk had lived in the capital ever since.

Today, MORIS is – the flagship of the Ukrainian legal market, a full-service law firm with a focus on corporate law and M&A (mergers and acquisitions), as well as dispute resolution, criminal, tax, banking, agricultural law, etc.

Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014, the company has been helping the military: soldiers, veteran and charitable organizations.

"It all started with five pickup trucks that we bought for a unit from Frankivsk that was heading to the ATO zone; back then, it was still new and strange," Romanchuk recalls. "Later, people started coming to us not only for financial support but also for legal assistance."

To work and support the military

On the morning of February 24, 2022, Romanchuk and his partners arrived in their hometown of Frankivsk: the founding meeting of the Ivano-Frankivsk Business Association was scheduled for that date.

At that time, a city development strategy was being developed in Ivano-Frankivsk, and MORIS was brought in as experts. However, it turned out that there was no organization at the city level that would unite local businesses. So the company acted as "moderators" of such a process.

They had been working on creating a business association for six months at that point. And the next meeting was accidentally scheduled for a day that Ukrainians will never forget.

"I didn't believe that a full-scale invasion would begin," Andriy admits. "The day before, in the chat, all the participants of the constituent assembly voted that we would gather on February 24 at 3:00 PM. So, I and some partners from the firm headed to Frankivsk. I stopped by my parents' place; they live near the airport. And somewhere around five in the morning, when the first missiles hit it, I realized that the situation was serious."

At that time, the creation of the business association was postponed. Instead, lawyers initiated the creation of the volunteer coordination center Save Ukraine Now. It is still operating with the support of local businesses and communities, providing the Carpathian units on the front line with everything they need.

"Some of the lawyers were in Ivano-Frankivsk, while others joined online from Kyiv. We were looking for bulletproof vests, helmets, and equipment for the first battalions that were moving to the front line," says Romanchuk.

Back then, there were many foreign contracts for importing equipment into Ukraine, including military or dual-use items. Almost no one had any practical experience. It was crucial to carry out all stages of such deliveries. As a rule, this involved the legislation of several countries; it was also important to verify the supplier, conduct their compliance (a system of procedures, rules, and control measures aimed at adhering to legislation – LIGA.net), and check if they were capable of making such a delivery.

The work continued day and night. It filled our lives and kept us from getting lost, because everyone realized they were doing something truly important.

Volunteering allowed us to retain and strengthen the company's team. And in the summer of 2022, the legal services market began to revive. However, the MORIS team did not stop supporting the army pro bono, combining volunteering with business. They supported "Azov", the 10th separate mountain assault brigade "Edelweiss", the 102nd Territorial Defense Brigade, the Third Separate Assault Brigade, and other units.

"We have defended and continue to defend those who defend us," says Romanchuk.

Also, since 2022, MORIS, as a law firm, has been involved in supporting particularly complex cases of the General Staff. A significant case in its portfolio is the story of by inheritance for the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. In 2023, the company's lawyers successfully organized the transfer of $1,000,000 to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which was bequeathed to them by a US citizen of Ukrainian origin.

At that time, Andriy was sure that as civilians, he and his team were doing their best.

How Romanchuk came to the "Charter"

However, in the third year of the full-scale war, Andriy Romanchuk realized that despite close contact with the units, in order to understand all the processes from the inside, he needed to be fully part of the army.

"I saw what lawyers in combat brigades were facing. It was just a mess," says Andriy. "There aren't enough lawyers in combat units; they physically don't have enough time to support all the processes, prepare for, and participate in court hearings. Legal work in a combat brigade is very multifaceted – from contracts and lawsuits to consultations on compliance with international humanitarian law. If you really try to do it, and not just push it off to other services, there's a lot to work on. So I came to the conclusion that I needed to immerse myself to understand how these organisms function, what help and support they need. And that's how I realized I needed to mobilize. Join a brigade, and have the company provide it with legal support."

On September 5, 2024, at a Charity Day event, Andriy met Vsevolod Kozhemyako, a Kharkiv entrepreneur and co-founder of the "Khartia" volunteer unit, which eventually grew into the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. At that time, Romanchuk only knew that it was a progressive and rapidly developing unit.

Kozhemyako immediately invited him to "Khartia" to see how everything was arranged, and then make a decision. A few days later, Andriy went to Kharkiv. And two weeks later, he began to hand over his affairs in the company:

"I saw that there was a huge amount of work to be done," he recalls. "Khartia is an ecosystem: a brigade, a public organization, and a charitable foundation. These are projects on intellectual property, because the unit holds many public events, it's about procurement and checking counterparties... I realized that this was my scope and scale. And after talking and getting to know the then brigade commander (now the commander of the Khartia corps. – LIGA.net), Colonel Ihor Obolensky, I decided to mobilize into Khartia. His breadth of vision and understanding of processes convinced me that we are indeed building a new Ukrainian army."

On November 26, 2024, Romanchuk officially joined the brigade. At the same time, he was preparing his family for this.

"When I told my relatives that I was being mobilized, everyone got very worried – my children, my wife, my mother, my sister," Andriy recalls. "However, when the emotions subsided, they said that they had already understood that I would eventually be mobilized. Perhaps subconsciously they were ready for it."

From the first days of his service, Andriy was nicknamed "Maurice" after his company. When it was time to choose a call sign, he decided that this was the best option.

The recruit "Maurice" – "a Westerner in spirit, a great-power Ukrainian by conviction" – quickly grew fond of the outpost city in the East, where he had to move to be closer to his brigade's area of responsibility.

"I fell in love with Kharkiv," he admits. "The people who stayed here are very sincere and open. It's a different kind of patriotism than in Galicia, in the Frankivsk region. In fact, what Galicia experienced in the 1940s and 1950s, the Kharkiv region is experiencing now. I like the expression I heard from the commander of the 'Khartia' corps: '100 years ago we fought near the Zbruch River or near Lviv, and now we are fighting near Kharkiv – meaning we are advancing.' That's why I incredibly like it in Kharkiv, despite the constant air raid sirens."

50% of working time – "Hartia"

The company supported the managing partner's decision and immediately began building an interaction with the "Charter". In the spring of 2025, a corps of the National Guard of Ukraine was created on the basis of the brigade, so the scope of tasks increased significantly, and the lawyers also had to take this into account.

"Before forming the corps, the commander asked me, 'How many lawyers do you need for it?' Knowing the staffing levels, I replied, 'It makes no difference to me, Commander,' Romanchuk recalls. 'If we want to build a quality operation, MORIS won't just be volunteering in their spare time, but will be working as if with a top client. Lawyers will be assigned to specific areas and practices and will provide support for everything.'"

Andriy compares the corps to a large holding company with 15,000 employees, which usually has 100-120 lawyers on staff. In the corps, however, the number of service members is many times greater. It would seem that such a number would require an entire battalion of lawyers, but there were only three of them on staff.

"As soon as the volume of tasks became too large to handle on a volunteer basis, we structured everything as a business process," explains Marian Martyniuk, Senior Partner at MORIS. "In other words, we treat 'Khartia' as one of our top clients."

In 2024, the company says, legal support for "Khartia" took up 40% of the lawyers' working time; this year, it's half. Part of the team is engaged in tasks from "Khartia" full-time.

"We just started working more," says Romanchuk. "Despite the war, the legal market exists, and there is a lot of work in this sector. It is important not to lose clients with whom the company has worked for many years. Therefore, our lawyers often work outside of working hours and on weekends, adhering to the main principle – either you are in the army, or you are for the army. We also managed to assemble a team of lawyers in the legal support department of the 'Khartia' corps, which professionally distributes tasks and correctly builds processes."

MORIS helps build the legal structure and processes within the corps and its brigades. Lawyers handle regulatory matters – analyzing, preparing, and systematizing. They manage a significant volume of contractual work for the corps and the "Khartia" charitable foundation. They support procurement and vet counterparties. MORIS also assists military families in complex cases – for example, when a soldier goes missing. The company's lawyers represent the corps' brigades in court.

"The difference with civilian work is that in the army, in addition to general legislation, there is also special legislation and 'regulations.' There are many resolutions, orders, statutes... The processes are quite heavily regulated," Andriy explains. "In some of our brigades, there are over 150 court cases. The few full-time lawyers in the brigades physically cannot handle such a volume on their own. But a law firm in a quiet Kyiv office, having gained access to the materials, can."

Partnerships with experienced lawyers also provide the military with previously unavailable tools of influence, for example, on unscrupulous counterparties.

"We have some suppliers who have not fulfilled their agreements," Andriy says. "We punish them in a demonstrative way so that others don't even dare to. We freeze their accounts and collect the money, close their travel abroad, and initiate criminal prosecution. As they say in legal slang, we 'catch up.' Because you can't abandon the army for money."

In addition, the company continues to support the "Charter" by funding individual cultural, artistic, and social projects.

Ready to reform the army

"In fact, this story is about values," says Marian Martyniuk, a senior partner at MORIS, with the intonation of a person who is embarrassed by the combination of banality and pathos.

"Because you just understand that your country won't survive otherwise. So wouldn't you do it?" he explains. "After all, it's about our business, about our money. And that's what we decided."

The company accounts for the salary expenses of lawyers involved in supporting the "Charter" as an investment. In fact, the company deliberately limited its profits by investing employees' money and time in the country's defense.

"We could have assigned these specialists to other work or even laid them off," says Martyniuk. "Thank God, we are able to earn enough to cover our expenses, and at a level that allows us to remain competitive."

Selling consulting services in the market, the reputation of an army assistant does not help. But it is thanks to the new mission that the company retains a large team and develops practices and expertise in military law.

Deep integration into the defense sector also allows MORIS to systematize knowledge about shortcomings, gaps, and contradictions in the regulatory framework governing the military's activities. The defense forces need reform, says Romanchuk, to stop the enemy and prevent a repeat of the war in the future. If the state has a request, his company is ready to offer its expertise to make the Ukrainian military stronger.

"We decided that we would document the problems that complicate the army's life and combat operations," Andriy explains. "Unfortunately, the entire regulatory framework is from Soviet times; in independent Ukraine, during peacetime, it was simply accumulated and not adapted to current requirements. So we have a lot of work to do here."

What other companies can do

Many Ukrainian companies have already changed or are changing their corporate culture to meet wartime requirements – they observe a minute of silence at nine in the morning, create care programs for mobilized employees, veterans, and families of the deceased, and financially support military units.

MORIS believes that in the fourth year of this existential war, this is not enough. Business can do more. It can become part of the national resistance.

The company speaks of a three-dimensional involvement in the defense effort. The first dimension is professional: legal consulting, support for military units. The second is financial support. The third is personal participation in service, mobilization.

"The MORIS approach is that you should not only participate in the war with money," explains Andriy Romanchuk. "If you have achieved certain heights in business with your knowledge and experience, then please achieve the same level in the army. Because personal, direct participation is extremely important."

Andriy is confident that the partnership between Hartia and MORIS can be replicated and scaled. He reminds us that there are over a hundred quality law firms in Ukraine. The top twenty from the ranking could take on the corps, and the rest could take on the brigades.

"Don't say, 'I decided to dedicate half a day on Friday to providing social support to a service member's family...' In the fourth year of a full-scale war, it's like grit between your teeth," says Romanchuk. "Just assign corps to provide quality support. And it will be easier to work on the front in a certain sector, it will be easier to get certain weapons and supplies, it will be easier to avoid unscrupulous contractors... It will be much easier to work."

***

A year has passed since Andriy's mobilization, a year that flew by for him. Romanchuk says he hasn't regretted his decision for a single day. In the army, the lawyer gained new experience and met people he would hardly have crossed paths with and befriended in civilian life.

"At a certain age – and I'm 47 now – you don't have a chance to make new friends and get new challenges, you live in your bubble, having built a system that works," says Romanchuk. "Instead, here I gained a lot of new knowledge that is impossible to acquire in any other way than by being in this whirlwind of events. And also a lot of contacts and new friends – my social circle has expanded fivefold. I really like and am impressed by this 24/7 drive."

Currently, Andriy is not making any plans for civilian life. He does not rule out staying in the army even after the war:

"I am grateful to my business partners because I haven't been involved in business at all this year; they gave me the opportunity to distance myself from it. After all, you can't be a little bit in business and a little bit in the army. Besides, I like to give my all. I'm not sure if I'll return to business. It all depends on how events unfold in the country, because building a new Ukrainian army is a matter of development, survival, the economy, and people for us. I am confident that even after the war ends, the 'Khartia' team – the people who are building a new Ukrainian army – will remain, and I am ready to continue working with them."