Mongolia

With its rugged expanses and nomadic culture, Mongolia still manages to conjure up images of Genghis Khan, horses and the Gobi Desert. There are a handful of notable law firms in Mongolia, most of them full-service law firms with intellectual property practices, but most international-level lawyers in Ulaanbaatar deal with mining matters or general business law. 

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Founded as Absolute Advocates in 2017, GRATA International Mongolia has transitioned into an integrated office of GRATA International and began using the GRATA name in January 2021. The Ulaanbataar office specializes in commercial and corporate law with particular strength in advising foreign investment companies in the luxury items, petroleum products, and commodities sectors. Partner Bolormaa Volodya, who has significant experience in the mining sector, is also a key player in the firm’s intellectual property, data privacy, healthcare, labour, competition and civil practices. 

Founding partner Bodikhuu Batzaya leads Anand Advocates, with the skilful assistance of managing partner Nergui Enhktsetseg. The two provide a formidable team for clients doing business in Mongolia. The firm’s client list includes Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Philip Morris International, Spirit Product International Company, Herbalife, Mongol Daatgal and Mongolian Airlines Group. 

Ashid Advocates is led by managing partner Sh. Tsolmon; her practice focuses on energy, infrastructure and real estate projects. The firm handles IP registration, protection, licensing, franchising and assignment matters.  

DB&GTS is led by managing partner Zoljargal (Zola) Dashnyam, one of the country’s leading experts on finance and capital markets. She is joined by partner Sanchir Sukhtumur, who has well-rounded, business-minded professional experience as a former in-house lawyer for the Trade and Development Bank of Mongolia and for a subsidiary of Rio Tinto. He also worked as Head of Judicial Administration Department at the Judicial General Counsel of Mongolia. Senior associate Mend-Amar Narantsetseg is a key intellectual property contact at the firm. 

Delger IP is an IP specialist firm in Ulaanbaatar. Uyanga Delger, the firm’s founder, is active in the country’s intellectual property community; in April 2021, she took part in a hearing on the Copyright Law Reform Bill organized by the Justice Ministry and the Parliament of Mongolia at which she drew the attention of the Parliament members to the perspectives of foreign and domestic business owners. She has handled numerous cases, including those dealing with invalidation based on the protection of a well-known mark, customs seizures actions and invalidation of a mark for goods registered in a different class but sold and marketed in the same market. 

Dunnaran + Partners was launched in January 2023 by former Minter Ellison partner Dunnaran Baasankhuu, a transactional corporate lawyer with significant experience in mining. The firm’s other partners are also former Minter Ellison lawyers. Partner Dulguuun Gantumur’s experience includes corporate and commercial work as well as advising on licensing matters and regulatory compliance. 

IPPI focuses on IP and technology transfer matters, making it one of very few Mongolia-based firms doing IP work exclusively. D. Damdinbayar, a Mongolian patent attorney and member of the Association of Mongolian Intellectual Property Agents, says the firm can provide services including national phase PCT applications and filing patent, trademark and related applications in Mongolia. Damdinbayar has more than a decade working in Japan in a Japanese patent attorney office, and has brought the high-quality service from that office to Ulaanbataar. The firm also operates a certified translation bureau which handles Japanese, English, Russian, German and Korean translations. The firm serves as the Ulaanbaatar branch of Clover International Patent Firm in Tokyo.  

LehmanLaw Mongolia associate Gerel Enebish specializes in intellectual property law, labour law, corporate law and dispute resolution. Firm founder Edward Lehman leads the firm from his office in Beijing.  

Mahoney Liotta ranks as one of Mongolia’s top law firms, year in and year out. Led by Americans Daniel Mahoney and James Liotta, the full-service firm offers advice on a wide range of practice areas, including intellectual property. Mahoney, who is a board member of the Business Council of Mongolia, a non-profit entity formed to promote foreign direct investment in Mongolia that now includes as members more than 100 international companies, is a key contact for market entry advice. Liotta advises on market entry strategies, local partner selection and a diverse range of legal services. 

Located in central Ulaanbaatar, MDS & KhanLex is one of Mongolia’s largest law firms; it prides itself on taking an innovative approach in its work. Temuulen Bataa, a partner with 20 years of experience in the Mongolian legal sector, advises clients in relation to intellectual property, project finance and dispute resolution and arbitration.  

Erdenedalai Odkhuu is a partner at Melville Erdenedalai, a firm that focuses on corporate and commercial, mining and infrastructure and banking and finance work. Odkhuu has extensive experience in negotiation, competition matters, M&A, financing and securities, restructuring, licensing and compliance, primarily in the mining, infrastructure, telecommunications and finance sectors. The firm was founded in 2018 by former Hogan Lovells managing partner Chris Melville, who advises mostly on corporate, M&A, joint venture, banking and finance, and infrastructure matters.  

Minter Ellison’s work in Ulaanbaatar is now undertaken by Dunnaran + Partners, a local firm led by former Minter Ellison partner Dunnaran Baasankhuu. 

Full-service IP firm S&O IP specializes in advising clients on all aspects of intellectual property in Russia and Eurasia from registration to enforcement, as well as commercialization. The firm is known for its focus on understanding clients’ businesses needs and providing a responsive and effective response. The firm’s Russia/Eurasia team includes attorneys, IP consultants, trademark and patent agents from eight different countries. Oleg Ovcharenko is the firm’s St. Petersburg-based Central Asia/Trans-Caucasus director; Anna Kornilova in St. Petersburg is the region’s legal department director. The firm is rapidly expanding in China and Southeast Asia.  

Snow Hill Consultancy was formed by former ELC LLC Advocates lawyers. Nyamtseren Bataa is its managing director; her practice focuses on corporate and commercial deals, M&As, IPOs, PPPs and distributorship agreements. Associate Enkhjargal Enkh-Amgalan is a key IP contact at the firm; she has registered trademarks including Modern Nomads, Nomads Legends, Double Shot, Crocus Event Hall, Silk Road Bazaar, Transwest Mongolia, Cheese Republic, Үзэл бодлын зөрөг and Био Иод – Урт насал Удаан жарга.