Strong professional institutions evolve not by standing still, but by deliberately refining how leadership is structured and exercised. At BLC Law Office, recent changes to the firm’s management architecture reflect precisely that kind of evolution - one driven by scale, institutional maturity, and a long-term vision for regional growth.
At the end of 2025, a year marking the firm’s 25th anniversary, BLC implemented a coordinated restructuring designed to clearly separate strategic oversight, executive management, and business development functions - a model increasingly characteristic of sophisticated professional services firms operating across jurisdictions.
From founder-led practice to institution-led governance
Founded in 2000, at a time when Georgia’s legal and economic institutions were still taking shape, BLC has grown into the country’s largest law firm and a consistent leader in all major practice areas. Over the past 25 years, the firm has advised on many of the transactions, disputes, and regulatory reforms that helped shape Georgia’s modern business environment - from banking and capital markets to energy, infrastructure, and foreign investment.
That growth has been accompanied by a steady internal evolution. Today, most of the firm’s partners began their careers at BLC and advanced organically into leadership roles. The firm’s model emphasizes continuity, merit-based progression, and institutional loyalty rather than dependence on individual figures.
The latest management changes formalize that philosophy.
Strategic oversight at the Board level
As part of the restructuring, founding partner Alexander Bolkvadze has transitioned from day-to-day legal practice into the role of Chairman of the Executive Board. In this capacity, he remains actively engaged in the firm’s strategic life, focusing on governance, long-term development, leadership succession, and regional expansion.
The move marks a recalibration of focus. Daily legal execution now sits firmly with the partnership and senior teams, while founder-level experience is concentrated where it delivers the most long-term value - institutional vision and direction.
This separation between strategic stewardship and operational legal work mirrors governance models common among mature international law firms and professional partnerships.
Managing Partner continuity and strategic business development
Ketti Kvartskhava continues in her role as a Managing Partner, bringing her experience as a distinguished business law practitioner and litigator to the firm, while at the same time retaining responsibility for the firm’s overall strategic business development. Her mandate spans client relationships, market positioning, and long-term growth strategy across practice areas and jurisdictions.
The continuity of the Managing Partner role underscores that BLC’s leadership changes are evolutionary. Ketti continues to play a central role in shaping the firm’s strategic direction and long-term business development. Her responsibilities extend beyond day-to-day management to overseeing client relationships, market positioning, and the firm’s growth across practice areas and jurisdictions. In the context of BLC’s evolving governance structure, the Managing Partner role serves as the connective tissue between partnership leadership, executive management, and the firm’s broader strategic objectives. By retaining this role, the firm underscores continuity in leadership and reinforces its commitment to disciplined and relationship-driven growth anchored in institutional values.
Executive leadership and operational management
Reflecting the firm’s increasing scale and complexity, Tamta Ivanishvili, while remaining as a star practitioner in number of areas of law, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO). In this role, she is responsible for executive management, operational coordination, and implementation of the firm’s strategic objectives across offices and practice groups.
The creation of a dedicated CEO role marks a significant step in BLC’s institutional development, aligning executive management with international best practices for multi-office professional firms and freeing senior partners to focus on legal excellence, client service, and strategic oversight.
Regional growth and Uzbekistan focus
BLC’s leadership restructuring also aligns with its regional ambitions. In 2025, the firm opened its first international office in Tashkent, Uzbekistan - the first Georgian law firm to expand abroad under its own brand.
To support this growth, Giorgi Batlidze has been appointed Business Development Lead (Uzbekistan). His role is focused on ensuring that the Uzbek office develops in line with the institutional standards, culture, and trajectory established by BLC’s Georgian operations, while remaining responsive to local market dynamics.
The appointment reflects a deliberate approach to regional expansion — one based on consistency, governance discipline, and long-term investment rather than rapid market entry.
Continuity as a competitive advantage
In emerging and transition markets, stability often matters as much as innovation. Clients, investors, and regulators value institutions that demonstrate the ability to evolve without losing their core identity.
BLC’s revised management structure sends precisely that signal. The firm is refining how leadership is exercised, not redefining who it is. Its values - professionalism, ethics, pragmatic advice, and client dedication - remain unchanged, while its governance model is calibrated for scale, resilience, and regional reach.
As BLC marks its 25-year anniversary, the firm finds itself at a familiar crossroads: grounded in strong foundations, yet consciously preparing for what comes next. The shift toward a more structured, institution-led management model reflects a belief that sustainable success in professional services is built not around individuals, but around systems designed to endure beyond them.
