Sara Aghamaliyeva

Senior Legal Associate

Sara Aghamaliyeva is a Senior Legal Associate at VLM and Partners with significant experience advising domestic and international clients in key sectors such as renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, M&A, intellectual property, and cross-border transactions. She brings a strategic and pragmatic approach to legal matters, with a focus on complex regulatory frameworks, multi-jurisdictional deal structuring, and the negotiation of high-value commercial agreements.

Sara has been instrumental in the development of renewable energy projects in Azerbaijan, advising foreign and local investors on large-scale solar and wind energy projects in the Garabagh and Gobustan territories. Her role includes drafting and negotiating Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), EPC contracts, Transmission Connection Agreements (TCAs), and O&M contracts, as well as navigating licensing and land acquisition procedures.

She plays a key legal advisory role in Azerbaijan’s first pharmaceutical manufacturing project, where she reviews sector-specific agreements such as Licensing Agreements, Technology Transfer Agreements, and Packaging Agreements, ensuring compliance with industry standards and evolving regulatory requirements.

Sara has a robust track record in mergers and acquisitions, including advising on regulatory filings, competition clearance, and merger control approvals. Notably, she contributed to securing one of the first merger control approvals under Azerbaijan’s new Competition Code for a major international transaction.

Her expertise extends to legal due diligence and risk assessment in sectors such as energy, insurance, and oil and gas. She provides in-depth analysis of Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs), corporate structures, and compliance issues, identifying key legal risks in domestic and cross-border transactions.

Sara collaborates regularly with leading international law firms from the UK, Belgium, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Romania, offering local legal insight on matters relating to pharmaceuticals, mergers, intellectual property, licensing, and regulatory compliance.

Core Practice Areas

Energy, Oil and Gas
Health and Pharmaceuticals
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Mergers and Acquisitions
Licensing and Regulatory Compliance
Full Legal Outsourcing

Languages

English
Russian
French
Turkish
Azerbaijani

Education

Stockholm University - LL.M. in International Commercial Arbitration Law
Baku State University - LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law
Baku State University - Bachelor of Laws

Key Accomplishments

Advises foreign and local investors on large-scale solar and wind energy projects in the Garabagh and Gobustan regions, including the drafting and negotiation of PPAs, EPC contracts, TCAs, and O&M agreement. Provided guidance on investment risk assessment, licensing, land acquisition and other regulatory procedures.
Plays a leading legal role in Azerbaijan’s first pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, managing full legal outsourcing and reviewing key agreements such as Licensing Agreements, Technology Transfer Agreements, and Packaging Agreements. Advises on sector-specific regulations to ensure compliance with evolving industry standards.
Secured a merger control clearance under Azerbaijan’s new Competition Code for the acquisition of a major international oilfield services company by a leading U.S.-based drilling corporation—one of the first such approvals granted under the revised legal framework.
Leads and contributes to comprehensive legal due diligence in the energy, insurance, and oil and gas sectors, with a focus on identifying critical risks in Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs), corporate structures, and compliance frameworks across domestic and cross-border transactions.
Led the full legal outsourcing for one of Azerbaijan’s major investment companies, delivering end-to-end legal support including contract drafting, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and strategic legal advisory services.
Prepared detailed legal opinions and memorandums on pharmaceutical sector regulations for foreign law firms based in Turkey and Kazakhstan, contributing to cross-border compliance and transactional planning.
Serves as part of an international legal team representing Azerbaijani and Latvian investors in an ICSID arbitration case.
Successfully registered multiple well-known international trademarks.