In 1991, while most American lawyers stayed on predictable paths, I got on a plane to Kyiv.

Born in Kyiv. Raised in the United States. Returned at the exact moment when Ukraine stopped being the Soviet Union and started being something else — no one was quite sure what.

I was born into a Jewish family in Soviet Ukraine. My family emigrated to the U.S. in 1974 to escape state-sponsored antisemitism. I earned my JD from Washington University School of Law in 1988, joined a corporate firm, and seemed set for a comfortable American legal career.

Then the Soviet Union began to crack. In 1991 I made the decision that would define the next thirty years of my life: I flew back to Kyiv and founded Frishberg & Partners — the first American-owned corporate law firm in Ukraine.

I arrived as one of the few American lawyers on the ground. There were no clear rules, which meant there were plenty of opportunities — and a few situations where the rules changed mid-conversation. I built the firm in that environment. Worked with foreign companies, advised the embassies of the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, and dealt with everything from contracts to problems that didn't have names yet.

Some of it was predictable. A lot of it wasn't. Over time, those experiences turned into books — not because I set out to become a writer, but because some stories don't stay quiet.

I'm still in Kyiv. Still practicing law. Still writing.