The Legal 500

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP impresses as a result of its superb reputation and its deals list, even in adverse market conditions. Although David Gottlieb transferred to London, Scott Senecal, Murat Akuyev and Vladimir Frolov continue to attract some of the best deals in the business. Recent highlights include acting for Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley, as dealer managers, in the exchange offer by VimpelCom for the shares and ADSs of OJSC VimpelCom, one of the first ever public cross-border US/Russian exchange offers, and advising Texas Pacific Group on its acquisition of 35% of Lenta.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is ‘well staffed with experienced expatriates with sound knowledge of doing business in Russia and very competent Russian lawyers. This good mix ensures a high sensitiveness to local factors while keeping the quality of the work delivered by the firm’. Dmitry Surikov leads a team that includes the considerable talents of Harvey Nugent and Igor Gerber. As well as advising on big-ticket M&A transactions, liability management exercises have kept the firm busy over recent months. Recently it advised JPMorgan as financial adviser to MTS's $1.27bn acquisition of a 50.91% stake in the listed Russian telecommunications operator Comstar United TeleSystems from AFK Sistema.

Linklaters CIS is ‘able to react and allocate the right personnel when needed’. The firm is advising Total on its joint venture with Novatek to develop the Termokarstovoye gas field and Experian on a formation of a credit history bureau jointly with Sberbank and Interfax group. The firm also advised two of the three shareholders of Industrial Union Donbass on the sale of a controlling stake in the group to a consortium of Russian purchasers, financed by Russian state bank VEB. John Goodwin and Denis Uvarov have excellent reputations. Grigory Gadzhiev is one to watch.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP’s highlights included representing the owners of the Paterson supermarket chain in the acquisition of Paterson by X5 Retail Group for approximately $275m; Bank of Moscow, in connection with an equity investment by Credit Suisse International and Goldman Sachs International, and advising the financial adviser to the board of KazakhGold Group in its proposed reverse takeover of OJSC Polyus Gold. Dmitri Kovalenko, Linda Davies, Alexey Kiyashko and Pranav Trivedi make a formidable Moscow-based team.

White & Case LLC welcomed the highly experienced Andrei Dontsov from Clifford Chance in May 2010. He joined a strong M&A team that already included Eric Michailov and Hermann Schmitt. The firm recently advised Bank of Cyprus on the sale of 100% of the share capital of LeadBank LLC to Renaissance Capital and PromSvyazCapital on the $745m sale of 100% of shares in Synterra to MegaFon, one of Russia’s largest mobile telecom providers. The firm also assisted Sberbank on its attempted €5bn joint acquisition, together with Magna International, of a 55% interest in Adam Opel GmbH and its subsidiaries from the US automobile producer General Motors Company.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP has bolstered its international corporate transactions practice by the recent hire of not only Ilya Rybalkin from what was Hogan & Hartson LLP, but also Suren Gortsunyan from the newly merged Hogan Lovells (CIS). The team recently represented VimpelCom in its merger with Kievstar and Nobel Oil on its transactions, which resulted in the establishment of what may be the first Russian-Chinese joint venture in the Russian oil and gas industry. Richard Wilkie heads the practice, andVladimir Kouznetsov and Andrei Danilov are also recommended.

Allen & Overy Legal Services fields ‘fantastic lawyers’ who are ‘very professional and very efficient’. Although also targeting large Russian and international corporates, the group has recognised strength in the banking, insurance and financial services sector. It recently advised EBRD in an equity investment of RUB4.6bn to acquire an 11.75% stake in Promsvyazbank, Russia’s third-largest locally owned private bank. Group leader Edwin Tham is ‘direct, does not waste time and quickly understands the goal’. Both Anton Konnov and James Roe made partner.

Baker & McKenzie – CIS, Limited strengthened its corporate practice by relocating James Richards from London to Moscow. The firm’s recent highlight deals include advising Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies (Rusnano) in the acquisition of shares in LLC Sitronics-Nano and assisting Sberbank on the transactional aspects of the acquisition of 93.27% of BPS-Bank for $280m. Sergei Voitishkin and Carol Patterson head up the corporate and M&A team.

Baker Botts L.L.P. provides ‘a top-rate service, with a good focus on commercial issues’ and has expertise in advising on transactions in the energy, banking, manufacturing, petrochemical and real estate sectors. Recently it advised on the merger of MDM Bank and URSA Bank, which resulted in the creation of the largest privately held Russian retail bank. Steve Wardlaw and Maxim Levinson are held in particularly high regard within the market. Of counsel Sergei Stepanov is ‘very knowledgeable on due diligence issues and structuring’.

Clifford Chance suffered the departure of one of its stars Andrei Dontsov to White & Case LLC and the relocation to London of Alex Erasmus. Nick Dingemans, a corporate finance partner who specialises in energy also left the firm to join Norton Rose (Central Europe) LLP. The highly respected Marc Bartholomy remains and welcomed newly promoted Nicholas Rees from London into the team. Competition law specialist Torsten Syrbe has also been made up. The firm recently advised Polymetal on the acquisition of the Varvarinskoye gold and copper mining project in Kazakhstan.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP receives plaudits in recognition of the complex, quality deals it attracts. Dmitri Nikiforov’s team is also highly regarded within the market. It recently advised OJSC Polyus Gold in its acquisition of 50.1% in Kazakhgold Group, INTER RAO UES in its acquisition of CJSC Electoluch from Horus Capital and Carbofer Group in its sale of Carbofer Metal to Evraz Group.

The corporate and M&A lawyers at Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP ‘are extremely client oriented. They are good negotiators and are great in complicated transactions’. The firm also boasts ‘deep knowledge of the Russian business and legal environment’. Deal highlights included advising Sberbank on its $2.3bn acquisition of approximately 93% of the shares in BPS Bank and Eni on its $4.2bn cash sale to Gazprom of a 20% stake in JSC Gazprom Neft. Managing partner of the Moscow office Brian Zimbler is ‘the best of the best’. Oleg Berger, Vasilisa Strizh and Jonathan Hines are also highly regarded.

The ‘perfect’ and ‘exemplary’ service that Herbert Smith CIS LLP provides is testament to the quality of the firm’s lawyers. Allen Hanen heads up the corporate practice in Russia, ably supported by talented practitioners such as Robin Wittering and Alexei Roudiak. Nicholas Moore is a ‘superb corporate lawyer’, and Evgeny Zelensky is commended for his ‘creativity’ and skills as a ‘team leader’. Longstanding clients include Gazpom Group, ONEXIM Group, BP, Chevron and First Quantum but the firm has also recently attracted new clients such as Sberbank and Rusnano.

Alrud Law Firm’s corporate team recently represented Silverlake Partners regarding the acquisition of indirect control over Skype from eBay.com. Senior parterns Vassily Rudomino and Maxim Alekseyev are recommended, as is Alexander Zharskiy.

CMS Russia recently advised Banque PSA Finance on the acquisition of AIG’s consumer finance operations in Russia and Symrise on the acquisition of a production facility in the Moscow region. Corporate team leader David Cranfield is ‘good at explaining local laws and procedures within a Western perspective and coming up with practical solutions’. Irene Engel is also recommended.

DLA Piper recently represented Rusnano in the establishment of a Russian 49/51 joint venture company together with Russian investment group RENOVA. While corporate head Delphine Nougayrède ‘treats deals as if they are her own’, her ‘very capable team’ also ‘works at a frantic pace but never drops the ball’. Regional managing partner Constantine Lusignan-Rizhinashvili has extensive experience in this field. Last year Igor Panshensky joined Dechert Russia LLC, and Brian Konradi also left the firm.

Although it lost Ilya Rybalkin and Suren Gortsunyan to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and Boris Arkhipov to Gide Loyrette Nouel, the ‘timely’ and ‘responsive’ team at Hogan Lovells (CIS) retains enviable talent, including the experienced co-heads of the corporate group Oxana Balayan and Sergey Komolov. Recent work includes advising the leading Russian retailer X5 Retail Group, part of the Alfa Group, on the acquisition of the Paterson supermarket chain.

Chris Allen’s corporate group at Latham & Watkins LLP may be small but it attracts impressive mandates, particularly in assisting private equity funds. The group is currently representing Mobile TeleSystems on its merger with Comstar and combined tender offer for up to 9% of Comstar, a deal valued at potentially over $1bn.

Salans recently advised European Refreshments, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company, on the acquisition of Nidan Juices from the UK-based private equity fund, Lion Capital. Head of the Moscow office Mathieu Fabre-Magnan, head of the firm’s corporate and M&A practice group Todd Culyba and Alexei Knyazhev are all recommended.

Jennifer Handz’s team at Chadbourne & Parke LLP is praised for its ‘prompt attendance to requests and excellent time management, excellent understanding of the private equity industry and value for money’. Clients include the IFC, Alfa Bank, EBRD and Sberbank. Konstantin Konstantinov is ‘an outstanding professional with excellent understanding of the business and client needs, and a true passion for his job’. Olga Koniuhova left the firm to go in-house.

Dechert Russia LLC’s ‘advice is very appropriate and commercially targeted’. The firm recently advised Kinross Gold Corporation on its acquisition of companies owning the rights to the Dvoinoye deposit and the Vodorazdelnaya exploration and mining licenses in Russia. In 2010, Laura Brank’s team was bolstered by the arrival of Igor Panshensky, formerly a partner at DLA Piper. Shane DeBeer is highly recommended.

Egorov, Puginsky, Afanasiev & Partners ‘provides solutions from start to finish, tailoring its support to the changing demands of legislation and national constraints’. Over the last 12 months, the firm provided legal advice on over 30 M&A deals, including antitrust clearance issues, exceeding $30bn in value. Dimitry Afanasiev, Mikhail Kazantsev and Dmitry Stepanov are recommended.

Gide Loyrette Nouel’s service is ‘on time, useful; fees are reasonable; and cooperation between the law firm and in-house lawyers is good’. Recently the firm advised on the restructuring of Société Générale and Air Liquide. New clients include Arcelor Mittal and Akzo Nobel. Axelle Toulemonde and David Lasfargue are highly regarded. In 2010, the firm welcomed Boris Arkhipov from Hogan Lovells (CIS) to head up the Russian corporate and M&A practice.

Following a successful first year as a merged entity Goltsblat BLP had new client wins in Rusnano, Magna International, EBRD, AMT&C, MFK-Bank and PineBridge Investments. Anton Sitnikov heads up the corporate practice that includes the expertise of name and managing partner Andrey Goltsblat. Ian Ivory heads up the English law and M&A practice in Moscow.

In 2010, Norton Rose (Central Europe) LLP welcomed corporate finance partner and energy specialist Nick Dingemans from Clifford Chance. The firm recently advised Alfa Gold on the acquisitions of two gold deposits in the Russian Federation. Both Chris Owen and practice head Valentina Gluhovskaya have impressive experience in the field and are highly regarded.

SNR Denton’s ‘availability, effective communication, high level of expertise and professionalism ensure reliable, continuous support that goes beyond the standard package of services’. Recently, the firm advised Quick S.A.S on the corporate and commercial arrangements relating to the introduction of Quick into the Russian catering market through a joint venture with a local partner. Doran Doeh and Anna Otkina are recommended.

Ivan Trifonov’s team at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey (Moscow) LLC advised UFG Capital Partners as co-investor in a consortium led by Baring Vostok Capital Partners and Tiger Global Management, on the acquisition of shares representing a minority investment in Yandex, Russia’s leading internet portal with a market cap of $1.1bn. Overall, deals closed in the last 12 months exceeded $4bn. David Wack has impressive corporate experience.