The Legal 500

Baker & McKenzie – CIS, Limited is ‘the best choice in Russia for foreign business and for Russian business with foreign investments’. Its Moscow and St Petersburg offices handle work in the Russian courts and international arbitration. Among several high-profile cases recently, the team represented Novo Nordisk in the Arbitrazh Court of Moscow in a dispute with the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service. Team head Vladimir Khvalei and Edward Bekeschenko are the key contacts. IP litigators Eugene Arievich and Denis Khabarov are also recommended.

Clifford Chance has been active in both the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and the ICC, representing a multinational bank and major Russian client, respectively, in high-value proceedings ranging into hundreds of millions of dollars. Timur Aitkulov represented another major bank in a $177m case in the Russian courts. Aitkulov is ‘a very impressive speaker, particularly good at cross-examination’. Nicholas Munday heads the team.

Dechert Russia LLC had to contend with the loss of veteran litigators Ivan Marisin and Vasily Kuznetsov to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP in late 2011. Despite this, Oxana Peters’ ‘excellent’ team has maintained the firm’s reputation in high-value disputes for Russian and multinational clients, and recently represented a major Russian company in a multibillion-dollar dispute in the LCIA. Yuri Makhonin is also recommended and Timur Djabbarov is another key contact. The loss of Marisin and Kuznetzov was mitigated in November 2012 by the arrival of Dmitry Kurochkin, who was previously head of dispute resolution at Herbert Smith Freehills CIS LLP.

Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners ‘can easily be compared with international law firms in terms of its level of service and efficiency’. The firm’s huge team in Moscow and St Petersburg litigates in Russia’s highest courts and in international courts of arbitration. Recent work includes real estate, maritime, IP and competition disputes, and the firm is advising BP in disputes arising from its joint venture with TNK-BP. Evegeny Raschevsky leads in major international cases, and is recommended along with recently promoted partner Denis Arkhipov.

Litigation heavyweight Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP opened its Moscow office in December 2011 after recruiting the highly regarded Ivan Marisin and Vasily Kuznetsov from Dechert Russia LLC to co-head the team. The firm has been active across a broad range of disputes domestically and in international settings such as the LCIA. Marisin and Kuznetzov were joined by associates Alexander Sidorov and internal investigations expert Vitaliy Skibin.

Alrud Law Firm represents multinational clients in domestic litigation and arbitration, and also advised a major commodities trader on Russian law aspects of litigation in a Dutchcourt. Feodor Vyacheslavov, who was promoted to the partnership in January 2012, leads the team with oversight from senior partner Vassily Rudomino.

Chadbourne & Parke LLP provided Russian law advice to Roman Abramovich as defendant in proceedings brought against him by Boris Berezovsky in London’s High Court. Other highlights included successfully defending a Forbes 100 company in a $100m dispute with the Russian tax authorities. Senior partner Mikhail Rozenberg and Julia Romanova are the key contacts.

DLA Piper is acting in a multibillion-dollar, multi-jurisdictional case arising from a disputed shareholders’ agreement. The team has strong, recent experience in customs, real estate and tax cases, and it successfully represented Beckman Coulter and Yamal Airlines in two customs-related cases before the Russian courts. Yaroslav Moshennikov and Oleg Skvortsov head the teams in Moscow and St Petersburg, respectively.

Equally active in litigation and arbitration, Dentons’ ‘rigorous, professional’ team gained a notable decision for client Ciments Français when it persuaded a Russian court to recognise an arbitral award set aside in Turkey. Marat Mouradov, who joined from Baker & McKenzie – CIS, Limited in January 2012, heads the Moscow dispute resolution and competition practices. Russia team head Mikhail Ivanov is based in St Petersburg, and is ‘a tactical thinker with excellent understanding of the business dynamics in Russia’. Alexei Panich joined Herbert Smith Freehills CIS LLP in September 2012.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer represents several major banks and acted for a subsidiary of Gazprombank in an agency dispute with an affiliate of Promsvyazbank.Other work includes a high-value dispute between former business partners. Team head Maxim Kulkov is ‘a most impressive dispute resolution lawyer’.

Herbert Smith Freehills CIS LLP’s ‘outstanding’ team mitigated the loss of Dmitry Kurochkin to Dechert Russia LLC by recruiting Alexei Panich from Salans in September 2012. Notable recent work includes defending Commerzbank in a complex fraud case in Russian and Cypriot courts. Team head Vladimir Melnikov and senior associate John Corrie are recommended. Former practice head Dmitry Kurochkin joined Dechert Russia LLC.

Dispute resolution specialist Korelskiy, Ischuk, Astafiev and Partners, Attorneys at Law is ‘one of the leaders in its field’. Recent cases include winning an $800m claim for Allianz Rosno against a reinsurer arising from the 2009 Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam accident. Managing partner Andrey Korelskiy is ‘a great litigator, a talented negotiator and totally business-minded’; Ilya Ischuk is ‘one of the best in antitrust law’; Kostantin Astafiev is ‘fantastically good for employment issues’; and Sergey Popov is recommended for real estate disputes.

Linklaters CIS’ recent highlights include acting for Bank of New York Mellon in a case which is testing the Russian courts’ interpretation of the English law principle of a trustee acting on behalf of noteholders under a debt issuance programme. The Moscow team is overseen by London-based Michael Bennett. Former Moscow team leader Alexei Dudko joined Hogan Lovells(CIS) in January 2013.

Monastyrsky, Zyuba, Stepanov & Partners’ highly regarded and experienced practice represents multinational and major Russian clients, primarily in domestic courts but also international matters. Co-lead partner Yuri Monastyrsky represents IKEA in its Russian litigation, and fellow co-lead partner Dmitry Lovyrev acted for Saratov Oil Refinery in its multimillion-dollar lawsuit against TNK-BP. Monastyrsky is well known and respected across the market.

Muranov, Chernyakov & Partners is ‘one of the best in dispute resolution’, particularly for energy-focused matters. The team is advising Rosneft on Russian law. The practice has acted for various major clients in cases concerning, for example, disputed investments, alleged misrepresentation, and subsoil useage rights. Dmitry Chernyy is ‘very detail-oriented and makes understanding complex issues easy’, and Alexander Muranov and Dmitry Chernyakov are also recommended.

Norton Rose (Central Europe) LLP has strong experience acting for insurers and is advising Caitlin Underwriting Agencies on issues arising from the sinking of the oil rig Kolskaya in Russia’s Far East. Yaroslav Klimov’s team also acted for Boston Consulting Group during administrative proceedings brought by the Federal Antimonopoly Service.

Pepeliaev Group has been particularly active in bankruptcy proceedings on both the debtor and creditor side, as well as in high-value debt recovery cases. Team co-head Yuriy Vorobyev represented a Russian conglomerate in the enforcement of a Russian state arbitration court judgement in Israel. Vorobyev was made up to partner in January 2012. Varvara Knutova and Yulia Litovtseva are other key contacts. Denis Bykov joined AstapovLawyers International Law Group.

Vegas Lex Law Firm ‘stands out as it is challenging the more established big firms’. The team has been involved in some notable precedent-setting cases, including the first time a Russian court had recognised the validity of an electronic SWIFT message as a valid bank guarantee. Team head Kirill Trukhanov has substantial experience in international arbitrations, and is ‘incredibly hardworking, and gets the client results in the Russian courts’.

White & Case LLC’s instructions include acting for Mobile Telesystems in a $900m dispute with the state of Turkmenistan, which includes two ICC arbitrations in Geneva. Practice head Grigory Chernyshov joined from Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners in 2011. David Goldberg and newly promoted partner Julia Zagonek, who relocated from the London office in March 2012, are also recommended.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is acting for Renova in various disputes including two UNCITRAL arbitrations arising from the shareholders’ agreement of the TNK-BP joint venture. Ilya Rybalkin heads the team, which also advised Surgutneftegaz on potential litigation and in arbitration proceedings with the Hungarian government over its sale of a 21.2% stake in MOL – the Hungarian oil and gas company.

Baker Botts L.L.P. is heavily focused on international arbitration, and has been acting in high-profile proceedings for clients such as Interros and Gazprom, for the latter of which the team successfully obtained dismissal of a claim in Texan trial and appellate courts. The firm’s key Russian contacts are London-based partners Dominic Pellew, who is a fluent Russian speaker, and Jay Alexander, who co-chairs the international dispute resolution team. They are supported by a team of associates based in Moscow. Pellew has extensive experience in Russia-related international arbitrations.

With international and domestic capabilities, CMS recently defended a multinational in the Russian courts against claims of a squeeze-out. The team has strong experience in real estate and construction disputes, and is also particularly well known in the insurance market through the expertise of Leonid Zubarev. Sergei Yuryev heads the team, which also includes associate Konstantin Kantyrev, who is ‘a good lawyer with good arbitration experience’.

FBK Legal has recently augmented its significant tax litigation capabilities with strong work in other sectors. The firm negotiated a settlement for client Stells in a land plot dispute with the Federal Agency for State Property Management, and represented a subsidiary of Gazprom in a domestic arbitration. Practice head Anna Grishchenkova is ‘an extremely persistent lawyer who always stands her ground’.

Goltsblat BLP successfully represented Stockmann in the St Petersburg Court of Arbitration in a construction case, and enforced a judgement of $35m by the International Commercial Arbitration Court for client ING Bank at the Moscow Court of Arbitration. Practice co-heads Rustam Kurmaev – ‘an outstandingly effective litigator’ – and the ‘highly professional’ Elena Trusova were joined by fellow co-head Oleg Arkhipov, who was hired from Hannes Snellman LLC.

Hogan Lovells (CIS)’ team, headed by English law-qualified Alexander Scard, has robust experience in Russian and international arbitration courts including ICC, LCIA and LMAA proceedings. Recent highlights include successfully pursuing claims under a credit facility agreement and mortgage agreement at both trial and appellate level in the Russian courts. Senior associate Eugene Perkunov, who handles Russian litigation, is recommended. Alexei Dudko joined from Linklaters CIS in January 2013.

Dispute resolution boutique Ivanyan and Partners has offices in Moscow and St Petersburg, and has strong experience in acting for and against government bodies in arbitration and litigation over issues such as IP and real estate. Khristofor Ivanyan and Sergey Chuprygin lead the firm.

Khrenov and Partners specialises in commercial disputes in the Russian courts and has recently been active in various bankruptcy cases. The key contacts are Alexander Khrenov and Vyacheslav Uvachev, who has in-house experience at a Russian natural resources conglomerate.

Lidings is representing General Motors in consumer litigation in Irkutsk. Team head Andrey Zelenin ‘stands out as a highly skilled legal player – pragmatic and accurate’, and of counsel Sergey Patrakeev is ‘very knowledgeable in matters relating to the pharmaceuticals industry’. The team also has experience in patent litigation.

Mannheimer Swartling’s team, which is headed by the highly respected Kaj Hobér, is active in Russian and international courts for its mainly Scandinavian client base. Andrei Gusev, head of the St Petersburg office, has ‘in-depth knowledge’. Fredrik Andersson and Kristoffer Löf, based in Gothenburg and Stockholm, respectively, are regularly involved in high-end, Russia-related arbitration. .
 Since publication, Andrei Gusev and the St Petersburg team has moved to the newly opened office of Attorneys at law Borenius Russia Ltd.

Nane Oganesyan and associate Dmitry Ivanov joined Morgan Lewis in May 2012, following Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP’s dissolution. Oganesyan has impressive international experience representing mainly Russian clients in UNCITRAL, LCIA and ICAC proceedings.

Sergey Saveliev of Law Firm "Nektorov, Saveliev & Partners" attracts high praise from clients, particularly for his performances in the Supreme Commercial Court – ‘all his cases influence judicial practice and become precedents’. He is also recommended for his ‘deep expertise of corporate and real estate law’.

Noerr represented a Russian subsidiary of GEA Group in ICC arbitration over a supply contract dispute. Other highlights included successfully enforcing a decision by an international arbitration court in the Supreme Arbitrazh Court of the Russian Federation. Senior associate Victor Gerbutov heads the team.

Orrick (CIS) LLC’s team head Olga Anisimova focuses her practice on international arbitrations in Russia, and also acts in cases at all levels of the Russian state court system.

Russin & Vecchi LLC’s clients include Sumitomo Corporation and GLM Capital, the latter of which the firm represented in ICC proceedings. Jonathan Russin and Natalia Prisekina are the main contacts.

Yakovlev & Partners’ clients include Raiffeisenbank and Sberbank, which the firm advised at the International Commercial Arbitration Court. Practice head Kira Koruma has strong in-house experience at a natural resources company.