The Legal 500

Baker & McKenzie – CIS, Limited has one of the best dispute resolution teams in Russia. Vladimir Khvalei leads the practice group in Moscow, while in St Petersburg Ivan Smirnov heads the disputes group. Recently, the firm represented Lukoil in a dispute under the Rules of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce with regard to its joint venture activities in Kazakhstan. It also advised Baltika Breweries in several antimonopoly litigation proceedings in Russian state courts regarding the removal of vertical restraints from agreements. Eugene Arievich and Edward Bekeschenko are also highly regarded.

Based both in Moscow and St Petersburg, Grigory Chernyshov’s dispute resolution team at Egorov, Puginsky, Afanasiev & Partners includes the considerable talents of Dimitry Afanasiev, Anton Kostenko, Evgeniy Raschevsky and Ilya Nikiforov. ‘For Russian domestic litigation it is simply the best’. The firm is currently representing the interests of UC RUSAL as shareholder of Norilsk Nickel in one of the largest shareholder disputes in Russian corporate history and, instructed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is representing the Russian Federation in a suit filed by Georgia in the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Alrud Law Firm’s clients are ‘extremely impressed’ with the firm’s ‘high value and cost-effective service’. The firm successfully represented Inmarko, a subsidiary of Unilever RUS in the Krasnoyarsk arbitrazh court and the appeal court in its dispute with FAS Russia. Vassily Rudomino ‘has a complete understanding of how Western lawyers work and the service that they demand, and is thoughtful and provides very clear advice’.

At Chadbourne & Parke LLP, the Moscow office’s senior partner Mikhail Rozenberg and Julia Romanova are highly regarded. The firm is currently representing Ilim Trading SA in connection with a dispute with one of its purchasers. The firm has particular expertise in white-collar crime cases.

Clifford Chance suffered the departure of former head of dispute resolution Ivan Marisin and Vasily Kuznetsov to Dechert Russia LLC. The new practice leader Nicholas Munday has relocated from London to Moscow. Timur Aitkulov has a superb reputation. ‘He has proved himself as an extremely knowledgeable and fast-responding lawyer, possessing a strong analytical mind. He is also a very impressive speaker and particularly good at cross-examination.’

Dechert Russia LLC’s ‘advice is always to the point and it gives good value for money’. Recently, the firm welcomed the ‘knowledgeable’ Oxana Peters from Salans, and from Clifford Chance the former head of disputes and ‘impressive speaker’ Ivan Marisin as well as counsel ‘fast responding’ Vasily Kuznetsov. The firm is currently representing the Bank of New York Mellon as respondent against the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation as claimant in litigation before the City of Moscow arbitrazh Court in relation to a $22.5bn claim in which the claimant sought the first ever application of the US RICO Act in Russia.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is ‘excellent’, ‘one of the top firms for dispute resolution’. The firm is currently representing a major Russian ammonia producer in more than 60 separate litigation proceedings in relation to its attempted hostile takeover. Yaroslav Klimov has ‘deep legal knowledge, extensive practical experience, responsiveness, excellent language skills and intelligence’.

The lawyers in Dmitry Kurochkin’s dispute resolution team at Herbert Smith CIS LLP ‘are proactive, demonstrate a creative approach, a great level of attention to detail, an understanding of the Russian business environment and reality, and (most importantly for litigators) they are real fighters’. The firm is advising IKEA in dispute settlement negotiations in Russia.

‘Very impressive,’ Linklaters CIS ‘enjoys an excellent reputation in the Russian market and fully deserves it’. The firm has acted on various corporate conflicts including financial litigation relating to insolvency and five LCIA arbitrations. The firm has also seen an increase in antitrust matters and regulatory investigations. Alexei Dudko is ‘very knowledgeable, efficient and practical’.

Magisters is, according to one international firm, ‘an outstanding Russian law firm providing service with a style and attitude that our clients demand’. Dmitri Dyakin ‘is a heavyweight lawyer, who works hard for his clients and is ready to listen to their needs’. The firm recently assisted RTM Group against a global financial services company in arbitration proceedings under MKAS rules.

Monastyrsky, Zyuba, Stepanov & Partners’ clients include Gazprom, Vostok Nafta and Prosperity Capital. Yuri Monastyrsky, Dmitry Lovyrev and Dmitry Mukhomorov are experienced litigation and arbitration practitioners.

Muranov, Chernyakov & Partners has a strong dispute resolution practice and recently provided legal support and representation in court proceedings for a medium-sized Russian company’s bond loan project worth $27m. Name partner Alexander Muranov is highly respected.

Salans recently represented Setra Lubricants, a subsidiary of BP, in a dispute over cargo seized and retained by a freight forwarder and two warehouse keepers. In St Petersburg, Mikhail Ivanov ‘has a deep knowledge of Russian law’, while in Moscow, Alexei Panich is a ‘very good speaker and has excellent presentation skills while speaking to the court at hearings’.

White & Case LLC ‘has a very good reputation in the market’. The firm welcomed David Goldberg from SJ Berwin LLP in 2010, bolstering in particular its international arbitration capability. The firm recently successfully represented Kazakh Bank Alliance Bank and its Russian subsidiaries, in a number of cases in Russian arbitrazh courts in connection with the banks’ restructuring/bankruptcy proceedings in Kazakhstan. Igor Ostapets and Alexey Barnashov are also highly recommended.

Baker Botts L.L.P. impresses following the appointment of new practice head and international arbitration specialist Dominic Pellew, the former head of disputes at Hogan Lovells (CIS). The firm is currently acting for RenSec and RASL in two LCIA arbitrations in London against companies in the Renova Group. The total value of the claims is approximately $65m.

The service provided by Sergey Yuryev’s dispute resolution team at CMS Russia is ‘efficient, fast and flexible’. The team advises on domestic litigation and international arbitration and is ably supported by both tax and insurance practice groups.

DLA Piper’s Yaroslav Moshennikov is head of disputes in Moscow while Oleg Skvortsov leads the disputes team in St Petersburg. The firm recently advised on the widely publicised Gazprom/NAK Naftogaz dispute. Other clients include International Paper, Maersk, Renaissance Construction Group and Warimpex.

Goltsblat BLP recently successfully advised ING Bank in a $36m international commercial arbitration claim against RTM Group. Maxim Kulkov ‘has great leadership skills and takes a creative approach to complicated cases’. Rustam Kurmaev ‘analyses the detail of a case and is a talented advocate’.

Hogan Lovells (CIS) provides ‘a very high level of service at reasonable rates’. The disputes team recently represented Rosno in relation to a $200m claim by Rusgidro. Senior associate and ‘strong litigator’ Alexander Scard heads up the disputes team in Moscow. Ilya Rybalkin has joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and Dominic Pellew has joined Baker Botts L.L.P..

At Ivanyan and Partners, Khristofor Ivanyan’s team has experience of dealing with a range of different commercial disputes, from corporate fraud and asset tracing, insolvency proceedings and asset freezing to white-collar crime.

The head of Norton Rose (Central Europe) LLP’s Moscow office, Valentina Gluhovskaya may be better known for her expertise in corporate and real estate transactions, but she is also a formidable litigator and her team has considerable experience in complex commercial and real estate disputes.

Olga Anisimova is the partner at Orrick (CIS) LLC’s Moscow office who deals with European litigation. The firm recently acted for a major oil company in an ICAC arbitration in Moscow in a dispute related to the export of oil from Russia.

Padva & Partners specialises above all in criminal defence work. The firm does however advise on a variety of civil litigation cases and domestic arbitrations. Genrikh Padva is highly regarded.

Denis Bykov’s disputes group at Pepeliaev Group is popular with clients. ‘The personal, client-oriented approach and prompt attention in dealing with complicated issues is outstanding and efficient’. Senior attorney Vavara Knutova is ‘an effective problem-solver’.

Reznik, Gagarin, Abushakhmin & Partners is well known for its criminal litigation expertise. It is also instructed on civil litigation cases. Genry Reznik has advised on a number of high profile matters.

Vegas Lex ‘sets high standards for its lawyers, and at the same time leaves space for creative solutions’. Managing partner Alexander Sitnikov heads up the dispute resolution team. Senior associate Kirill Trukhanov is singled out for praise for his ‘responsiveness,’ ‘professional knowledge’ and ‘attention to detail’. Former head of disputes Andrey Korelskiy recently left the firm to set up Korelskiy Ischuk Astafiev and Partners, Attorneys at Law.

Law Office Yukov, Khrenov and Partners recently assisted the National Reserve Corporation CJSC in settling corporate conflicts relating to the oil sector. Name partners Andrey Yukov and Alexander Khrenov are highly regarded.

YUST Law Firm has a good reputation for domestic litigation and arbitration cases. Arthur Alexandrovich Rokhlin is experienced in corporate conflict resolution.