The Legal 500

Baker & McKenzie – CIS, Limited continues to field ‘a very strong real estate group’. In Moscow, Konstantine Kouzine’s team recently advised Avon on its new office lease in Moscow and is assisting Liebrecht & Wood on the acquisition of land in the Leningrad region from a number of Russian individuals, for further joint development of an outlet shopping mall. Maxim Kuznechenkov is also highly regarded.

‘When it comes to judging difficult Russian real estate law issues, we go to Vladislav Sourkov ’ say clients. His team at CMS Russia recently advised Siemens AG on the acquisition of the Legion II office building for its Russian headquarters and acted for EUROHYPO AG in its $185.5m secured syndicated financing of the Aurora business cente. Ivan Gritsenko and Georgy Koval are also recommended.

At Clifford Chance, corporate star Marc Bartholomy also leads the ’excellent’ real estate practice group. He provides ‘Russian experience as well as the knowledge of what Western clients expect’. The firm recently advised VTB Capital on the acquisition from a Moscow-based developer of one of the most prestigious office complexes in central Moscow. Real estate finance expert Logan Wright is recommended. Torsten Syrbe was made up in 2010.

It is ‘a personal pleasure to work with the real estate team at Goltsblat BLP’; the firm provides ‘high-quality advice’. Vitaly Mozharowski’s team was bolstered in 2009 by the arrival from London of finance specialist Laurence Rogers. The team has won new panel appointments over the past year for VTB-Capital and Sberbank and General Electric. Other clients include AIG GRE, Kimberly-Clark, Panasonic and Astra-Zeneca.

Linklaters CIS has a dedicated group of real estate lawyers who advise on all types of transactions, from landlord and tenant negotiation to more complex financing and project development and major investment work. Xavier Hunter’s group is providing ongoing advice to AIG/Lincoln on the development of the White Square office complex, including completion of the pre-leasing to various tenants, throughout the development phase to stabilisation. Managing associate Julia Belopilskaya is also highly regarded.

Salans’ lawyers have ‘a perfect understanding of real estate combined with a profound knowledge of legislation’. ‘They are very responsive and highly professional’, and ‘the advice we receive is both cost-effective and efficient’. The firm recently advised UniCredit Bank Austria AG on one of the largest single asset real estate loan restructurings in Russia, confirming its commitment to the Vivaldi Plaza Project in Moscow. Anna McDonald and Andrei Soukhomlinov co-head the group that includes the new head of global retail practice, Florian Schneider

Allen & Overy Legal Services’ Tony Humphrey and his partners are ‘very professional, fast in their response and available at anytime to provide further assistance’. The firm recently advised Unicredit Bank Slovenia on structuring a security package for several financings on a limited-recourse basis of property in Russia. The firm also advised Sekisui House on structuring a Sekisui House CIS and further acquisition of land in the Moscow Region for the construction of a residential project. Other clients include Misys International Banking Systems CIS and DS Invest.

Baker Botts L.L.P.’s real estate practice continues to thrive under the leadership of Simon Elliott. The firm handles real estate M&A/joint ventures and corporate real estate restructuring as well as borrower finance and the sale of assets. Clients include Hines International and various Hines-sponsored emerging market funds.

DLA Piper has a strong reputation for commercial real estate and has won mandates including Manezhnaya Square, Khodinskoye Pole and the Daimler Chrysler building. The firm has considerable experience in the hospitality and retail sectors. Sergey Koltchin and Olga Litvinova lead the teams in Moscow and St Petersburg, respectively. Scott Antel is also recommended.

Alexei Roudiak’s real estate team at Herbert Smith CIS LLP is ‘very, very good in terms of quality’. Bringing together corporate, finance, tax and dispute resolution lawyers, it recently advised on the restructuring of RosEuroDevelopment. Infrastructure specialist Olga Revzina joined the team from Gide Loyrette Nouel in 2010.

Hogan Lovells (CIS) ‘tends to give more flexible fee arrangements’. Taras Oksyuk heads the real estate group, which is currently advising the Marriott Group on the management of its Russian real estate portfolio, including leasing, management and the opening of hotels in different Russian regions. Olga Kozyr, Iliya Zotkin and Oxana Balayan all have experience advising on real estate matters.

At Norton Rose (Central Europe) LLP, Valentina Gluhovskaya’s real estate group is advising a subsidiary of Enel in connection with the leasing of office premises in Moscow and assisting Etihad Airways on leasing premises for their representative office in Moscow. Corporate finance lawyer Marina Youdova specialises in advising on all aspects of property development.

White & Case LLC felt the departure of Philipp Windemuth to Orrick (CIS) LLC. Steffen Kaufmann heads the real estate practice group that recently welcomed counsel Jennifer Foss. Clients include China Cheng Tong, IKEA and Moscow City Group.

Alrud Law Firm’s real estate team recently advised Interdean on investing in a greenfield warehouse construction in the Moscow Region. Irina Anyukhina and Alexander Zharskiy are highly recommended.

At Beiten Burkhardt in Moscow, Falk Tischendorf is praised for his ‘perfect organisational skills, promptness in taking decisions, professionalism and vast experience’. In St Petersburg, Natalia Wilke is also highly regarded.

Dechert Russia LLC is described by clients as ‘just outstanding’. Laura Brank ‘brings her highly commercial perspective to bear on all her advisory work. She manages the delivery of advice extremely well and we feel we are always in safe hands’.

Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP impresses, following the arrival of Dmitry Kunitsa from Squire, Sanders & Dempsey (Moscow) LLC.

Gide Loyrette Nouel recently assisted Evraziyskiy on the drafting, negotiation and execution of an EPC agreement and advised Mersfor Rus on the construction of its hippodrome project in the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation. Ekaterina Vilenskaya and David Lasfargue are recommended.

Korelskiy Ischuk Astafiev and Partners, Attorneys at Law is a spin-off from Vegas Lex, and provides an ‘excellent, responsive and innovative service’ and ‘is dedicated to getting the position right, not just giving us the answer we want’. Head of the real estate practice Konstantin Astafiev is ‘an outstanding lawyer’.

At Noerr, head of the real estate group and ‘intercultural mediator and strategist’ Ekaterina Evdokimova has an ‘excellent knowledge of real estate and contract law in Russia and strong business acumen’. Thomas Mundry is also recommended.

Orrick (CIS) LLC was bolstered by the arrival of highly acclaimed Philipp Windemuth from White & Case LLC.

Aleksey Konevsky is the head of land, real estate and construction at Pepeliaev Group. The firm recently provided legal support to Commerzbank on the sale of a complex of historical buildings located in the centre of Moscow valued at €18m.

Vegas Lex has suffered as a result of the departure of the members of Korelskiy Ischuk Astafiev and Partners, Attorneys at Law. In 2010, Yuriy Borisenko also left the firm. The firm’s real estate practice is now headed by Alexander Sitnikov, who is praised for his ‘flexibility and willingness to pitch in when needed’. Senior associate Igor Chumachenko has ‘strong analytical skills and extensive experience’.