The Legal 500

Within Banking and finance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a second tier firm,

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer operates at ‘a very high level’, is ‘highly professional, and able to provide high-quality consulting services in extremely stressful conditions on a timely basis’. Recent work includes advising the sponsors on the Pulkovo airport PPP project, and VEB and Sberbank on a $2bn financing of the first section of the Moscow-St Petersburg toll road. Practice head Mikhail Loktionov is Russian, English and US law qualified.

Within Capital markets, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a second tier firm,

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s balanced practice attracts strong mandates in equity and debt transactions, and its work is of ‘excellent quality’ and ‘always rendered on time’. Practice head Mikhail Loktionov advised Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, VTB Capital and Citi on the $718m IPO of Nomos Bank. Infrastructure and transport practice head Innokenty Ivanov worked with the team to advise Russian Railways on its Eurobond issue, and a tap issue of £650m, on the Irish Stock Exchange.

Within Moscow , Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a first tier firm,

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer skilfully co-ordinates ‘complex projects involving lawyers from various jurisdictions’, and its experienced partners are supported by ‘a team of talented young lawyers’. The ‘particularly impressive’ Sergei Diyachenko advised Rosneft on the terms of its proposed strategic alliance with BP, involving a $16bn share swap, regarding their joint exploration of the Russian Arctic. Dmitry Surikov heads the team, which also includes Igor Gerber and Harvey Nugent.

Within St Petersburg Leading individuals

Within Dispute resolution, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a second tier firm,

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer recently appointed Maxim Kulkov, previously of Goltsblat BLP, to head its dispute resolution team following the departure of Yaroslav Klimov and two associates to Norton Rose (Central Europe) LLP. Recent work includes acting for Telecominvest, a Megafon shareholder, in the first major dispute arising from federal laws on strategic investments.

Within Employment, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a third tier firm,

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer shows ‘an excellent knowledge of Russian employment law and the respective EU directives’. Recent work includes successfully representing an international company in an unlawful dismissal dispute. Practice head Olga Chislova is ‘a top-class professional’.

Within Energy and natural resources, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a second tier firm,

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s clients appreciate the team’s ‘flexibility and creativity’, ‘responsiveness’ and ‘reliability’. Recent work includes advising Rosneft on a $1bn oil and gas exploration agreement with ExxonMobil. The ‘particularly impressive’ Sergei Diyachenko leads the team of ‘talented young lawyers’ including Alexey Tokovinin, Dmitry Kazhaev and Evgeny Glukhov2.

Within Public private partnership, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a first tier firm,

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has a strong track record in significant PPP mandates. Fedor Teselkin and practice head Innokenty Ivanov recently advised a consortium of VTB Capital and Gazprombank as preferred bidders for the €2.9bn PPP project to construct and operate the Western High Speed Diameter (WHSD) toll road in St Petersburg.