The Legal 500

Pepeliaev Group advises that on 7.12.2011 the Double Tax Treaty between Russian government and the Government of United Arab Emirates was signed in Abu Dhabi. This DTT is very unusual because it isn’t based on the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital and tax benefits would be applied only by government’s offices of the both countries.

Pepeliaev Group has topped the 2011 Pravo.ru-300 ratings of Russian law firms and been hailed as the best in the areas of tax and labour law (http://pravo.ru/stat/rating2011_results/)

The Pepeliaev Group partner Galina Balandina has been elected to chair the Association of Russian Managers’ committee for cross-border trade in 2012. The firm has been working successfully with the Association of Russian Managers for ten years, having been represented on various of the Association’s committees and commissions and taking part in a number of its projects.

Pepeliaev Group and the Russian Justice Ministry have signed an agreement to work together to monitor the enforcement of the law.

Under the agreement, Pepeliaev Group and the Justice Ministry will create joint working groups on the issue of monitoring the enforcement of the law, will arrange consultations and exchange information regarding the monitoring of the enforcement of the law and the results of that exercise, and will be involved in preparing and holding an annual academic and practical conference on the state of legislation and the enforcement of it.

Pepeliaev Group lawyers were nominated for the 2011 European Legal Team of the Year within the annual British Legal Awards held by Legal Week magazine.

Sergey Pepeliaev, the Managing Partner of Pepeliaev Group, has been named Russia's most authoritative lawyer, according to the '10 most authoritative lawyers' ratings produced by journal Russian Reporter

The website of Pepeliaev Group atwww.pgplaw.ru has topped the 2011 charts for the most cited law firm website. The ratings were issued in November 2011 by the Russian Agency for Legal and Judicial Information (RALJI) (http://infosud.ru/social_ratings/citation-index/).

Alexander Nuzhdin, the Finance Director of law firm Pepeliaev Group, Ekaterina Kleimenova, the firm’s Marketing Director, and Alexander Vinogradov, its Deputy CEO, had been named among the best managers of 2011 in the annual ‘Top-1000 Russian Managers’ survey carried out by the Association of Russian Managers and publishing house Kommersant.

Valentina Orlova, head of Pepeliaev Group’s intellectual property practice, told the RussiaTALK 2011 investment forum about the prospects of enforcing intellectual property rights in Russia. This annual forum hosted by the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce brings together delegates from leading British and Russian companies and the public authorities.

Pepeliaev Group has formed a group specialising in supporting direct private investments. Having successfully completed a series of projects in this field and in view of clients’ heightened interest in it together with the experience our lawyers have accumulated, we have created a dedicated team of lawyers to support direct private investments.

Pepeliaev Group has won the international prize Best Russian Law Firm 2011. The awards ceremony took place on 23 June in Paris as part of the annual International Legal Alliance Summit & Awards.

Ilya Bolotnov has been named a partner of Pepeliaev Group’s corporate division of with effect from 1 July 2011.      

Сhambers Europe , one of the top international legal directories, ranks Pepeliaev Group as an undisputed leader in Russian tax law in 2011. Sergey Pepeliaev, the firm’s managing partner, is recognised as Russia ’s best tax lawyer – Band Star (an absolute leader).

In March 2011, Pepeliaev Group has strengthened two of its key practice areas by appointing Lead Associates.

Pepeliaev Group’s land, real estate and construction practice has received this year’s Real Estate Market Records Award, earning recognition as the best real estate team in 2011.

The International Tax Review journal has hailed Pepeliaev Group's tax practice as Russia 's best in the area of tax advice and tax law in 2011

Alexander Domrin, Candidate of Law (Russia), Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School) Head of Department for International Programs, Pepeliaev Group

Pepeliaev Group has been hailed as the top firm in the “Staff Incentivisation” category in the Successful Personnel Management Awards organized by Legal Insight magazine.

An open All-Russian Contest for Draft Laws Against Tax Evasion has been launched. The contest has been initiated by Pepeliaev Group and is supported by the Russian Ministry of Finance.

Pepeliaev Group advises that according to Russian Ministry of Finance, exchange losses on foreign currency interest are not deductible fr om taxable profit where such interest has been classified as dividends under clause 4 of article 269 of the Russian Tax Code (Letter No. 03-03-06/1/91 dated 11 February 2011).

The new head of Pepeliaev Group’s intellectual property and trademark practice is Valentina Orlova. Prior to joining the firm, she was the head of the Legal Department in the Patents Office (Rospatent). She is also a member of Rospatent’s Scientific and Technical Council, professor, doctor of law, and academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences.

Pepeliaev Group has been shortlisted for the Chambers Europe Awards for Excellence 2011 amongst the best national law firms in Russia.

Pepeliaev Group has launched the “Personal Lawyer” legal support programme for private clients.

On 14 December 2010, the 6th All-Russian Tax Forum, dedicated to ‘Russia’s tax strategy at the turn of the decade’, took place in Moscow.

“A significant growth in asset and property transactions compared with transactions with shares or participation interest against a backdrop of more severe judicial and administrative decisions,”

Vadim Zaripov, Head of Analytical Department of Pepeliaev Group has become member of the Russian Government’s Tax Policy expert group.

Galina Balandina, a Pepeliaev Group partner and Head of the firm’s Customs Law and Foreign Trade Regulation Practice, has been named as a member of the Council of Experts of the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

The portal Pravo.Ru has hailed Pepeliaev Group as a leader among Russian law firms.

Moscow, Russian Federation – Pepeliaev Group has been selected to be included in the latest edition of the American Bar Association’s Guide to Foreign Law Firms, which was published in October with the cooperation of the ABA Section of International Law. Pepeliaev Group is a member of TerraLex, the worldwide network of independent law firms and a global source for business lawyers. 

Lawyers from the customs and foreign trade regulation practice of Pepeliaev Group, headed by Galina Balandina, are delighted to announce completion of a project entitled “Green Channel” for innovation companies. The assignment was ordered by the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies (RUSNANO). The project proposes a “Green Channel” for innovation companies, which will help remove a number of customs barriers and thereby expand the foreign economic activities of Russian hi-tech companies and also enhance the international exchange of research data between scientific and research institutions.

According to the results of the voting at World Finance Awards 2010 organised by the World Finance magazine, lawyers from Pepeliaev Group have been awarded the title of best transfer pricing specialists. Our lawyers were also nominated as Russia’s best tax specialists in the Best Tax Practice category at the Tax and Accountancy Awards 2010.

Dear Friends, Partners and Colleagues,

Even if no special international treaty is in place.     Attorneys from Pepeliaev Group proved in the Moscow Region Arbitration Court that the decision of a foreign court should be recognised and enforced in the Russian Federation even if no special international treaty is in place. The Russian Supreme Arbitration Court upheld these conclusions in December. The relevant ruling was published on 14 December 2009 on the web site of the Russian Supreme Arbitration Court (Ruling No. VAS-13688/09 of the Russian Supreme Arbitration Court, dated 7 December 2009, on the refusal to transfer the case to the Presidium of the Russian Supreme Arbitration Court).