Firm Profile > DLA Piper > Moscow, Russia

Commercial, corporate and M&a: St Petersburg and elsewhere Tier 1

DLA Piper Rus Limited’s cross-practice team adopts ‘a creative and efficient’ multi-disciplinary approach to advising clients in the retail, real estate, automotive and financial services sectors. The team excels in cross-border matters, where its capabilities are additionally bolstered by the expertise of Natalia Vygovskaya, who is well-versed in Russian and English law. Department head Denis Sosedkin contributes significantly to the practice's M&A expertise, while Ruslan Vasutin handles the tax aspects of corporate transactions.

Transport Tier 1

The 'talented and market savvy' Anna Otkina 'manages a knowledgeable team of specialists' at DLA Piper. Core areas of expertise include the financing and leasing of aircraft and ships, corporate and commercial matters, customs, aviation and shipping regulations, and commercial dispute resolution. Philip Lamzin advises international and Russian leasing companies, banks, airlines, and helicopter and shipping companies on a range of finance and leasing transactions, as well as airlines and lessors on commercial contracts with manufacturers, suppliers and service providers.

Banking and finance: Lender or arranger side Tier 2

DLA Piper’s finance, projects and restructuring department is spread across the Moscow and St. Petersburg offices, and is led by the English-qualified Karen Young, who has 'a strong reputation in the local market'. The team handles lending transactions, particularly real estate and asset finance work, and also has expertise in the fintech, retail, energy and mining sectors. Philip Lamzin is a name to note in the asset finance space and acts for leading international and domestic leasing companies. The firm's expertise in project finance was strengthened following the arrivals of legal director Ivan Sezin from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and senior counsel Anastasia Klimova from a leading Russian bank. Legal director Alexei Kolesnikov is also noted. Dmitry Perekrestov departed to an in-house position.

Commercial, corporate and M&a: Moscow Tier 2

DLA Piper’s transactional strength lies in the corporate restructuring space, and benefits from the team's knowledge of the transportation, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, energy and financial services industries. The practice also has English law capabilities due to the expertise of Julien Hansen. St. Petersburg-based Denis Sosedkin heads up the department, which also includes Kim Latypov in Moscow, who focuses on high-end M&A transactions. Regional CIS managing partner Constantine Lusignan-Rizhinashvili is also noted.

Employment Tier 2

DLA Piper's experience spans domestic and cross-border employment-related restructurings, the employment aspects of acquisitions, outsourcing and business transfer projects, and internal compliance investigations, and it has also been active in employment litigation. Key figure Vladislav Mazur is 'a bright lawyer who provides quality legal advice'.

Real estate and construction Tier 2

DLA Piper advises on the full scope of issues arising from real estate transactions and investments. Steffen Kaufmann is dual-qualified in England and Germany, and focuses on the transactional side of real estate matters as well as EPC contracts in the construction industry. Department leader Sergey Koltchin is a specialist in construction projects, land ownership rights and infrastructure development issues. The practice also has a strength in the hospitality sector, where legal director Pavel Elnikov is singled out by clients.

Tax Tier 2

With offices in Moscow and St. Petersburg, DLA Piper’s tax group has considerable strength in non-contentious tax work including tax planning and tax structuring mandates. In the transfer pricing arena, the group also benefits from team members’ experience in economics. Department co-heads Ruslan Vasutin and Igor Venediktov are seasoned tax practitioners, and St. Petersburg-based Elena Mikhailovskaia has substantial experience in the field.

Banking and finance: Borrower side Tier 3

DLA Piper’s finance, projects and restructuring practice is headed up by English-qualified real estate finance specialist Karen Young. Clients also single out senior counsel Anastasia Klimova, whose in-house experience brings additional credibility to the team's transactional capabilities. Legal director Alexei Kolesnikov acts on acquisition and trade finance matters, and is also regularly retained by fintech clients. Other sectors of focus for the team include the retail, energy and mining industries.

Dispute resolution: arbitration and mediation Tier 3

DLA Piper Rus Limited’s department is split across multiple Russian offices: commercial litigator Yaroslav Moshennikov heads up the national group from Moscow, while Oleg Skvortsov leads the dispute resolution team in St. Petersburg. The ‘very dedicated’ group works closely with the firm’s corporate practice, and also draws on the expertise of the litigation teams in London and other locations abroad. Areas of specific focus for the department include corporate, commercial, administrative and regulatory disputes.

Dispute resolution: Litigation Tier 3

DLA Piper is a go-to firm for domestic and international clients for corporate, commercial, administrative and regulatory disputes at all levels of the Russian judicial system. Commercial litigator Yaroslav Moshennikov heads up the national litigation and regulatory department, while former judge Oleg Skvortsov leads the team in St. Petersburg. Counsel Alexander Sergeev is also a key figure in the Moscow civil and IP ligation space, and director Angela Kolesnitskaya has a successful track record in tax and commercial disputes.

Energy and natural resources Tier 3

The team at DLA Piper is led by Feruz Fidaev, who specialises in project finance and acquisition finance in the field of oil and gas. He frequently advises foreign clients on investing in Russia and Central Asia, as well as on M&A, joint ventures, and share and asset purchase transactions.

TMT Tier 3

Leo Batalov leads the team at DLA Piper and focuses on cross-border corporate transactions in the TMT sector. Counsel Michael Malloy's practice spans IP and IT projects, franchising, data protection and media law, and technology transfers.

Competition Tier 4

DLA Piper assists with antitrust investigations, compliance policy issues, contractual arrangements, merger control work and unfair competition matters. Senior associate Azamat Abdulmenov heads up the practice in Moscow, while senior associate Ilya Bulgakov and legal director Roman Golovatsky are the key contacts in St. Petersburg.

Diversity/Community

At DLA Piper we are firmly committed to diversity and inclusion. For us, diversity isn’t just about visible differences, it’s the unique blend of talents, skills, experiences and perspectives that makes each of us an individual and we know it’s crucial to have a culture and environment where those differences are genuinely valued. As a global business law firm, with a diverse client base, we know that our clients expect our people to represent the communities in which we work and value our ability to advise them on both local and global cultures and markets. We believe that our approach to diversity and inclusion enables us to attract the best talent, build the most effective teams and deliver the highest level of client service.

For more information on our specific D&I initiatives please see www.dlapiper.com