Moscow
Debt and equity capital markets
We have significant experience of the Russian financial market and have built up strong relationships with both clients and professional financial market participants. We advise our clients on all different types of financial market instruments including stocks, bonds, derivatives, futures and options, etc.
We also advise on initial and secondary capital raising, underwriting and bond issues and related transactions and distr ibution of securities.
Mergers and acquisitions
Our clients include large Russian companies, state owned enterprises, overseas companies and private capital funds. We have acquired extensive experience of advising on all aspects of merger and acquisitions (M&A) from the initial preparation and structuring of such transactions, including legal due diligence, to the implementation and support of such transactions.
Our experience in M&A transactions, on both the buyer and on the seller side, enables us to protect our clients interests irrespective of their role in the M&A transaction.
Corporate law
Our lawyers are able to provide advice and assistance in all areas of corporate law including complex corporate finance transactions. We advise Russian and foreign clients in the Russian Federation as well as representing the interests of Russian companies abroad.
We assist our clients with:
Preparing agreements and other legal documents
Registering, reorganising and liquidating legal entities
Reorganisation and optimisation of holding structures
Setting up and registering representative offices and branches
Representing clients in dealings with various state authorities
Negotiating transactions and providing underlying legal advice
Conducting due diligence and issuing legal opinions
Reaching settlements with counterparties in commercial disputes
Investment funds
We guide our clients throughout the life cycle of investment funds from creation – obtaining licences, defining purpose of the fund and advice on the step-by-step project implementation of fund creation to day-to-day operation of the fund.
Our services include:
Obtaining licences for the operation of investment funds and the creation of investment funds
Preparation of licence documentation
Development and support for registration of Trust Management Rules for investment funds
Legal support during formation of the fund
Comprehensive consulting on creation, licensing and functioning of the Management Company
Verification of compliance of the Management Company documents with licensing requirements;
Advising on the development of a group structure with use of unit investment funds to meet specific objectives of its owners
Assessing the economic efficiency of the fund within the structure of the owner’s company group
Representation of the client’s interests with relevant state authorities, including regulatory authorities
Banking and finance
Our banking and finance team undertakes a broad range of banking and finance work including:
Structuring of project financing transactions
Negotiation and preparation of loan contracts and credit agreements
Structuring of security transactions and development of respective contractual documentation, including pledge agreements, guarantee agreements and bank guarantees
Real estate development financing
Energy and other project related financing
Advising on a variety of regulatory matters
Financial services
Our lawyers work with both Russian and foreign financial market participants, including financial institutions (banks, investment firms, management companies, non-governmental pension funds, insurance companies) as well as individual and corporate investors.
We advise clients on:
Transactions involving the transfers or pledges of securities
Legal due diligence of the professional financial market participants
Registration and licensing of a variety of financial institutions and market participants
Foreign exchange regulations and budgetary law
Regulatory requirements applicable to financial market participants
Energy and subsoil use
Our team possesses extensive experience advising our clients on a broad range of issues relating to oil and gas projects and subsoil use. We have a successful track record of representing clients in their dealings with various public and local authorities, regulators, partners and other counter-parties.
In particular, we advise our clients on:
Concessions
Subsoil project financing
Energy and environmental regulation
Supply and transportation issues
Land, subsoil, forest, water and other natural resources use and protection
Joint Operating Agreements
Drilling and production sharing agreements
Royalty and production payment transactions
Subsoil licensing and permitting
Real estate and construction
We are firmly established as leading advisers in the real estate and construction industries. Our lawyers are experts in this field have considerable experience in advising on a broad spectrum of real estate transactions and implementation of construction and large development projects.
Our clients include major Russian and international institutional investors, fund managers, real estate companies, banks, developers and the public sector.
We advise on all aspects of real estate business and construction including:
Acquisitions and disposal of land and developments
Dealings with state and local authorities
Ecology and environmental matters
Construction contracts and permits
Registration of title to real estate
Due diligence in respect of the real estate rights
Planning permissions and related applications
Structuring and implementation of real estate transactions
Privatisation and mortgaging of real estate
Contentious property matters
Antimonopoly law
We advise on all aspects of antimonopoly regulation in all business sectors including energy, banking and financial services and others.
The primary areas of our work are:
Applicability of the various antimonopoly restrictions
Preparation and submission of regulatory applications and notifications
Obtaining permissions from and approving transactions with the antimonopoly agency
Corporate tax
We have extensive experience and knowledge of Russian tax law and its practical implementation. We provide comprehensive tax and planning advice including:
General tax advice and tax opinions
Representation of clients with the tax authorities
Comprehensive tax planning for corporate transactions and investment projects
Application of international tax agreements
Contentious tax matters and tax dispute resolution
Employment law
We advise on all aspects of employment law including:
Registration of employment/labour relations, including registration in representative offices of foreign companies
Advising on employer liability and employment contracts
Examination, development and support of personnel documentation
Estimation of risks of sanctions during checks and in relation to employment disputes
Representation of interests of the employer in negotiations with trade unions including preparation and conclusion of collective labor contracts
Employment litigation
Bankruptcy, corporate recovery and restructuring
Our services include:
Initiating and advising on insolvency procedures
Representing clients in bankruptcy proceedings
Contesting decisions made by administrators, receivers and liquidators
Negotiating and preparing settlement agreements
Assisting clients with preventing abusive insolvencies
Litigation and dispute resolution
Resolving disputes by litigation, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution is a vital part of corporate risk management and strategy.
We have significant experience in advising on:
Recovering damages against state authorities
Challenging governmental actions or decisions
Protecting intellectual property rights
Enforcing Russian and foreign court judgments
Conducting litigation relating to property rights
Our Dispute Resolution practice covers all the major business sectors but we have particular expertise in the areas of financial services, oil and gas and real estate.