Category: Russia

Weil is reporting that, in a case referred to the firm by LGBTQ immigrant rights organization Immigration Equality, its lawyers have secured asylum for a Russian pro bono client on the grounds that he suffered past persecution on account of his sexual orientation and had a well-founded fear of future persecution if required to return to Russia.

According to Weil, the firm’s client fled Russia in 2013 “after being violently attacked on numerous occasions due to his sexual orientation and after the country’s police repeatedly demonstrated an unwillingness to intervene and provide protection.” The Weil team submitted the client’s application for asylum, including a declaration, numerous affidavits, and dozens of reports on Russia’s anti-LGBT policies.” Weil Associate Ellen Shapiro accompanied and represented the asylee in his asylum interview, along with Associate Sasha Shulzhenko, who served as translator. Associate Vlada Rebeiz was on the team as well, and Camille Parrilla served as its paralegal. They were supervised by Weil Partner Adam Hemlock.

While the asylum decision was pending, the Weil team assisted the client in securing work authorization. Weil reports that the asylee, who barely spoke English upon arrival in the United States, “is now almost fluent and happy to be in the United States, where he feels safe and can spend time with his boyfriend without fear of reprisal.”

New Partner Vatslav Makarskiy has joined Integrites in Moscow, where he will lead the Competition & Antitrust practice and advise clients on corporate and commercial matters.

Before joining Integrites, Makarskiy worked for Goltsblat BLP and CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre. He has a degree in law from Moscow State University.

According to Integrites, Makarskiy “is going to work on competition & antitrust matters, advising on abuse of dominance, anti-competitive agreements and concerted practices, merger control and unfair competition. In addition, Vatslav is going to represent clients during antitrust inspections and ‘dawn raids,’ in hearings of antitrust cases. He also is going to develop corporate commercial policies and compliance programs for clients of Integrites.”

“There is a growing demand for modern compliance systems among our clients, foreign and local, and we see that the competence of economic analysis significantly increases the protection in antitrust cases,” said Integrites International Offices Managing Partner Julian Ries. “We are therefore happy to have our Competition & Antitrust practice strengthen with Vatslav, who is very experienced in these fields.”

Akin Gump has advised PJSC Lukoil in relation to the acquisition by Renaissance Oil Corp. of an indirect 25% interest in the Integrated Exploration and Production Contract for the 230 square kilometer (56,800 acres) Amatitlan block near Poza Rica, Veracruz, Mexico. Park Energy Law advised Renaissance Oil on the deal.

As part of the agreement, Renaissance will acquire an indirect 25% interest from Marak, Lukoil’s current partner, in Petrolera de Amatitlan S.A.P.I. (Petrolera), the contractor of the Integrated Exploration and Production Contract for the Amatitlan block. Marak currently owns a 50% indirect interest in Petrolera, with the remaining 50 percent held by Lukoil. Renaissance will also have an option to acquire up to a 62.5% interest in Petrolera.

Renaissance will also take the lead role in operations.

The Akin Gump team advising Lukoil was led by Moscow Corporate Partners Natalia Baratiants and Vladimir Kouznetsov, supported by Senior Counsel Alexander Trukhtanov in Moscow and Associate Eduardo Canales in Houston.

The Park Energy Law team was led by Partner Mark Gerlitz assisted by Partner Jennifer Traub of Cassels Brock & Blackwell on Canadian corporate/securities matters and Partner Noe Pascacio Montijo of Bello, Gallardo, Bonequi y García, S.C. on local Mexican matters.

Berwin Leighton Paisner has advised Gett, the global on-demand mobility company, on its USD 100 million financing from Sberbank, the largest lender in Russia. Herbert Smith Freehills reportedly advised Sberbank.

Gett is available in more than 100 cities worldwide including New York, Moscow, Tel Aviv, and London, where more than half of all black cabs are part of the Gett network.

Gett will use the Sberbank funding to rapidly expand its services. This funding complements Gett’s recent USD 300 million strategic investment from Volkswagen, bringing total funds raised by Gett to USD 640 million.

Commenting on the deal, Shana Hook, General Counsel of Gett, said: “The Sberbank facility will support Gett’s continuous and rapid growth and help us achieve our ambitious goals. The work which BLP has undertaken, on what was a complex cross-border negotiation, enabled us to conclude the deal successfully. They understand our business and have been a key part of the Gett team on this transaction.”

Lead BLP Partner Daisy Reeves said: “We are delighted to have assisted Gett on such a pivotal cross-border deal for the development of its global business. It is also another example of the seamless international service offered by BLP via our London and Moscow offices and in collaboration with local law firms in the US, Cyprus, and Israel.”

The BLP team consisted of Partners Daisy Reeves and Nicholas Myatt and Consultant Tamara Quinn, each with support from Associates Laura Dennis-Coyne and Natalie Graham. Russian Finance Partner Oleg Khokhlov led the BLP Moscow team on the Russian aspects assisted by Associate Igor Zhivotov.  

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel L.G. Zambartas, and Gross, Kleinhendler, Hodak, Halevy, Greenberg & Co provided US, Cypriot, and Israeli advice, respectively.

Herbert Smith Freehills did not reply to our inquiry.

Sergey Stefanishin, who left DHL Russia in September 2016, has moved to Canada and joined PwC in Toronto this January as its Director, Deals. 

Stefanishin became the Head of Legal CIS & SEE at DHL in Moscow in November 2015. His previous experience includes working for EY, first as a Director and later as a Partner and CIS Transactions Law Leader. Prior to EY he was the Head of the Moscow Representative Office of Bech-Bruun International, which he joined as a Senior Lawyer in 2001. Earlier still, he was a Senior Lawyer with InSpace Consulting and a Junior Lawyer with Baker & McKenzie. CEELM interviewed Stefanishin in our April Issue of the CEE Legal Matters magazine. 

Commenting on his move, Stefanishin told CEE Legal Matters: “It is not easy for us to leave our comfort zone and start something new. Moreover, it can be hard, as often you may be there on your own; it can be painful, as you may lack resources or there might be no success in the end. Still, the biggest mistake is when you do not give it a try, when you do not challenge yourself to go another mile and simply do nothing, but then regret about the lost opportunity. So I wish good luck and courage to all CEELM readers, do not be afraid of challenges, but rather concentrate on the result – and maybe it is time now to take another important step to your success.”

Taking over after Stefanishin’s departure was Dennis Avrouschenko, also interviewed by CEELM in the October Issue of the magazine.

The Moscow and London offices of Debevoise & Plimpton have advised longstanding client Polyus Gold International Limited on a USD 800 million Eurobond offering due 2023 with a coupon of 5.25% per annum. The Notes were offered inside the United States to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A and outside the United States to buyers under Regulation S.

The issue is the largest non-investment grade bond issuance in Russia since 2013.

Polyus Gold is the largest gold producer in Russia and one of the top 10 gold miners globally by ounces produced. The company holds the fourth largest mineral resources base in the world.

Debevoise has advised Polyus Gold on a number of significant capital market transactions in recent years. The firm advised on Polyus Gold’s debut Eurobond issuance in 2013. Most recently, the firm also advised Polyus Gold on a separate USD 500 million Eurobond offering in October 2016 (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on November 3, 2016).

The Debevoise team advising on the issuance was led by Moscow Partner Natalia Drebezgina and London Partner James Scoville. The team also included International Counsel Vera Losonci, Counsel Huey-Fun Lee, and Associates Laurence Hanesworth, Timur Ochkhaev, Daria Serebrova, and Elena Sevastianova. Tax advice was provided by London Partner Richard Ward, as well as International Counsel Cécile Beurrier and Associate Ellie Mends.

Alexey Sizov, the Head of KIAP’s Administrative and Customs & International Trade practices, has been promoted to Partner at the firm.

Sizov joined KIAP in 2012 and took over the Customs & International Trade practice the following year. At the end of 2015, Alexey became Head of the Administrative practice as well, launched, the firm reported, “due to the increase in the number of projects involving clients representation in relations with the state and municipal authorities.” He was promoted to Counsel at the beginning of 2016.

Sizov is a graduate of the Russian Customs Academy. Prior to joining KIAP Alexey served for two years as an in-house lawyer with the customs authorities. Following that, he worked for six years as an employee of the Directorate on Legal Issues at OAO Severstal. 

In 2016 he became a member of the Commission on Legislation and Law Enforcement of the Public Council of the Federal Customs Service of Russia.

Capital Legal Services has advised the ADG Group on the engagement of Lenta as a key anchor tenant for 36 of its 39 district shopping and entertainment centers.

According to a CLS press release, “in the course of providing legal support for the transaction, Capital Legal Services held successful negotiations with Lenta not just on legal issues, but also on commercial, construction, operational, and financial issues. The parties have noted the general complexity of the deal, mostly due to the fact that it was negotiated at the initial stage of the ADG Group project on reconstructing Soviet movie theaters into modern recreation centers.”

Grigoriy Pecherskiy, ADG Group Managing Partner, described the transaction as “the largest package lease deal on the Moscow commercial real estate market both by the number of facilities and by the floor area.” According to Pecherskiy, “it was important for us to find an experienced partner with a spotless reputation, quality portfolio and thought-out strategy for providing legal support for this transaction, and Capital Legal Services became such partner. We are pleased with the work done and, most importantly, with the achieved results.”

The Capital Legal Services team was led by Partner Elena Stepanova supported by Senior Associate Aleksey Zolotukhin. 

Lenta did not retain external counsel on the deal. 

Grata International has announced that the RBL Law Office, in Samara, Russia, has joined its network.

According to a Grata International statement, the Samara region of Russia is “one of the major economic and industrial hubs of Russia, attracting a large amount of investment.” The firm describes local authorities as “determined to make the area attractive for investment, by improving taxation and business climate, upgrading infrastructure and ensuring financial and political stability.”

According to Dmitry Samigullin, the Managing Partner of the RBL Law Office: “I have always believed that the future of the legal service business is in business combination. Our law firm holds key positions in Samara Region; Grata International holds key positions in the CIS. At one point, it became clear that we needed to join together to enhance our competitive edge in order to consolidate our leadership and keep up with the times. Therefore, we accepted Grata’s proposal for combination and cooperation under a common brand, Grata International.”

Grata Senior Partner Akhmetzhan Abdullayev commented as well: “The legal market is changing very rapidly. The future belongs to professional services networks that can offer clients a really wide variety of services determined not just by content and quality but also by location. Grata International at the forefront of this trend. And I am proud of the fact, that we have joined our efforts with a team of successful, progressive and dynamically evolving professionals of the RBL (Russian Business Lawyers). I strongly believe our firms will achieve much greater success together. Our clients will be main beneficiaries of this.” 

Liniya Prava has signed a cooperation agreement with The Indian Lawyer, an Indian consulting firm, to provide joint legal support of investment projects in Russia and India.

According to Liniya Prava, “The Indian Lawyer is the leading Indian legal and finance advisor providing a full range of services to foreign investors and companies interested in doing business in India.”

“Last year India substantially simplified access of foreign business to strategic sectors of economy, thus offering new opportunities for Russian investors entering this market,” commented Liniya Prava Partner Vadim Konyushkevich, the Head of the firm’s Foreign Investment Practice. “We expect that cooperation with The Indian Lawyer will help to develop the efficiency of legal support to our clients in Russian-Indian projects to a new level.”