Category: On the Move

Bird & Bird has announced that it has entered into a cooperation agreement with Istanbul-based law firm BTS & Partners.

Bird & Bird explained that, “the move follows significant client demand for legal services in the region, particularly in the technology and media sectors, where BTS & Partners is an acknowledged market leader. Turkey is a fast growing knowledge economy with a strong focus on new technologies, IT, Internet and media. Its on-going technological development, growing population and a significant rise in the number of Internet users is expected to continue to support the rapid expansion of its e-commerce and IT markets.”

According to a Bird & Bird press release: “BTS & Partners is one of Turkey’s leading firms for technology, telecommunications and media, areas in which Bird & Bird is strong globally. The two firms have cooperated for several years and have a successful track record of working together.  The cooperation agreement brings together BTS’s local knowledge with Bird & Bird’s international reach and outstanding reputation for advising clients in industries that are being disrupted by the use of technology. This association will allow both firms to provide comprehensive legal services for multinational corporations competing in the Turkish market and for the growing number of Turkish companies competing in the global markets.  

Bird & Bird CEO David Kerr said: ‘Turkey has proved a significant region for our clients, particularly those in technology driven sectors. We are very pleased to formalize our cooperation with BTS & Partners and delighted to be associated with a firm whose area of expertise closely reflects our core strengths and capabilities. BTS & Partners has been repeatedly ranked as a regional leader in technology and innovation and together we will be able to provide our clients with a high quality, comprehensive offer on a local and global level.’  

Yasin Beceni, Managing Partner, BTS & Partners said: ‘We are very excited to be entering into a cooperation agreement with Bird & Bird, a firm with a strong  international network, excellent reputation for innovation and the highest quality of services. BTS’s local knowledge and Bird & Bird’s global capabilities for advising clients in industries that are being disrupted by the use of technology will help us provide even more comprehensive and unique solutions for both national and multinational clients.’”

Law firms in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia are preparing to launch a new legal alliance: Top-tier Legal Adriatic (TLA).

TLA’s founders claim they are bringing together “only top-tier” law firms in the alliance, and that the alliance will consist of over 100 lawyers in a one-stop-shop concept for clients looking at the Adriatic region. The projected official launch of the alliance is set for September 2014. 

To find out the members as well as the rationale of founders behind the project you can read the article “Adriatic Firms Gearing Up For Regional Alliance Launch”, published in the latest issue of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. 

Gazprom’s annual General Shareholders Meeting elected its new Board of Directors on June 27, 2014.

Valery Musin, who has been a member of the Board since 2007, remains the only lawyer. Musin is the Head of the Civil Procedure Department at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg State University. A graduate of the Faculty of Law at Leningrad State University, he is an expert in civil law, civil procedure, and private international law. 

The full Board of Directors elected by the General Shareholders includes:

1. Andrey Igorevich Akimov, Chairman of the Management Board, Gazprombank (Open Joint Stock Company) 

2. Farit Rafikovich Gazizullin, Member of the Board of Directors, OAO Gazprom 

3. Timur Askarovich Kulibaev, Chairman of the Legal Entities Association “Kazakhstan Association of Oil, Gas and Energy Sector Organizations (KAZENERGY)”, Chairman of the Presidium of the National Economic Chamber of Kazakhstan 

4. Vitaly Anatolyevich Markelov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee, OAO Gazprom 

5. Viktor Georgievich Martynov, Rector of Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas 

6. Vladimir Alexandrovich Mau, Rector of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration 

7. Alexey Borisovich Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee, OAO Gazprom 

8. Valery Abramovich Musin, Head of the Civil Procedure Department, Faculty of Law, Saint Petersburg State University 

9. Andrey Yurievich Sapelin, First Deputy Chairman – Board Member, State Corporation Vnesheconombank 

10. Mikhail Leonidovich Sereda, Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee – Head of the Administration of the Management Committee, OAO Gazprom 

11. Viktor Alexeevich Zubkov, Russian Special Presidential Representative for Cooperation with Gas Exporting Countries Forum

Baker & McKenzie has announced the election of 65 new partners from 32 offices in 22 countries across the Firm worldwide, bringing the total number of partners in the Firm to 1,480.

The firm’s announcement included nine lawyers promoted to Partner in CEE. The great majority of the firm’s promotions — including all of those in CEE — are effective as of July 1, 2014.

Lawyers who will be joining the partnership in CEE include Trade & Commerce lawyer Birturk Aydin in Istanbul, Banking/Finance lawyer Dmitry Dembich in Moscow, Dispute Resolution lawyers Georg Krakow in Vienna (pending bar admission), Anton Maltsev in Moscow, and Koray Sogut in Istanbul, IP lawyer Pavel Gorokhov in Moscow, M&A lawyer Sergey Krokhalev in Moscow, and Tax lawyer Pavel Fekar in Prague.

The firm announced that 29% of the promotions are in Asia Pacific; 32% are in Europe, Middle East and Africa; 14% in Latin America; and 25% in North America. 28% of those promoted to partner are women. 

Combined with the 56 lateral partners the firm added on in the past year, a total of 121 partners have been added to the firm’s letterhead.

The MAQS law firm, currently operating in Nordic and Baltic States will split in two by the end of the year.

Starting January 1, 2015, the firm will continue to operate under the MAQS name only in Sweden, while the Danish part will continue under a new name (to be announced in Autumn) together with the three Baltic Offices in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. 

In a statement issued by the firm, the split is the result of “different views on the strategic directions.” Specifically, the Swedish part of the leadership has chosen to focus on the Swedish market, while Danish leadership “aspire to be able to handle all the Nordic countries and the three Baltic states.” As a result, the two, “in all harmony” as the statement described the split, decided to go their separate ways while continuing to collaborate on Danish-Swedish projects. 

The Baltic Varul law firm has joined the Roxin Alliance — a global network of white-collar crime experts.

According to Varul, “the Roxin Alliance is a global network of white collar crime experts headquartered in Munich, Germany with a presence in over 30 countries. Established in response to the growing internationalization of white collar criminal practices and the associated criminal compliance requirements across multiple jurisdictions, the Roxin Alliance through its vast geographical presence is the one stop solution provider to the plethora of challenges that commercial organizations face from a white collar crime or compliance perspective.” The alliance was established in 2011, and combines recommended lawyers and scientific experts, committed to establishing best practices and solutions. It is a member of the World Bank – Global Forum on Law, Justice, and Development, and is closely involved with the anti-corruption and governance working group of the same. 

Varul’s representatives will be Marko Kairjak and Dmitri Teplohh in Estonia, Aldis Alliks in Latvia, and Arturas Gutauskas in Lithuania. Kairjak was proud to explain the new network: “We are looking forward to sharing know-how and international best practices with the Roxin Alliance due to the growing need for cross-border legal advice in the fields of criminal defense, compliance and asset recovery.”

Karl Sidhu, the Director of the Roxin Alliance, explains that, “the globalization of white collar crime has necessitated the need to be able to offer legal solutions that factor in a multi jurisdictional approach. We are extremely honored and privileged that we have a strong partner in the Baltics – Varul joining the Roxin Alliance. Members from over 30 countries join me in welcoming Varul to the Roxin Alliance and we look forward to a strong and effective partnership in the region.”

The Varul law firm has announced that it has developed a special line of services to assist entrepreneurs wanting to expand into the non-Russia BRIC countries.

According to the firm, this makes Varul, “the first law firm in Latvia that focuses its attention to advising companies who want expand their business to Brazil, India and China (the BIC countries) due the political instability in Russia.”

Varul Partner Vita Liberte elaborates: “Varul has taken on a role of a friend to the Latvian entrepreneurs in their dealings with the BIC countries. Our team of qualified lawyers will help the entrepreneurs to attract co-operation partners and to settle any legal or tax issues both for Latvian entrepreneurs in the BIC countries as well as the for the BIC entrepreneurs in Latvia by preparing and submitting required documentation to various local authorities.”

The firm’s team includes a South American lawyer and experts with “global work experience in the BIC countries.” In addition, the firm claims to have “a large contact base of persons residing in BIC countries, a close co-operation with the international BDO network and the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry who helps companies start up their business abroad and understands the local cultural aspects of business communication.”

Varul claims that Brazil, for one, provides significant entrepreneurial opportunity in the following areas: distribution of bio-fuels in Europe, high technologies, tourism and information services, management consulting, e-commerce, telecommunications, logistics, pharmacy, and cosmetics, among others. For India and China the firm refers specifically to opportunities in metal processing, mechanical engineering, transport, logistics, IT, timber industry, green technologies, and food and clothing industries.

Herbert Smith Freehills has announced today the appointment of London-based partner Philip Carrington as the firm’s Head of Disputes in EMEA.

Carrington has been with the firm for over thirty years. According to the Herbert Smith press release, he has been heavily focused throughout his career on Europe, in particular on dispute work originating in Russia, the CIS and other emerging markets. He regularly works with the firm’s Moscow office on large and complex cross-border disputes involving Russian parties and with the firm’s offices and clients in the Middle East.

As Head of Disputes in EMEA, Carrington will be responsible for strengthening the firm’s disputes platform across this region, with specific focus on Europe as a significant area of growth for the firm. He will work alongside Regional Dispute Heads Geoff McClellan (Australia), Mark Shillito (UK/US) and Peter Godwin (Asia) to connect disputes teams across the international network and ensure growth of the firm’s share of major disputes work worldwide. Together they will form the global disputes management team under the leadership of global head Justin D’Agostino and lead on the implementation of global disputes strategy and further enhancement of the group’s reputation with clients across geographies and sectors.

His appointment was announced together with that of Damian Grave, who relocated recently from Australia to London and who was recently appointed as a Client Development Partner, and together with the appointment of Isabelle Michou as the Head of the Paris Disputes Group. 

Chadbourne & Parke has announced that Greek lawyer Despina Doxaki has agreed to join the firm’s Project Finance Group in London as an International Partner. Doxaki joins Chadbourne from Greece’s largest law firm, Kyriakides Georgopoulos, which she left on May 16, 2014. 

Doxaki focuses her practice on project finance work and a wide range of banking and finance transactional matters in southern Europe — primarily in Greece. She has particular expertise in the infrastructure field, and over the last two years she advised on two pioneering PPP projects, which were the first successfully to reach financial close in Greece.

“Strengthening Chadbourne’s project finance capabilities in Europe is a critical component of our firm-wide strategy to enhance our position as one of the leading energy firms in the world,” said Adrian Mecz, Managing Partner of the London office. “With her experience and connections in southern Europe, Despina will play an important role in growing our practice. We are delighted to welcome her to the firm.”

Doxaki is a member of the Legal Committee of Greek Banking Association’s Banking and Capital Markets Law Society, European Community Law Association, and European Lawyers Association.

She earned her European Baccalaureate from the European Law School in Brussels, her LL.B. from Athens University Law School, and her LL.M. from the Institute for European Studies of the Universite Libre de Bruxelles.

Eversheds announced today that HR specialist Moira Slape has agreed to join the firm as HR Director. Slape joins Eversheds from White & Case, where she was Director of HR across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Slape has over two decades of experience in the legal sector. She worked at White & Case since 2010, initially as the London HR Director before being promoted to Director of HR for the EMEA region, where she had responsibility for 2000 people and 250 partners, as well as the leadership of the EMEA HR team. Before White & Case, Moira spent nine years at Linklaters, where she was Global Head of Learning & Development before being promoted to Head of HR for Global Business Services, where she had responsibility for HR services to Business Services in London and in the definition and implementation of global initiatives, practices, and policies for Business Services.

According to Eversheds, “in her new role as Eversheds HR Director, Moira will be responsible for people strategy, covering talent, reward and employer brand as well as global integration across the firm’s offices.”

Commenting on her appointment, Slape said: “I am thrilled to be taking up the role of HR Director at Eversheds, a firm which over the last few years has been at the forefront in tackling important industry issues such as diversity, social mobility and corporate responsibility. I look forward to working collaboratively with teams across the globe in devising and promoting best practice in HR across Eversheds offices.”