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EPAM Appoints Head of St. Petersburg Office

Russia
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Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners (EPAM) has announced that Russian lawyer Ivan Smirnov has been appointed Managing Partner of the firm's St. Petersburg office.

Before joining EPAM in 2011, Ivan was Head of Litigation and Tax at Baker & McKenzie in St. Petersburg focusing on various tax, commercial, antimonopoly, and dispute resolution issues. He was also Head of Litigation and Tax at DLA Piper in St. Petersburg and legal and tax expert at Ernst & Young, among other previous positions. In 2011 Smirnov joined EPAM's Moscow office as Head of the Regulatory Department and Partner in the firm's Litigation group. 

In his new role, Smirnov will focus on broadening the client base and the range of services, primarily by working to attract clients from the northwestern part of the country. He is also expected to to expand the firm’s Dispute Resolution practice in St. Petersburg. Smirnov is enthusiastic about the opportunity. “I’m grateful to the firm’s Partners Committee for their choice. New service, its quality and new opportunities for our clients both locally and on the federal level, combined with further strengthening of our current leading positions in complex dispute resolution are to become the hallmark of the firm’s St. Petersburg office.”

EPAM Managing Partner Ilya Nikiforov, who until recently combined the roles of the St. Petersburg office Managing Partner and the Firm’s Managing Partner, will now focus on the firm's global management issues, splitting his time between Moscow and St. Petersburg. As the Firm’s leading expert on international arbitration, Nikoforov will also focus on business and client development opportunities in that area.  

Of Smirnov's appointment, Nikoforov said: “During his time with the firm, Ivan has gained a reputation as an efficient and business-oriented Partner. He is enthusiastic and full of new ideas, and I am confident that in light of the new ambitious tasks we are facing, especially those associated with the Supreme Court’s settling in St. Petersburg, Ivan will succeed as the head of the firm’s St. Petersburg office.”

 

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