Timur Aitkulov Leads Dispute Resolution Team Splitting Off from Clifford Chance Moscow

Timur Aitkulov Leads Dispute Resolution Team Splitting Off from Clifford Chance Moscow

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As expected, Clifford Chance Moscow has spun off its entire Dispute Resolution team into a new and independent boutique on the Russian market: Aitkulov & Partners.

Aitkulov & Partners is led by Partner Timur Aitkulov, who joined Clifford Chance back in 2004 and became Partner in 2007, and it includes Partners Olga Semushina, Dmitry Malukevich, and Victor Parkhomenko (the latter two of which were Senior Associates at Clifford Chance), as well as Senior Associate Galina Valentirova, Associate Alexey Vyalkov, and Junior Associates Bogdan Lavrichenko and Evgeny Solomatin."

According to Timur Aitkulov, "the team will concentrate on its core specialization – complex international and Russian arbitrations, cross-border and domestic litigation, white collar and internal investigations." According to him, "the team has considerable experience in construction, M&A, corporate, antitrust, bankruptcy and IP disputes, disputes in oil and gas, mining, energy, pharma, transportation and financial sectors."

According to Aitkulov, his new firm "will continue to provide dispute resolution services to Clifford Chance and its clients from various jurisdictions under a global cooperation agreement between Aitkulov & Partners and Clifford Chance, but it will be much more flexible as compared to a branch of a big international law firm with respect to, among other things, conflicts, selection of co-counsel and pricing."

The split had been under discussion for several months (as described by Clifford Chance Partner Torsten Syrbe in an interview with CEE Legal Matters last December). A representative of Clifford Chance Moscow asserted that "we wish Timur and the team the best of luck in their new venture and look forward to collaborating with them on future client mandates." In the meantime, that representative said, "the firm will continue to provide advice on risk management and dispute resolution support to clients, including issues with a Russian law dimension.  We will be investing in these areas, and our wider Moscow practice, in line with our overarching strategy, focusing on being the firm best placed to meet the evolving needs of our clients in a dynamic market."