An interview with Julien Hansen of DLA Piper Moscow.

“Loss of corporate control” encompasses various scenarios involving a person who controls a corporation ceasing to control its management bodies’ actions and decisions.

As of June 19, 2020, Russian arbitrazh (commercial) courts have exclusive jurisdiction to hear certain cases related to “anti-Russian” sanctions. Affected legal entities and individuals may also apply for anti-suit injunctions in an attempt to prevent counterparties from pursuing claims abroad. Recent cases show that these new entitlements are not as favorable as once thought.

Since the Russian Federation’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, the peninsula in the Black Sea has been a minefield of conflicting international claims and interests, putting lawyers trying to work there, boxed in by the threat of sanctions from the West and counterveiling pressure from Moscow, in an untenable position.

Several important trends have appeared on the Russian legal market since 2014, the first year of EU/US sanctions and Russian countersanctions: 1) the growth in the market share of domestic law firms; 2) the in-sourcing of a large amount of legal work inside corporate legal departments; 3) the entrance of nonconventional players (such as banks and mobile operators) into the legal services market; and 4) the increased focus of lawyers on IT solutions and efficiency.

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.

White & Case has advised Russia-based petrochemicals company Sibur Holding on its sale of 40% of its stake in Amur Gas Chemical Complex to China’s energy and chemicals company Sinopec. Dechert advised the buyer on the deal.

Clifford Chance’s Moscow office has helped Sovcombank obtain a USD 350 million ESG loan -- its first loan based on environmental, social and governance principles.

Stetom has advised Slovak private equity group Eastfield on the restructuring and subsequent sale of the Raevskoe winery, together with vineyards and agricultural land plots in Anapa, in the Black Sea coast region, to the Krasnodarzernoprodukt Group.

Former Hogan Lovells Moscow Managing Partner Oxana Balayan has left the firm to found her own consultancy -- the Balayan I Group -- which is scheduled to open its doors in April, 2021.

Russian lawyer Maria Kobanenko has been promoted to Partner at Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners.

DLA Piper has advised Raspadskaya on its USD 920 million acquisition of Russian coal producer Yuzhkuzbassugol from EVRAZ that, the firm reports, "will lead to the creation of Russia’s largest and the world’s fifth largest coking coal company." Linklaters advised the seller on the deal.

Former Counsel Yury Babichev has been promoted to Partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.

Vironika Pilyugina has been promoted to Partner at the Moscow office of Hogan Lovells as part of the firm's global promotion round.

Former Counsel Dmitry Kaysin has been promoted to Partner at Rybalkin, Gortsunyan & Partners.

Liniya Prava was lead counsel to ITI Capital, co-arranger along with Sovcombank, EDB, Freedom Finance, and Univer Capital, on SKCN Finance’s RUB 2.5 billion debut bond issue. The ultimate borrower was Samruk-Kazyna Construction, a Kazakh operator of state programs in residential and commercial real estate that is wholly-owned by state-owned Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund JSC. The Lecap law firm reportedly advised ITI Capital on an element of the issuance as well.

Stanislav Petrov has been made Partner at Moscow's Infralex Law Firm.

Andrey Gorodissky & Partners has advised Tashir Medica on a Round B investment in Botkin.AI.