King & Spalding has recruited Maya Melnikas, a well-known figure in the Russian legal market and corporate and banking worlds, as a finance partner in its Moscow office as part of the firm’s continued commitment to develop its international finance offerings. Melnikas joins King & Spalding from White & Case, where she was a partner and co-head of financial restructuring and insolvency in the central and eastern European region.
“Maya is an outstanding lawyer with a market-wide reputation. We welcome her to our office and the firm,” said Sergey Komolov, managing partner of King & Spalding’s Moscow office. “She strengthens our finance, restructuring and financial-sector mergers and acquisitions capability in Moscow, where we look forward to continuing our growth with additional lawyers in the future.”
Melnikas concentrates on bank finance, financial restructuring and mergers and acquisitions in the financial and capital markets sectors. She also has advised on financial transactions and acquisitions in the real estate, telecommunications and natural resources sectors. Her in-depth experience in international transactions related to the Russian Federation includes representing Société Générale in a record-setting US$2.3 billion, multi-stage acquisition of Rosbank, Russia’s top private consumer bank, from the Interros Group. She also advises the Industrial Union of Donbass, a diversified metals group with assets in the Ukraine, Poland and Hungary, in the restructuring of the group’s debt. She recently advised Capital Partners on a US$750 million refinancing of Moscow’s Metropolis Shopping Centre with Sberbank and represented Promsvyazbank, a large Russian privately owned bank, in a US$350 million loan from a syndicate of banks led by WestLB and Bank of America Securities Limited. Melnikas is ranked in Chambers Global and IFLR 1000. She received a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School and a B.A. degree from Harvard University.
“The recruitment of a market-savvy finance and financial sector M&A partner of Maya’s stature deepens our bench of international expertise,” said Carolyn Alford, leader of King & Spalding’s finance practice. “Her arrival will be a significant benefit to our financial institutions clients, extending the scope of services we provide them for their high-profile, high-value work.”
Melnikas is the sixth partner the firm has attracted to its financial institutions practice in the past eight months. She follows the additions of Jesse Austin (Atlanta), Matthew Bromberg (Atlanta), Angela Hayes (London), Craig Lee (Atlanta) and Chris Molen (Atlanta).
Melnikas said: “I am delighted to join King & Spalding. It has a splendid reputation, a fast-growing international network and a collegial, team-oriented atmosphere. I look forward to being deeply involved in the further growth of both the Moscow office and the firm.”
