In a substantial boost to its market-leading practice in Russia, global law firm White & Case LLP has further reinforced its Moscow office with the addition of three new partners: Grigory Chernyshov, Jonathan Langley and Alexandra Schukina.
Chernyshov joins from Egorov, Puginsky, Afanasiev & Partners to head White & Case’s Russian dispute resolution practice. Langley relocates from the Firm’s London office as a local partner in the corporate practice. Schukina joins from Skadden Arps as a local partner in the capital markets practice.
“Ever since White & Case moved into Russia 20 years ago, our Moscow office has been a strategically important foothold for the Firm,” said partner Jan Matejcek, Regional Section Head for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). “We take our role as a market leader in Russia very seriously. The arrival of three new partners in our key practice areas – dispute resolution, corporate and capital markets – gives a significant boost to our strategy to provide clients with outstanding legal service and direct access to partner teams across the entire spectrum of our practices in Russia.”
Chernyshov is a leading Russian litigator whose significant experience in Russian commercial litigation brings meaningful depth to the Firm’s existing team in Moscow. In addition to his active dispute resolution practice, Chernyshov acts in antitrust matters. He is a board member of the non-commercial partnership “Promoting the Development of Competition,” and was involved in the drafting of Russian antimonopoly legislation and its subsequent amendments.
With Chernyshov’s arrival, White & Case continues the build-out of its CEE Dispute Resolution Practice, which has seen an array of significant lateral hires in Bucharest, Budapest, Prague and Warsaw over the last two years. In March 2011, White & Case recruited a 20-person Polish litigation team lead by Pawel Pietkiewicz, to head its dispute resolution practice in Warsaw. In April 2011, White & Case joined forces with leading Czech lawyer Luděk Chvosta, Sr., who brings vast experience in dispute resolution, insolvency and restructuring to the Firm’s Prague office. In 2010, the Firm brought in David Goldberg, a leading Russian-speaking international arbitration partner, to join its London and Moscow offices. “We are delighted to welcome Grigory, whose arrival further reinforces our leading CEE dispute resolution capability, and whose experience provides a strategic fit with our existing teams,” said partner John Willems, Regional Section Head of the Firm’s Disputes Practice in Western Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “White & Case is now strongly positioned to handle all types of disputes matters for our clients, whether domestic or international, arbitration or litigation, with leading capability in Moscow and London, and other major arbitration centres in Stockholm, New York, Washington DC and Paris.”
Bolstering White & Case’s formidable corporate practice in Russia is Jonathan Langley, who has relocated from the Firm’s London office. Langley’s practice focuses primarily on mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures. “We already have a strong base of English law M&A capability in Moscow, and we intend to continue growing it both through lateral hires and organically by capitalising on our existing legal talent to service our clients’ needs where they arise. Jonathan has been working on Russia-related transactions since joining our London office in 2007, so this move is a natural progression for him, and we welcome him to our Moscow team,” said partner Eric Michailov, co-head of White & Case’s CEE and Russian corporate/M&A practice.
Schukina’s practice focuses on equity and debt capital markets transactions. She is experienced in representing both issuers and underwriters in equity and debt securities offerings. She has advised several leading Russian corporates in a broad range of industry sectors on their listings on the London Stock Exchange, the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange, and the Russian Trading System. Partner Sven Krogius, co-head of White & Case’s CEE and Russian capital markets practice commented: “White & Case has a strong capital markets presence in Moscow and London, and Alexandra’s practice compliments nicely our team’s capabilities. She will be a great asset to our Moscow office.” The Firm’s clients in Russia will also benefit greatly from the expertise of the newly appointed co-head of the CEE and Russian Capital Markets Practice, partner Joshua Kiernan, a seasoned banking and capital markets lawyer who concentrates on international securities work. Kiernan will divide his time between Moscow and London.
“We are continuously strengthening our Russian practice in line with our strategy and growing client demands. The new arrivals are a testament to the investment we are making in serving our clients in Russia and globally,” added Hermann Schmitt, Executive Partner of White & Case’s Moscow office.
