Herbert Smith announced today the recruitment of Alexei Panich, a leading dispute resolution practitioner, who has joined the firm as a partner in its global disputes practice, based in Moscow.
Alexei is a highly experienced practitioner with over 10 years’ experience of working on complex commercial litigation and arbitration matters including a deep experience in tax disputes. He is regarded as one of the leaders in his field and ranked by the legal directories for both his dispute resolution and tax disputes capabilities.
Alexei graduated from Moscow State Academy of Law in 1999 and was admitted to the Moscow Bar in 2002. He joins Herbert Smith from Salans, where he was the head of the Moscow dispute resolution practice and co-head of the Russian taxation group. Prior to that, he spent 5 years as a tax lawyer with KPMG in their Moscow office.
Alexei regularly appears in court and mostly conducts his own advocacy. His clients span a wide range of industry sectors including the energy, retail, telecommunications, transportation and food manufacturing sectors – a portfolio highly compatible with the focus of Herbert Smith’s Russia office.
In his new role at Herbert Smith, Alexei will join the Moscow-based dispute resolution team including partner Vladimir Melnikov and Of Counsel Francesca Albert and nine other fee-earners on providing general commercial litigation, regulatory and international arbitration advice to both international and domestic clients. They will work closely with a wider group of Herbert Smith’s international partners focused on Russia disputes, particularly Matthew Weiniger, Simon Bushell, Philip Carrington and Robert Hunter in London.
Alexei will also work closely with partner Oleg Konnov, who heads the firm’s Moscow tax practice.
Allen Hanen, managing partner of Herbert Smith’s Moscow office:
“The arrival of Alexei augments the further development of our global dispute resolution practice. His capability in handling both international and domestic matters complements our leading practice in Russia. I have every confidence in him to further deepen and expand our already enviable client base, not just locally but also globally. Alexei’s tax expertise further strengthens our leading tax practice in the region.”
Sonya Leydecker, global head of Herbert Smith’s dispute resolution practice said:
“I am very pleased to welcome Alexei to the practice. His background and experience nicely complements our existing strong team which has, in recent years been involved in a number of high profile and complex disputes for both Russian and international clients. With Alexei, Vladimir and Francesca in the team, supported by our wider disputes practice, we will continue to build on our existing reputation as the leading disputes firm in Russia and the CIS.”
Alexei Panich added:
“Herbert Smith’s disputes name is highly regarded internationally and I am attracted to the prospect of joining this formidable practice with a team of such high calibre. I look forward to working with this group of outstanding specialists, particularly Vladimir and Francesca, to further expand our already very successful practice regionally and globally.”
