The Lawyer European Awards’ Russia, Ukraine and CIS shortlisted firms this year are in expansion mode. This report explores the varying strategies that have won acclaim from the firms’ peers in Europe.

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EPAM

CIS firm EPAM has a strategy focused on ‘top tier projects’ and establishing best friend relationships in the region. “Our size and expertise allow us to take on big, complex matters that cannot be handled by the majority of existing players on the market,” the firm claims.

The firm’s fi ve offi ces in St Petersburg, Kiev, Minsk and associated offices in London and Washington DC consistently refer work to CIS regions, such as Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Moldova. 

The firm also invested in its headcount, growing by 2 per cent last year with strategic hires such as ex-deputy general counsel of the Federal Animonipoly Services Denis Gavrilov as of counsel, and former Supreme Commercial Court head of department Helen Avakyan. The firm’s retention rate continued with no partner exits in the past three years, notwithstanding one former partner who became the deputy mayor of Kiev.

According to the firm’s entry in The Lawyer European Awards, new major client wins in the last year include Ikea, Allianz, Kellogg, Subaru, Aeroflot, Nokia and Unicredit Bank.

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The Lawyer, 7 November 2016