Ratings and Awards

Legal 500

Tax – Tier 1

The 70-strong tax team at Pepeliaev Group is led by the highly regarded Sergey Pepeliaev and includes senior partners Rustem Ahmetshin, tax calculation expert Andrey Nikonov, Ivan Khamenushko and St Petersburg head Sergey Sosnovsky, who ‘understands clients’ needs’. Clients include VimpelCom, Metro and Shell. 

Leading Individuals

Sergey Pepeliaev

Rustem Ahmetshin

Compliance – Tier 2

Elena Sokolovskaya heads the competition team at Pepeliaev Group, which includes corporate division head Vladimir Sokov, who regularly handles contentious and advisory antitrust matters for a mix of domestic and international clients. Senior associate Evgeny Mushta, is recommended for his work on distribution agreements and senior associate Oksana Migitko, who heads the commercial practice, is a vertical and horizontal agreement specialist. 

Employment – Tier 2

The key contacts at Pepeliaev Group include newly promoted partner Julia Borozdna in Moscow and senior associate Alexander Korkin in St Petersburg. They handle contentious and non-contentious issues for international manufacturers, state bodies, and Russian energy and natural resources companies, among others. 

Intellectual Property – Tier 3

Valentina Orlova, formerly head of legal at state IP office Rospatent, heads the practice at Pepeliaev Group. Senior associate Yuri Yahin is a key contact for copyright issues. Clients include FIFA, Citibank and Independent Media.

Real Estate and Construction – Tier 3

At Pepeliaev Group, head of corporate Vladimir Sokov, head of real estate Natalia Stenina and Alexey Konevsky advised Hals Development on various matters including the construction of the IQ Quarter in Moscow City business centre. 

TMT – Tier 3

Pepeliaev Group’s TMT practice is headed by the ‘excellent’ Natalia Ivashchenko, who regularly advises technology and telecoms firms on complex contractual and regulatory matters.

Banking and Finance – Tier 4

Pepeliaev Group’s Igor Marmalidi, a dual-qualified US and Russian lawyer who was previously head of Citibank’s legal department, is recommended. His team advises clients such as Alfa-Bank, AIG and VimpelCom. The firm has a strong tax practice. 

Litigation – Tier 4

Pepeliaev Group has ‘deep and broad business acumen and industry knowledge’. Yuriy Vorobyev and Yulia Litovtseva are recommended. Roman Bevzenko joined the practice from the Supreme Arbitration Court. 

Energy and Natural Resources – Tier 5

Pepeliaev Group’s head of offshore projects Pavel Kondukov advised an oil major on Russian continental shelf law issues and acted for a domestic firm on oil transportation issues. The firm is also recommended for its expertise in tax and competition disputes, where it regularly acts for energy and natural resources companies. 

Corporate/M&A: Moscow – Recommended firm

Corporate/M&A: St Petersburg – Tier 2

Practice head Andrey Pekhovsky and office managing partner Sergey Spasennov are key contacts at Pepeliaev Group, which has recently acted for SNF Vostok, Heineken and various Gazprom subsidiaries.