Pepeliaev Group’s Russian business breakfast in Dublin
On 3 October 2012, Pepeliaev Group held a Russian business breakfast at the annual conference of the IBA (International Bar Association), which took place in Dublin, Ireland at the start of October.
The annual IBA conference is one of the largest events for leading law firms, and it deals with developing international legislation and legal practice. The Association enables information to be exchanged between law firms all over the world. This year, the conference brought together more than 5,000 representatives from the international legal community: managers of law firms, attorneys and lawyers from a range of different countries. More than 180 working sessions took place at the conference, covering legal services across the board and directly relating to international legal practice.
On 1 October 2012, a session of the IBA’s Antitrust Committee was held, at which matters relating to the regulation of competition were discussed. Most notably, there was a discussion of merger transactions, including cross-border transactions, the role and place of competition law in regional and bilateral trade contracts, and procedures for private lawsuits to be filed to recover losses that arose as a result of competition law violations.
Ilya Bolotnov, a partner at Pepeliaev Group, took part in the discussion at a special session devoted to the effective safeguarding of competition in the BRICS countries. The session also involved an address from Andrey Tsyganov, deputy head of the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service, and heads of the competition authorities of other countries. “We discussed the specifics of antimonopoly regulation in Russia,” explained Mr. Bolotnov, “and exchanged views of our own countries’ experience of international enforcement practice.”
More than 40 guests attended Pepeliaev Group’s Russian breakfast, from firms that included: Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Arthur Cox, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, Loyens & Loeff, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP, and Lalive. Pepeliaev Group was represented by Rustem Ahmetshin (senior partner), Vladimir Sokov (partner), Ilya Bolotnov (partner), Nikolay Solodovnikov (head of corporate), Julia Borozdna (head of employment and migration law) and Olga Bulatova (development director).
“Meetings of this type allow experience to be exchanged and international connections to be established,” states Rustem Ahmetshin. He considers that if lawyers communicate with one another through an association, they do not only work together to solve common problems. Such meetings also help to expand the range of services the firms offer to clients in foreign jurisdictions.
From the formation of the firm onwards, Pepeliaev Group’s representatives have played an active role on committees and commissions of the IBA. In recent years, the firm has also been a corporate member.