What she specialises in
Vitalia is an expert in employment law and matters relating to employment and civil law. Before she joined Pepeliaev Group, she worked at leading Russian law firms and a major international law firm. She has 13 years of experience in advising Russian and foreign companies that are leaders across various sectors of the economy, as well as experience in supporting enforcement proceedings and litigation.
Vitalia is the author of the monograph Employment of the Head of an Organisation: Legal Regulation. She has written a number of academic and practice-oriented articles on the regulation of directors’ employment, compensation upon dismissal and other challenging aspects of employment and corporate law and court practice. These have been published in well-known legal journals such as Law and Economics, HR Specialist, Employment Law in Russia and Abroad (published by Lomonosov Moscow State University), Employment Disputes, and the practical collection Rules for Business: Lessons from Court Cases (published by Pepeliaev Group). She is also a regular contributor of articles and commentaries to publications of the Action Media Group, among others.
Vitalia has been recognised in the individual lawyer rankings of The Legal 500, as well as in the Pravo-300 individual rankings for 2022–2025 in the Employment and Migration Law category, and in Rossiyskaya Gazeta’s rankings for 2024–2025 in the Employment Law category, Group 2.
Her main achievements
- advised clients and provided assistance during procedures required to resolve conflicts arising from dismissing employees including top manager level;
- prepared comprehensive legal opinions on challenging aspects of employment law including during a business restructuring;
- successfully represented a major Russian insurance company in litigation with its former general director, and many others.
What they say
Vitalia Kuznetsova is recognized as a notable practitioner by the Legal 500.
“Strong track record in handling unfair dismissals, immigration and employee payment disputes as well as negotiations with trade unions” (Chambers Europe).
