Nine leading law firms from the countries of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) economic region announce the launch of a new alliance, The CIS Leading Counsel Network, which aims to transcend the national boundaries and offer clients a seamless advice across these fast developing markets.
The CIS Leading Counsel Network (LCN) brings together the following prominent law firms: in Armenia - Ameria, in Azerbaijan - FINA, in Belarus - Vlasova Mikhel & Partners, in Kazakhstan - Aequitas, in Kyrgyzstan - Kalikova & Associates, in Moldova - Turcan & Turcan, in Russia - Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners, in Turkmenistan - ACT and in Ukraine - RULG – Ukrainian Legal Group. The network, chaired by a rotating chairperson from participating firms, aims to combine the highest international professional standards with a unique local insight in these regions, which are increasingly attracting international investments.
The inaugural meeting of the LCN members, hosted by Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners, the 2009 Law Firm of the Year in Russia and CIS by The Lawyer European Awards, in Moscow on 28 September, elected Ms Irina Paliashvili as first Chair of the Network. She is the president of RULG –Ukrainian Legal Group and founder and co-chair of the CIS Local Counsel Forum, an informal annual conference of managing and senior partners of the CIS and international law firms.
Representatives of a leading German law firm Hengeler Mueller, Mr Oleg de Lousanoff, and a leading French law firm Bredin Prat, Mr Patrick Dziewolski, have attended the inaugural meeting as guests of honor and shared their experience of building up a Best Friends Network in Europe as a model to be followed by the CIS Leading Counsel Network.
LCN members have a long history of successful collaboration. The alliance takes to a new level their time-tested relationships and offers clients integrated teams in these dynamic and challenging jurisdictions.
LCN will offer members a platform to pull resources to get the latest in law firm technology, training and knowledge management systems. The network will also offer annual training programs for the associates of the participating law firms and regular seminars for clients, giving unique perspective on the local markets across the CIS.
Member law firms of the LCN are not exclusively bound and are free to work with non-member firms.
Irina Paliashvili, Chair of LCN, commented:
“I am very excited about this project and honoured to be chosen by my peers as the first Chair of LCN. As our profession is becoming more globalized, it is increasingly important for independent law firms to offer clients top quality cross-border capabilities, especially within our broader economic regions. LCN is a winning combination of the traditional non-exclusive network approach with innovative ideas answering the demands of the modern markets. It allows the participating law firms to retain their independence while harmonizing and enhancing their services and cross-border capabilities.
It gives me a great pleasure to see how long standing cooperation with our good friends across the CIS economic region evolved into this alliance, which is based on best professional standards, mutual trust and respect, and commitment to our clients.”
Dimitry Afanasiev, Chairman of Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners, commented:
“The formation of the LCN is a significant milestone in the legal landscape of the CIS and offers clients a unique opportunity to access leading legal advice across the entire region. We are pleased to have hosted the inaugural meeting of the network and look forward to contributing to its future success and growth.”
