April 12, 2011 – Ivan Smirnov is appointed as a partner of the Moscow Office at Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners. A recognized expert in the resolution of disputes involving public authorities, Ivan will lead the firm’s regulatory department.
Before joining Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners Ivan served as the head of both dispute resolution and tax practices of the Saint Petersburg office of Baker & McKenzie, specializing in tax disputes, antitrust law and trade, and representing his clients in court and before various administrative authorities. Ivan’s record of service also includes the management of litigation and tax practices in the Saint Petersburg office of DLA PIPER, legal and tax advice at Ernst & Young and employment by a number of Russian and international companies.
Mr. Smirnov has extensive experience in representing international and Russian companies across a broad range of industries such as pulp and paper, tobacco, food, telecoms, retail, engineering, real estate, and construction on tax, commercial and environmental matters as well as antitrust issues and dispute resolution.
Chambers Europe, an international publication monitoring the legal services market, lists Ivan Smirnov as “one of the strongest commercial litigators in the Russian market”, noting his “exceptional professionalism”.
Ivan graduated from the Law Department of St. Petersburg State University (magna cum laude) in 2000, and the Department of Financial, Credit and International Economic Relations of St. Petersburg State University of Finance and Economics (a magna cum laude degree) in 1997. Mr. Smirnov is a chartered auditor in the State of New Hampshire (USA) and a co-chairman of the Tax Committee of the Saint Petersburg Chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce.
“We are happy to welcome Ivan as a new partner of our firm. His result-driven approach and focus on client relations will make a substantial contribution to our work”, said Dimitry Afanasiev of Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners.
“I am honored to be joining a leading international law firm. I am convinced that my experience with international companies will help our team fulfill a variety of most ambitious tasks facing the firm’s regulatory department”, noted Ivan Smirnov, a partner at Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners.
