The meeting is to take place on Friday, 5 August 2011 at the Moscow office of SAS. Address: 21/1, Stanislavskogo St., Moscow (entrance through Bld.3).

Participation is free of charge.

Please RSVP by August 4, 2011 by sending email to Julia Kobylinskaya.

The Head of Magisters' litigation practice in Ukraine Alexey Reznikov and Senior Associate Arseniy Milyutin will represent the interests of Mr. Kirkorov in the case against the daily Ukrainian newspaper Segodnya and internet portal www.segodnya.ua.

On July 19, 2011 Segodnya published a number of untrue facts about Mr. Kirkorov's visit to Yalta, including spreading of information about a mass brawl involving the singer's security damaging his reputation.

"The published information has damaged the reputation of our client and we are ready to defend his interests," commented Alexey Reznikov.

The merger will offer unprecedented opportunities for clients in Russia, the CIS as well as further afield. Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners' leadership in the Russian market will be further consolidated by bringing in Magisters' international dispute resolution, corporate and PPP practices in Moscow, while adding Magisters' offices across the CIS which will make the new firm an absolute market leader in the region. 

Following the merger, the firm will exceed 300 lawyers, with 27 partners, and expand its presence to Moscow, St Petersburg, Kiev, Minsk, Astana and associate offices in London and Washington, D.C.

The merger will increase the firm's opportunities for professional development of its Russian and CIS lawyers and provide greater resources for international training.

The firm will continue its commitment to and support of its networks of trusted law firms in the CIS region.

Commenting on the merger, Dimitry Afanasiev, Chairman of Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev and Partners, said:

"This merger is unprecedented for our market. We are a step ahead of any national or international law firm in size, market penetration and regional coverage in Russia and the CIS. Growth through consolidation is necessary to sustain the positive momentum in our development as the leading firm in Russia. Together we can do more. Both firms share the philosophy of international excellence combined with unique local knowledge and this makes us a perfect fit for each other. We are determined to bring new value to our clients through this merger. We are also excited to be the trailblazers in the CIS. And last but not the least, the new partners do like each other and we intend to enjoy working together."

Dmitry Dyakin, Magisters' Moscow Managing Partner, said:

"The merger of two leading law firms in Russia and the CIS is a real market breakthrough and it will enhance the way we work with international and Russian clients. As a consequence of creating the largest law firm in the region, focused on providing best legal services in its class, the merger of the two great firms will present clients with an unprecedented offer. We are expecting to get perfect synergy from this merger as our firms share the same values, drive and ambitions. It makes us very balanced considering our regional presence and practice areas. We don't compromise on quality of our services and believe that the quality will be easier to maintain being an undisputed market leader."

NOTES TO EDITORS

EPA&P and Magisters have been repeatedly recognized as leaders in their respective practice areas. Both firms have been named as winners of the most prestigious legal awards including Chambers Europe Awards for Excellence and The Lawyer European Awards. 

About EPA&P

Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners is Russia's largest and most recognized law firm. Founded in 1993, the firm has over 220 lawyers in its Moscow and St. Petersburg offices and the associated office in London. Being a full-service law firm, it combines extensive emerging markets experience with international professional standards. The firm regularly acts for multinational and national clients as well as the Russian Federation itself in both transactional and contentious matters. It also consistently contributes to the improvement of the Russian legislation, rule of law and investment climate.

Over the last two years, EPA&P has been recognized with over 40 professional awards, including this year's Russian National Law Firm of the Year from Chambers Europe Awards for Excellence, Advisor to European M&A Deal of the Year from IFLR European Awards 2011, Best Law Firm in Russia from Pravo.Ru-300, Russian Law Firm of the Year in HR Management from Legal Insight magazine, and many others.

About Magisters

Magisters was established in 1997 in Ukraine. In 2006 the firm merged with Reznikov, Vlasenko & Partners (Ukraine). The consequent merger with Legas Legal Solutions (Russia) became the first-ever cross-border merger between independent law firms in the CIS and marked the beginning of the Firm's CIS-wide expansion.

Two years later the firm merged with Belarusian law firm BelJurbureau. In 2009, Magisters launched a representative office in London that became a conduit to service multinational clients investing in CIS markets and for CIS blue chips with interests in the UK.

Today the Firm employs 100 lawyers and is the only law firm in the CIS to have attained the international Investors in People accreditation.

Magisters is consistently top ranked by Chambers, Legal 500, PLC Which Lawyer, and IFLR 1000 for the high quality of its work. The Firm was awarded Law Firm of the Year in Russia & the CIS (The Lawyer European Awards 2010) and Law Firm of the Year in Ukraine (Chambers Europe Awards for Excellence).

Numbers:

• EPA&P is comprised of over 220 lawyers and 16 partners.
• Magisters has around 100 lawyers and 11 partners across the CIS.
• According to The Lawyer European 100 EPA&P's revenue was EUR 97.2 million in 2010.
• Magisters' firmwide revenue in 2010 was USD 26 million.

For further information, please contact:

Andy Hunder, International Business Development Director, Magisters: +44 208 528 1061, ahunder@magisters.com

Every year International Legal Alliance Summit & Awards gathers representatives of the leading law firms as well as general counsels from all over the world. This truly unique event consists of highly interactive One-to-One Alliance Meetings followed by the International Legal Awards Ceremony to recognize distinguished law firms in domestic markets as well as the top in-house departments worldwide.

The names of the laureates and winners were revealed during the official celebration dinner on June 23, 2011 in Paris.

Magisters' Moscow Managing Partner Dmitry Dyakin comments: "This is the first time Magisters has been nominated and we are proud to have been recognized by this prestigious European award as one of the best law firms in the region. The winners have been selected by the authoritative jury in the course of the challanging multistage process and we are happy our achievents have been awarded."

1. How will the UK authorities decide which companies/individuals outside the UK can be prosecuted under the Act?
2. Does the UK Bribery Act require different internal compliance procedures from the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)?
3. To what extent will anti-corruption compliance in Russia be driven by market (contractual) forces, given that large international companies may require all "associated persons," including third party service providers, to make credible assurances of anti-corruption compliance?
4. What are the common misconceptions/misunderstandings with respect to anti-corruption compliance in Russia?
5. What are the most common difficulties encountered in implementing an anti-corruption compliance program in Russia and how can they be addressed?
6. Will the new Russian anti-corruption legislation affect the level of anti-corruption enforcement or compliance in Russia?

The discussion will be conducted in ENGLISH, without translation.

Led By:

KATHLEEN HARRIS, Partner, Arnold & Porter (UK) LLP (London)
Prior to joining Arnold & Porter as a partner in the white collar defense practice group earlier this month, Ms. Harris was the head of the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) Fraud Business Group and was one of the individuals most involved in developing the official Guidance to the Act. As a result of her senior role at the SFO and other UK government agencies, Kathleen has a unique insight into the policies underlying the UK Bribery Act and related legislation and into the manner in which they will be interpreted and enforced.

DMITRY DEMENTYEV, Senior Compliance Expert, Magisters (Moscow)
Practicing Russian and US law, Mr. Dementyev focuses primarily on matters related to international compliance, including immigration, customs, competition, anti-corruption law and data protection compliance. His personal experience in these areas includes advising AstraZeneca, Boeing, Eli Lilly, Amazon.com, Microsoft, Mace Inc. and Amitech.

DMITRI EVSEEV, Partner, Arnold & Porter LLP (London/Washington, DC)
Mr. Evseev is a Russian-speaking US-qualified partner specializing in dispute resolution and anti-corruption issues in the CIS, and has prepared a number of presentations on FCPA and the UK Bribery Act.

CLEMENS SCHLOTTER, Partner, Magisters (Moscow)
Mr. Schlotter focuses on consulting the ever-growing number of German, Austrian and Swiss corporate clients of Magisters with regard to their CIS activities. Specializing in white collar crime/compliance, he has extensive experience in advising Russian and international clients on different aspects of compliance-related issues.

Time

Wednesday, 22nd of June 2011 from 9.00 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.

Location

Association of European Business, at 16 Krasnoproletarskaya street. (Novoslobodskaya metro)

Registration

The webinar will take place at 2 pm on June 14, 2011.  

More information is available here.

Ukrainian Bar Association is the leading Ukrainian non-governmental union of law firms, lawyers and attorneys, which aims at creation of powerful and influential professional community.

For many years Magisters supports UBA and acts as its general partner, participating in many initiatives and projects of UBA.  Continuing this tradition and understanding the importance of personal efforts for legal profession development in Ukraine, Alexey Reznikov will actively participate in Association's activity as its vice-president. At this honorable and important post he will consider as his top-priority development of international cooperation, work on improvement of legislation, and promotion of high standards of legal profession in Ukraine.  

Considering his large experience of legal work in Ukraine, Alexey Reznikov reflected on his appointment: "The community of lawyers represented in Association constitutes the professional and ambitious basis for further development of democratic society in Ukraine. I fully share values of Association, also I consider as a great honor to be a part of this organization and actively participate in its activities".

In Russia, Best Lawyers recommends Magisters for 5 practice areas. Managing Partner Dmitry Dyakin, Counsel Georgy Osipov and Senior Associate Alexander Vaneev are listed among the outstanding litigation experts. Partner Kirill Ratnikov has been recommended for 3 practice areas including construction, project finance/development, and real estate. This year newcomer Pavel Sadovsky has been recognized in the media category.

In Ukraine, Magisters is recognized in 10 practice areas. Partner Alexey Reznikov is recommended for litigation and arbitration/mediation where the guide also recommends Serhii Sviriba. Partner Olga Khoroshylova is praised for her professionalism in banking/finance, capital markets, project finance/development. Head of German Desk in Kyiv Ilona Zekely is recommended for banking/finance, real estate, land use/zoning. Vladimir Didenko is included in the list of leading tax experts, while Andrew Mac is recommended for M&A/corporate.

Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. It compiles lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers.

He will make a presentation on how to succeed in project finance and PPPs in Russia.

More detailed information is available here.

This forum is organized by the Embassy of France in Russia, the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing of France, UbiFrance, the State Duma, the Ministry of Regional Development, and Vnesheconombank.

The event will be held on 3-4 June 2011 in the President-Hotel in Moscow.

More detailed information is available here.

This year Eurolawyer will be held on June 2-3, 2011 in London, UK. It will focus on legal and practical aspects of investments into the CIS region.

• Dmitry Dyakin, Managing Partner, Head of Dispute Resolution Practice (Moscow)
• Kirill Ratnikov, Partner, Head of Infrastructure and PPP in the CIS (Moscow)

Also the Magisters' Eurolawer team includes Minsk Managing Partner Dennis Turovets, Senior Associate Alexander Vaneev, Associates Vladimir Pestrikov and Olga Ianiutina, as well and Andy Hunder, Business development director.

This year Eurolawyer has also launched Eurolawyer Awards to recognize legal departments demonstrating outstanding performance in the CIS. More information for nominees is available here.

Being a regular participant of the Forum, this year Magisters is proud to support the event as General Sponsor.

Please follow the link to get more information about Eurolawyer 2011.

World IP is a global survey covering over 75 jurisdictions worldwide. It reveals the most notable law firms in the area of IP analyzing such criteria as strength of expertise, caseload, position on the market and peers' recommendations.

This year Magisters has been top ranked both in Russia and Ukraine. In particular, the firm has been recommended for patent contentious and trade mark/copyright contentious in Russia, while in Ukraine it is praised for its expertise in such categories as trade mark prosecution and trade mark/copyright contentious.

The guide notes that Magisters' IP practice chaired by Senior Associates Pavel Sadovsky in Moscow and Taras Kyslyy in Kyiv focuses predominantly on disputes relating to trade marks, trade mark protection, anti-counterfeiting, transaction-related IP and data protection.

Magisters "has a versatile approach in resolving difficult issues and great ability to professionally identify the most important aspects of the dispute", the clients say. The advisory services provided by Magisters "stand out because of their clarity and good knowledge of Russian practice". The attorneys "know nuances related to the IT sector" and "provide their clients with the high level of support".

The guide notes that Magisters in Russia advised Microsoft on issues including IP rights protection, licensing, media and marketing. In 2011 Sadovsky was representing healthcare company Bayer in a trade mark infringement case after having successfully defended, in 2010, the Russian representative office of worldwide magazine publishers Condé Nast in a dispute related to protection of one of its trade marks. Elsewhere, the firm advised clients on protection of rights on software and mechanical technology and Pavel Sadovsky and Senior Associate Dmitry Dementyev assisted Dow AgroSciences on the IP aspects of a distribution agreement. Pavel Sadovsky also represented the Association of European Businesses in Russia in making proposals for amendments to IP legislation.

In Ukraine, Magisters and Taras Kyslyy represented Viasat, major satellite provider, in a complex matter initiated by its competitor. The matter includes court dispute on copyright infringement and a number of criminal cases initiated by the counterparty including on alleged unlicensed activities of our client. The firm also provided legal advice to UEFA on trademark infringement matters in the run-up to the Euro 2012 football tournament. Among the firm's key clients there are such companies as Yahoo!, Viacom/MTV, Organon Schering-Plough, UEFA and others.

Within the last 2 years Magisters' IP practice has been growing fast; it is widely recognized both in Russia and Ukraine. Thus, Magisters is highly recommended for IP by Legal 500 2011, Chambers Global 2011, Chambers Europe 2011, Legal Experts EMEA 2011, Who's Who Legal: CIS 2011, and the Russian ranking Pravo.RU 300. In addition, the firm has been recently named Law Firm of the Year in Intellectual Property in Russia (Finance Monthly Global Awards 2011), and has become the winner in the category Intellectual Property according to the Lawyers World Law Awards 2011.

Dmitry, who is also an official representative of LCIA YAIG in Russia and the CIS, will co-chair one of the sessions of the conference.

More information is available here.

The event is organized by Capital Business Events in association with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), Commerce and Industry Chamber of Russian Federation, The Anglo Russian Law Association (ARLA) and supported by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Dmitry Dyakin will make a presentation within the Session 6 which is dedicated to corporate disputes in companies with foreign owners

More information is available here.

The meeting is to take place on Friday, 27 May 2011 at the Moscow office of SAS. Address: 21/1, Stanislavskogo St., Moscow (entrance through Bld.3).

Participation is free of charge.

Please RSVP by May 26, 2011 by sending email to Julia Kobylinskaya.

Online registration.

During the roadshow to Austria Ilona Zekely was kindly invited to participate in the meeting of CLG Legal Network and present Magisters as leading law firm in CIS. Also she participated in Bentley Reception at British Embassy in Vienna and networked at the reception, organized by Dorda Brugger Jordis Rechtsanwaelte GmbH, one of the leading Austrian law firms.

The poll was designed to assess advisory excellence of the firms, not simply size or deal flow. In November and December, readers of International Tax Review, which include tax executives from multinational companies, tax officials and advisers, voted in a poll for their top three tax planning firms in 50 jurisdictions.

In addition Magisters' Tax Practice has been International Tax Review's National Tax Firm of the Year award winner for 2009 and 2010.

The event was organized by the American Chamber of Commerce (ACC) and the British Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce (BUCC).

More information is available here.

According to the WTR 1000, Magisters' IP practice in Kyiv received high recognition among Ukrainian law firms providing legal advice on intellectual property and trademark matters.

Recognizing Magisters, the editors write: "Magisters is uniquely well placed among international law firms to advise on trademark issues across the CIS". According to the source, Magisters "boasts a broad non-contentious service offering, and lawyers regularly advise on complex licensing agreements and trademarkheavy M&A transactions. However, it is the group's litigation capability that distinguishes it from its competitors."

Taras Kyslyy, Head of Magisters IP practice in Ukraine, is being endorsed in the Individual - Contentious ranking and praised for his excellent work for national and multinational clients in Ukraine. Taras is praised by clients for his "IP enforcement nous" and effective advice on "anticounterfeiting and parallel import" matters. Editors recognized his recent work for UEFA (on trademark infringement matters in the run-up to the Euro 2012 football tournament), Yahoo! and Verizon.

The WTR 1000 is based on the comprehensive interviewing conducted with trademark specialists in more than fifty jurisdictions. The survey aims to identify and rank the firms and individuals to turn to for unparalleled trademark services when seeking local and international legal partners.

More information is available on the website.

In Russia, Magisters has been recommended for PPP, Dispute Resolution, M&A and Corporate and Intellectual Property.

Magisters is top ranked for PPP while Kirill Ratnikov stands first in the individual ranking. This "prestigious regional firm" has dramatically boosted its PPP team's standing in the market. Kirill Ratnikov who "enjoys a formidable reputation as one of the few true specialists in PPP" is "a familiar face on many of the country's infrastructure projects". Magisters' presence in Minsk, Astana, Kyiv, and London "makes it a good choice for foreign investors in the CIS region".

"Increasingly established in Moscow", Magisters Dispute Resolution team is highly recommended. "It handles a large volume of disputes and is also instructed on high-profile cases". "The team did everything possible to make our life on the other side difficult, a good job for their client!" enthuses a peer. Clients say it is "quick, precise and driven by business goals". A new name in the ranking, Dmitry Dyakin is "the face of the firm's litigation team".

Magisters continues to strengthen its position in Intellectual Property. New to the rankings, Pavel Sadovsky is described as an up-and-coming name in both IP and TMT.

Magisters' "dynamic and increasingly visible" M&A and Corporate team is "building its reputation in Moscow". "This team is commercial and easy to deal with".

The guide also recommends Magisters in Belarus. Magisters' "active, ambitious and experienced" team in Minsk "is winning increasing recognition in the market". Clients say the advice is "spot-on." Despite the pricing is relatively high, the clients say "they got what they asked for". Anna Rusetskaya and Dennis Turovets have been recommended in the individual ranking. Clients compliment Anna Rusetskaya on her "attentive advice on business risks". A new name in the rankings, Dennis Turovets is noted as one of the key figures within the firm.

In Ukraine, Magisters remains highly recommended for its work in M&A and Corporate, Banking & Finance, Dispute Resolution, Intellectual Property, and Restructuring/Insolvency.

Olga Khoroshylova, Andrew Mac, Olexiy Reznikov, Serhii Sviriba are top ranked in the individual rankings. They advise a wide range of clients and "enjoy a long-standing reputation for their expertise" in the respective areas of practice. Taras Kyslyy is recommended for intellectual property practice area which "benefits from the firm's traditional strengths in dispute resolution and litigation".

The event organized by The Russian Managers' Association will be held on April 26, 2011 in Naberezhnaya Tower Business Center, Block B (Moscow City).

More information is available here.

The Lawyers World Law Awards recognize a select number of leading law firms across the globe for their individual areas of specialization within certain geographical location. This year the winners were chosen among the leading professional firms that have performed at an exceptional level and have demonstrated outstanding results; the independent research is based on over 17 000 votes.

The Lawyers World Law Awards 2011 special edition will be published in May 2011.

Since 2009, when Kirill Ratnikov, CIS-wide Infrastructure & PPP Partner and his team joined Magisters to form its Infrastructure & PPP practice, the firm has established a reputation as a prominent player in the area of infrastructure, project finance and PPPs not only in Russia but across the CIS.

Since then the firm's expertise in this area has been widely recognized by numerous international rankings and awards including those by Chambers Europe 2011, IFLR 1000 2011, AsiaLaw Profiles 2011, PLC Which Lawyer 2011, Who's Who Legal: CIS 2011, Legal Experts EMEA 2011 and others.

Kirill Ratnikov reflects: "This is a great honor for us to be named Project Finance Law Firm of the Year. I am very proud to be a part if this professional team and very happy to see our practice growing".

In addition to the above mentioned awards, Magisters has been also named Corporate Tax Law Firm of the 2011 Year according to the Lawyers World Law Awards 2011.

Magisters' team was led by Olga Khoroshylova, Partner of Capital Markets, Banking & Finance practice in Kyiv, and included Senior Associate Roman Stepanenko and Associate Kateryna Oliynyk, with tax aspects covered by Vladimir Didenko, Partner and Head of Tax practice of the firm.

Pavel will make a presentation on Intellectual property in the digital environment: actual problems and new judicial practice.

A two-day conference will be held on 21-22 April 2011 in the premises of the HSE. Addresses: 20 Myasnitskaya Str. and 17 Malaya Ordynka Str. respectively.

More detailed information is available here.

The participation in the on-line conference is free of charge. The spaces are limited.

More information is available here.