On 14 October 2013 Svetlana London gave a talk at the Whistleblowing Panel organised by New York State Bar Association / American Bar Association / Law Society at the session “International Developments in whistleblowing laws: cashing in on tipping off – will a US style of bounty rewards soon be making its way across the Atlantic?”

Svetlana’s talk focused on whistleblowing in Russia. In particular, Svetlana addressed legal and cultural issues, current legislation and perspectives for further development of whistleblowing practices in Russia.

In 2013 The Legal 500 UK Awards recognised our firm as a Tier 1 Foreign Law Firm in London for Russia. The Legal 500 in their UK edition referred to our firm as follows:

… team of ‘dedicated’ practitioners provides ‘excellent’ Russian law advice on M&A, joint ventures and other cross-border transactions with a Russian element. The office also handles multi-jurisdictional disputes and advises on compliance and regulatory issues. Clients include Auriant Mining, B&N Bank and Hachette Livre. Office head Svetlana London is ‘extremely responsive and professional’, has ‘good business acumen’ and is ‘always willing to go the extra mile’.

Elena Ivanova, senior associate at the firm, gave a speech at the Legal Forum in Almaty, Kazakhstan, covering the specifics of court proceedings with the participation of Kazakh and Russian clients in state courts and arbitration in London. The Forum united lawyers from leading Kazakh law firms as well as in-house lawyers from large Kazakh companies.

On 12 September 2013 we ran a workshop “Working with Russian clients”. The workshop included practical advice and information on working with Russian clients, a short historical background to Russian clients, wealth and aspects of working with Russia-related matters. Special attention was paid to questions of KYC procedure, source of wealth and background check with respect to Russian clients.

In March 2013 we ran a workshop for investment bankers on recent amendments to Russian currency control law. It included reports by the firm’s partner Svetlana London and senior associates covering recent amendments requiring disclosure by Russian residents holding funds in foreign banks.

The event was staged at the historic Staple Inn Hall, in High Holborn, which was established as an Inn of Chancery in 1585.

More than 100 invited guests, including friends, clients and business colleagues we have worked with over the years, attended the venue on September 17. The purpose of the event was to mark the establishment of our operations in London in 2007.

The evening’s entertainment was provided by acclaimed Australian tenor Andrew Goodwin who moved to Russia in 1999. He studied voice at the St. Petersburg State Rimsky Korsakov Conservatoire, graduating in June, 2005. Andrew, ably accompanied by Maria Timofeeva, performed a number of well-received recitals on the night. The Mallard Oboe Trio, (Anna Cooper: Cor Anglais; Susan Frost: Oboe; Laura Manning: Oboe) also entertained the delighted guests with a number of classical pieces. The well-known trio were formed in 1987 and have recently played at the Guildhall, London, at an event attended by the Lord Mayor of London.

During the course of the highly appreciated event, guests also had the opportunity to meet informally members of our teams from both London and Moscow.

Svetlana London said: “The evening was a great success and we welcomed the opportunity to thank friends, colleagues, clients and business associates for their loyalty and support over the last five years and to further strengthen our relationships.”

The Own-it partnership in collaboration with the Creative Industries Observatory and UK Trade & Investment invited our team onto their panel of experts at their October event covering opportunities in Russia for the creative industries held at Pushkin House, central London.

Representing our firm was Svetlana London. Her presentation covered the legal issues arising for UK creative companies and individuals doing business in Russia.

Also representing our firm was Tatiana Menshenina, who advised generally on doing business with Russia and on precautions that should be taken when entering into contracts with Russian companies.