Editorial: Construction & Real Estate in the CIS
The property market in the CIS has seen a drop-off in transactional work over the past year, and the lawyers we consulted are finding their restructuring and advisory skills are increasingly in demand. We feature 31 lawyers from seven jurisdictions in this chapter, which combines lawyers with construction and real estate backgrounds.
Salans is represented by three lawyers in this section, including Tim Stubbs who is the firm’s head of banking and finance in Russia. Stubbs has advised clients in property development and reconstruction projects and the negotiation of construction loans and was described as “top-flight” by respondents. Ophelia Abdullayeva and Vagif Ahmadov are both listed from the Baku office.
Baker & McKenzie – CIS Limited is similarly well represented. Konstantine Kouzine is a former real estate equity partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers’ CIS law offices and focuses his practice on private equity, real estate funds and property leasing throughout Russia. The “excellent” Maxim Kalinin is managing partner of the firm’s St Petersburg office and is recognised for his work in real estate, power and transport infrastructure projects. Natik Mamedov in Azerbaijan specialises in real estate sales and finance as well as hotels, resorts and tourism.
Clifford Chance LLP and DLA Piper LLP are also among the major international law firms with a formidable regional presence in this area. Clifford Chance CIS Limited fields Marc Bartholomy from its Moscow office while Jared Grubb stands out in Kiev. Sergey Koltchin heads the real estate and construction practice in the Moscow office of DLA Piper and is recognised for his work with land ownership rights and construction and infrastructure issues as well as FDI projects in Moscow and the Urals. Natalia Kochergina is based in Kiev and has recently advised AREA (Apollo Real Estate Advisors) and 1849 PLC.
Equally prominent are Goltsblat BLP and Turcan & Turcan, both of whom are headquartered in the region. The “well-known” Elena Barinova of Goltsblat has extensive experience of domestic and cross-border property finance transactions as well as the privatisation of state-owned real estate property, including brownfield and greenfield sites. Vitaly Mozharowski also at the firm’s Moscow office joins Barinova on our list and is “highly regarded” for his investment, project finance and due diligence work in real estate and construction transactions. Moldova-based firm Turcan & Turcan fields managing partner and “leading light” Alexander Turcan in this chapter alongside Octavian Cazac.
Eric Michailov heads the corporate and M&A practice at the Moscow office of White & Case LLC and is given “top marks” for his representative work on behalf of investment funds and international companies pursuing real estate M&A projects in Russia. At Linklaters CIS, Xavier Hunter is also highly regarded for his work with real estate transactions.
Belarus firm Vlasova Mikhel & Partners benefits from the inclusion of managing partner Konstantin Mikhel in this section. Mikhel is a member of the foreign investment advisory council to government ministers and is recommended for his transactional and restructuring knowledge. Also based in Minsk is Alexander Stepanovski of Stepanovski Papakul and Partners Ltd, who specialises in investment and construction as well as disputes between building companies.
In Ukraine, Timur Bondaryev at Arzinger is “excellent” and Ulan Tilenbaev at Kalikova & Associates is similarly highly regarded. The outstanding Alexander Botian and Vassili Salei are listed from Borovtsov & Salei in Belarus, while Kiryl Apanasevich and Dennis Turovets are recognised for their high-quality work at Sorainen and Magisters respectively. Armenia’s David Sargsyan from Ameria Legal Practice is another local leader and in Azerbaijan Ismail Askerov stands out for his work at MGB Law Offices.