Central & Eastern Europe: The sleeping giant
While all eyes have been on the accession states, Russia has quietly pulled itself out of recession and taken the first steps towards fulfiling its potential as the largest single commercial market in Europe. Jane Potter looks at how its law firms have kept pace with developments
May 26, 2004 at 08:03 PM
9 minute read
Last year saw the largest corporate transaction in Russian history, when Yukos, the Russian oil giant, acquired a majority shareholding in Sibneft in a $14bn (£78.6m) deal. Although the deal has been dogged by controversy, it is a reflection of the expanding opportunities for business and, correspond-ingly, the commercial lawyer in the new Russia.
"The opportunities in present day Russia are very broad," confirms Brian Zimbler, managing partner of the Moscow office of LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae. "The Russian market is booming. There is an increasing demand for all forms of legal services – M&A work for Russian and foreign companies general corporate work, security and capital markets work, banking, finance and litigation."
Russia has been in a state of flux since the collapse of communism more than a decade ago. While recent attention has focused on the accession states of Central and Eastern Europe, their growth potential is dwarfed by that of Russia, which boasts a market of 170 million people – almost three times the population of the accession states – and enormous natural resources. "Russia has the potential to be a very, very significant market," says David Griston, managing partner of CMS Cameron McKenna's Moscow office.
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