Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has launched a dedicated Moscow tax practice with the hire of a senior lawyer from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Andrey Shpak joined BLP's Russian arm Goltsblat BLP as a partner at the end of January and will take the title of Moscow head of tax. Goltsblat BLP already had lawyers advising on tax matters but did not have a partner dedicated to tax.

Shpak joined PwC in 1995 and was a director at the accounting giant at the time of his departure to BLP. He was part of PwC Russia's M&A tax practice and advised across a number of sectors, including financial markets, corporate governance, manufacturing, automotive, telecommunications and media.

BLP launched in Moscow a year ago through the hire of high-profile Russian corporate partner Andrey Goltsblat, who joined the City firm with a 70-lawyer team from Pepeliaev Goltsblat & Partners, where he was a name partner.

Goltsblat said: "I am very pleased to welcome Andrey [Shpak], who is one of the strongest tax lawyers in Russia, to our team. We are building the practice in response to a growing demand for tax services from our clients and in line with our aim to provide comprehensive legal support in all areas of law, both in Russia and globally."

BLP's Moscow operation currently has 80 lawyers, with the firm stating that Goltsblat's practice had maintained around 90% of its client base and mandates since joining the UK firm in January last year, as well as picking up new international mandates.

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