Russian law firms band together with goal of making the country's law more attractive to foreign investors

A group of Russia's top law firms have banded together to lobby the country's Government on legal reform, as calls grow for the local market to make its legal system more accessible to 
international business.

The Partnership for the Advancement of Corporate Law was formally established last week (12 September) by a group of 10 of Russia's leading corporate firms.

The partnership's principal aim is to make Russian civil law more attractive for foreign investment by lobbying the Government to bring local law in line with international standards, protect investors' rights and usher in 
greater flexibility.

The group comprises Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners, EDAS, Andrey Gorodissky & Partners, VEGAS-LEX, Liniya Prava, ALRUD, Capital Legal Services, Goltsblat BLP, Pepeliaev Group, YUST as well as the Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs, a state corporation which supports investment 
in the country.

Goltsblat BLP managing partner Andrey Goltsblat commented: "Currently English law is used in most Russian transactions, largely due to the inflexibility of Russian law, which is old-fashioned and not very compatible with international business.

"We would like Russian law to act as a driver for the country's economic development, but for that to happen it has to be improved to an international standard."

Liniya Prava corporate partner Dmitry Krupyshev added: "The partnership will represent the interests of foreign and local investors, knowing and defending their business needs and finding and proposing solutions for a better protection of their rights under Russian law."

Russia's reform of its civil code has been ongoing since 2009, as part of President Dmitry Medvedev's drive to establish Moscow as a global financial centre.

A draft reform bill – drawn up by a codification council formed by Medvedev – was released in November 2010, but has faced criticism from some for not going far enough.

Egorov Puginsky corporate partner Dmitry Stepanov said: "The problem with the council is that it is made up mostly of academics or judges rather than practising lawyers. Our first act as a partnership is to make our amendments to the bill, which hasn't gone far enough."

The draft bill was particularly restrictive on foreign law firms operating in Russia – an element that has not gone unnoticed among the international legal community.

Eversheds managing partner Lee Ranson said: "At the moment Russia is among the most open legal markets in the world. It has a very level playing field so naturally we would be very concerned if that changed. We are watching the civil code review very carefully."

The firm is one of a number of UK leaders currently looking at expansion in Russia. Ranson added that his recent invitation to join Prime Minister David Cameron on a trade delegation to Russia reflected the firm's interest in the market.

He continued: "While no announcement is imminent, we are looking very hard at the Russian market. Our clients are doing more and more work in the region. As such it is an important jurisdiction for us and fits within our aspirations as a global law firm."