Herbert Smith Moscow disputes head takes on new regional role in wake of Allen & Overy departures

Herbert Smith has appointed Moscow litigation chief Dmitry Kurochkin as its new head of dispute resolution for Continental Europe, the Middle East and Africa (CEMEA).

The appointment, effective from the start of this month, makes Kurochkin the first partner to hold the role. The firm previously appointed Paris disputes head Denis Chemla to lead the CEMEA practice in May this year; however, he resigned days later to join Allen & Overy (A&O).

Kurochkin will continue as head of the Moscow disputes practice alongside the new position. He has been at Herbert Smith since 2002, when he joined from Clifford Chance, and was made up to partner in 2004.

Herbert Smith global disputes head Sonya Leydecker (pictured) said: "Dmitry has had a lot of interaction with our European network and alliance firms so he was well-placed to take up the role. We decided to introduce this position to help join up our European practices.

"With the increasing focus on emerging markets, it is also very helpful to have a partner in our Moscow office taking the lead, and we're excited about growing and developing the group over the coming year."

Kurochkin specialises in general commercial, corporate, shareholder, employment and regulatory disputes.

Meanwhile, Chemla is set to join A&O's Paris office alongside arbitration partner Michael Young and litigation partner Erwan Poisson to launch a full service disputes practice for the magic circle firm. The trio could be held to up to 12 months' notice.

The departures will leave Herbert Smith with three partners in Paris. In a move to bulk up its more senior Paris disputes ranks, the firm has made up two associates to counsel in an out of season promotion round.

Clement Dupoirier and Jonathan Mattout, who is currently on secondment to Hong Kong, both become counsel. Dupoirier specialises in commercial litigation including banking, energy, insurance and insolvency disputes, while Mattout's practice focuses on white collar crime and compliance.