Quinn Emanuel is set to launch in Moscow with the hire of two senior litigation partners from Dechert.

Ivan Marisin and Vasily Kuznetsov, who are set to join Quinn later this year, both joined Dechert's Moscow office from Clifford Chance (CC) last year. The number of associates who will follow the duo to Dechert is as yet unconfirmed.

As a senior figure in CC's CIS practice, Marisin became head of the firm's Moscow litigation and arbitration practice in 1992, and was named local managing partner in 2000.

High-profile roles he has taken include representing Bank of New York Mellon on a $22.5bn (£19.7bn) claim brought by the Russian Government, which was settled in 2009.

Kuznetsov, a national partner at Dechert, joined Marisin's team at CC in 2002, and they jointly represented Russian uranium seller Tenex on a $1bn (£633m) arbitration in Stockholm in 2007.

Quinn Emanuel managing partner John Quinn said: 'We see Moscow as a key source of work for both our practices in London and the US and we are very excited that Ivan and Vasily have agreed to help us exploit the opportunities that Russia presents to the west."

He continued: "We are fundamentally a trial firm, and Ivan, who is widely acknowledged as one of the most experienced and toughest advocates in Russia, is a like-minded individual who we are confident will contribute to our brand and practice internationally."

London co-managing partner Richard East, who was involved in the recruitment process, commented: "These are very senior, very credible litigators, and we look forward to working with them. We expect there to be a lot of interaction between the London and Moscow offices as there are significant client synergies."

Quinn Emanuel, which launched in London in 2008, has just one further European base in Mannheim, Germany. The firm has six offices across the US, as well as a presence in Tokyo.