Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners, a leading Russian law firm, and Kyiv-headquartered Magisters announced on July 19 that they are merging to form the largest legal group in the region with “a strong international outreach.”
Acting under the name Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners, the new firm’s offices will span beyond the former Soviet republics and into London and Washington, D.C., offering clients “unprecedented opportunities” in Russia, Eastern Europe and elseswhere.
According to a joint statement, Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners’ leadership in the Russian market will be further consolidated by bringing in Magisters’ international dispute resolution, corporate and public-private partnership practices in Moscow, while adding Magisters’ offices across the ex-Soviet states which will make the new firm “an absolute market leader in the region.”
“This merger is unprecedented for our market,” said Dimitry Afanasiev, chairman of Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev and Partners.
Serhii Sviriba, a longtime partner at Magisters, will now become acting managing partner of the Kyiv office for Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev and Partners.
“We are a step ahead of any national or international law firm in size, market penetration and regional coverage in Russia and the CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States]. Growth through consolidation is necessary to sustain the positive momentum in our development as the leading firm in Russia. Together we can do more,” he added.
We will become the first mega-firm originating from the CIS region in terms of size, scope of services and geographic reach.– Andrew Mac, managing partner of Magisters’ Kyiv office
“We will become the first mega-firm originating from the CIS region in terms of size, scope of services and geographic reach,” said American Andrew Mac, who has served as managing partner of Magisters’ Kyiv office since 2009.
According to The Lawyer European 100, EPA&P’s revenue was 97 million euros in 2010; Magisters firm wide revenue was about 20 million euros during this period.
The new firm will rank as Europe’s 17th largest independent law firm, thelawyer.com reported.
Before the merger, the EPA&P firm had more than 220 lawyers and 16 partners.
Magisters had 100 lawyers and 11 partners.
The new firm will have more than 300 lawyers and 27 partners servicing clients through offices in Moscow, St Petersburg, Kyiv, Minsk, Astana and associate offices in London and Washington, D.C.
Dimitry Afanasiev is chairman of Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners.
Mac said he will be spending most of his time in the near term establishing a Washington, D.C., office for the firm, while regularly visiting the CIS region. “I will establish a DC office to better service our client base,” Mac said. “It will provide for a stronger international outreach.
There are a lot of inbound U.S. clients heading into the region. We are here to provide a hands-on presence, not to compete with domestic firms.”
Both law firms are known to be influential in their home countries and abroad. Vedomosti, the Russian business daily, reported on July 19 that one of EPA&P’s senior partners, Nikolai Egorov, was a classmate of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at a Leningrad university during Soviet days. He also taught Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s president, according to Vedomosti.
Magisters was established by Oleg Riabokon along with partners. He and Yevhen Korniychuk, another former partner, left the firm in recent years after going into politics.
Current partners of Magisters claim they and other high-profile lawyers who have left the firm after going into politics no longer have any relation to it.
Another high-profile lawyer and former Magisters partner is Serhiy Vlasenko, a lawmaker who is currently defending ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in a corruption trial seen by many as politically motivated.
As a top Ukrainian law firm, Magisters serviced many large foreign and domestic clients in Ukraine, including state gas and oil company Naftogaz. Earlier this year, Ukrainian prosecutors raided the law firm’s offices seeking documents relating to the operations of Naftogaz under Tymoshenko’s leadership as prime minister in 2007-2010.
