Chadbourne duo reject Dechert Moscow switch

Chadbourne & Parke has announced that two of the five partners expected to join Dechert in Moscow have decided to remain at the firm.

Earlier this week (11 May) Dechert announced the launch of a office in the Russian capital with the hire of a five-partner team from its US rival, but Chadbourne insisted that discussions with the partners were continuing.

As as result of these discussions, two of the partner quintet - Mikhail Rozenberg and Jennifer Handz - have now opted against the move, while a Chadbourne spokesman also said that three counsel - Julia Romanova, Dmitry Gubarev and Olga Koniuhova - would be staying at the firm.

Dechert is still set to bring over the managing partner of Chadbourne's Moscow and St Petersburg offices, Laura Brank, along with partners Shane DeBeer and Konstantin Konstantinov.

Brank told the The Am Law Daily last week that most of Chadbourne's nearly 30 Moscow lawyers could be set to join Dechert.

"If all five partners are leaving, that is pretty much the business," said Brank. "So I would anticipate most of the lawyers would follow."

Brank also said last week that she and the four other partners had officially resigned from the firm.

The Chadbourne spokesman said it is good news for the firm that the two partners decided to stay, but added that the future of the firm's Moscow office was never in doubt.

"We have been in Moscow for 20 years and we are committed to the region," the spokesman said. "We have a high reputation and an active practice in Moscow. Since we have been in Moscow, other Western firms have come and gone but we remain committed to Moscow."

Because of a 30-day notice provision in Chadbourne's partnership agreement, the three partners are set to join Dechert around 5 June, officially opening the firm's 19th office.

This article first appeared in The Legal Intelligencer, a US sister title of Legal Week.