It is difficult to believe that, in the not-so- distant past, Russia was one of the hottest legal markets on the planet.
Throughout the mid-2000s, record oil prices drove Russia’s energy-dependent economy to dizzying heights. Keen to tap into this veritable economic gusher, cross-border investors poured bucketloads of cash into the market, and law firms scrambled to keep pace with the glut of big-ticket transactional work. Among the elite dealmakers that profited were international firms such as Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; Hogan Lovells; Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom; and the magic circle, as well as some with broader practices such as Baker McKenzie and Dentons.
