Yukov, Khrenov
& Partners
«Yukov, Khrenov & Partners»: facts
Clients
Unimilk, Russian Aluminum Company, Millhouse capital UK Limited, RAO «Norilsk Nickel», «Russian Standard» Company, «For Media» Ltd, JSC «TransCreditBank», JSC «Uralmash», JSC «NK «RussOil», En+ Group - Basic Element Company’s energy sector, Basel Aero, «Afipsky Oil Refinery», «Basic Element» Comapny, Interros Company, OJSC «Murmansk Trawl Fleet», OJSC «SG-Trans», OJSC «Vim-Avia Airlines», Home Credit and Finance Bank Ltd, State Federal Unitary Department «CSKA», «ICB «Sovcombank», JSC «IDGC of Urals», JSC NK «Rosneft», State Corporation Deposit Insurance Agency, JSC «Murmansk commercial port», JSC «Tyumen Energy», «Babayevsky» confectionary, «Econica» company, etc.
Recognition
«Yukov, Khrenov & Partners» is a company recommended and rated by leading legal experts, local and international: Legal 500, Chambers & Partners, rating of the Mergers & Acquisitions Journal, rating of the www.pravo.ru Internet portal, and has received the award “For Active Participation in Lawmaking Activity” of Corporate Lawyer magazine.
«Yukov, Khrenov & Partners»: recommendations
•
Chambers & Partners
-
"This young but already well-respected
Russian firm specializes in commercial litigation and most of its
clients are major and mid-level Russian companies. Peers note its
special expertise in matters brought in the domestic arbitration and
common jurisdiction courts. Both Andrey Yukov and Alexander
Khrenov are highly qualified specialists and the main contacts at the
team."
•
LEGAL 500
– recommends «Yukov, Khrenov & Partners» as one of
the few Russian legal firms in the field of dispute resolution in Russia
and CIS.
Frequently mentioned in the business media and contributors for :
• International Comparative Legal Guide to: Dispute Resolution 2008, 2009
• Getting the Deal Through: Gas Regulation 2008, 2009, 2010
• Getting the Deal Through: Electricity Regulation 2008, 2009, 2010
• Getting The Deal Through: Corporate Governance 2008, 2009, 2010
• The European & Middle Eastern Arbitration Review 2009, 2010
«Yukov, Khrenov & Partners»: expertise
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Arbitration Litigation
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Corporate Law
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Litigation & Dispute Resolution
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Energy
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Tax Law
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Antitrust
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Land Law
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Real Estate/ Construction / Development
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Intellectual Property Law
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Insolvency (Bankruptcy) Procedures
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Environmental Law
«Yukov, Khrenov & Partners»: Corporate Law
Our lawyers have extensive experience participating in complex dispute resolution projects. A number of them has had a broad response among law professionals and some even played a role of precedents for the Russian law practice. In particular the following successfully accomplished projects should be mentioned:• dispute regarding the termination of the shareholders agreement concluded with the violation of the Russian corporate law, (JSC "Megafon" case - one of the leading Russian wireless service providers):
• dispute regarding exchange of shares of the largest Russian non-ferrous metals and platinoids manufacturer (JSC "Norilsk Nickel")
• representation of interests of the largest Russian wireless services providers and one of its major shareholder in international assets purchase (case Telenor versus JSC "VimpelKom" concerning assets purchase in Ukraine)
•current legal support for the largest Russian oil company's corporate projects (JSC "Rosneft") For all mentioned cases and many other corporate projects our lawyers develop the strategies of transfer or defense of corporate control. They bring these strategies into practice via combined due diligence and risk management procedures, transactions structuring and court representation.
Our Office offers a unique approach to the structuring of transactions regarding corporate control transfer based on the extensive court experience of the lawyers. Process of redistributing of the corporate control for many Russian corporations was successfully completed, only because of professional distribution of our lawyers when non-court legal support was insufficient. Due to such approach we evaluate possible risks of transactions invalidation or other possible court actions, and in case it meets client interests - initiate applicable court procedures.
«Yukov, Khrenov & Partners»: Corporate Law
Currently we are participating in a series of major corporate projects, among which should be mentioned the most significant ones:
• Legal support of several mandatory tender offers followed by minority shareholders squeeze-out for largest Moscow region issuers;
• Representation of the largest Czech finance group interests from the dilution of its shareholding in charter capital of the Russian JSC "Ingosstrakh".
• Consulting for the largest Russian oil company in the area of asset sale and purchase transactions;
• Consulting for the Russian branch of the Johnson & Johnson Company in the area of corporate governance and corporate structure arrangements;
• Consulting for one of the leading Russian oil and gas company in the area of related party transactions and preparation of the new edition of the company's Charter.
• Structuring and support of the controlling block of stock sales agreement between the network of polyclinics in Moscow and the foreign investment foundation;
• Structuring and support of the transaction of selling 100% of stock of the large landowner in the territory of Moscow City -2 business centre;
«Yukov,
Khrenov
& Partners»: Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Some of the frequently met categories of disputes in which attorneys-at-law of our Law Office successfully represent Clients' interests are shown below:
• Defense of interests of the group of regional electricity grid's companies in the disputes for nullification of their titles on the grid's assets;
• Participation in the numerous trial cases of the so-called "hostile M&A", representing the defendants' interests in different sectors of economy (industrial production, food industry, telecommunications);
• Representation of the client's interest in Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of RF in a dispute for recovery of the title on a company's block share;
• Advising foreign investor from one of the major Russian insurance companies in his dispute with the major Russian industrial - finance group for recovery of the shareholder's rights in the insurance company;
• Participation in numerous disputes concerning the titles of land parcels and ownership's rights in Moscow region (for instance, in the case concerning invalidation of lease agreement for land parcel for the construction of office building for one of the world's major car manufacturer);
• Tax law and regulation disputes for check of lawfulness of the orders of tax authorities in various sectors of economy (oil & gas, aluminum industry, food & drinks, etc);
«Yukov,
Khrenov
& Partners»: Litigation & Dispute Resolution
• Defense of interests of one of the major rail-road transport companies in anti-monopoly investigation and administrative procedure conducted by Federal Anti-Monopoly Service;
• Defense of interests of the major rail-road transport organization for liquid gas transit against a claim for more than 400 million roubles penalty and a claim for enforcement of obligation's fulfillment;
• Disputes concerning protection of ownership's on securities arising from the bankruptcy of broker company;
• Defense of interests of one of the major Northern trawl fleet companies in a series of disputes on claims for the return of more than €80 million as purposeful credits.
• Representation of the major creditors interests with a claim for more than 2 billion roubles in a banking bankruptcy procedure;
• Representation of interests of corporate liquidator State Corporation ASV -"Deposit Insurance Agency“ - in a number of banking bankruptcies and court disputes connected to them (claims for recovery of creditor's losses from former managers and shareholders of insolvent banks as subsidiary debtors; claims for invalidation of fraudulent transfers and recovery of debtor's property, etc.);
«Yukov,
Khrenov
& Partners»: Antitrust
• Drafting claims and petitions concerning antitrust bodies’ decisions: on declaring the breach of antitrust law by legal entity; on including legal entity to the Register of persons having more than 35% in the market of any article of trade; on administrative liability for antitrust law breach etc.
• Drafting petitions concerning antitrust bodies’ orders: on preventing activity which may cause breach of antitrust law; on liquidation of consequences of breach of antitrust law; on restoration of the situation existed before the breach of antitrust law; on compulsory division of commercial or non-commercial entity or allocation of entities; on alteration or termination of contracts; on concluding of contracts; on transfer benefit resulted of antitrust law breach to the federal budget; on change or restriction of logo usage; on fulfillment of economic, technical, informational and other requirements aimed at prevention of discriminating conditions; on activity aimed at competition support.
• Representing Clients' interests in all instances of arbitration courts during antitrust dispute resolution, including declaring voidance of contracts on antitrust body claims; compulsion to conclude contracts; liquidation of commercial and non-commercial organizations etc.
«Yukov, Khrenov & Partners»: Land law/ Real estate / Construction
The rapid development of the construction sector of the Russian economics requires high quality legal assistance for all sort of legal relationships dealing with construction of real estate objects. In-depth legal expertise of project structure, potential risks, appropriate establishment of the legal relationship between the involved parties are required for successful implementation of the project.
The Law Office provides a wide range of complex legal support services for the projects as well as court defense of the project's participants in case of disputes:
• Analysis of the land plot legal status and its usage conditions.
• Due diligence of land plots as objects of civil transactions and procedures of their cadastral registration.
• Analysis of the land plots or other property titles and state registration procedures.
• Evaluation of legal risks regarding to the acquisition / alienation of land plots and other real estate.
• Structuring and support for real estate related transactions, including mortgage and servitudes.
• Consulting in the field of land parceling for development purposes.
• Support for real estate construction projects.
• General consulting in the field of complex land development.
• Legal relationship structuring and support for construction contracts, co-investment, participatory share construction.
• Working out of the legal position for disputes regarding immovable property rights, deals with immovables and their construction.
«Yukov, Khrenov & Partners»: Energy
• The beginning of the Energy regulation practice by the Law Office's Partners goes back to the times of appearance of the first independent oil and gas supply companies, and creation of the new infrastructure of electric power industry during the period of mass privatization in the 90’s. In recent years the Russian electricity industry has experienced radical reforms, which resulted in the establishment of privately controlled energy production companies as well as independent energy traders on the wholesale and retail power markets.
• Since that time the Partners and attorneys of our Law Office have represented the client's interests in many famous trial disputes, involving energy sector companies. Sometimes it was crucial for the economical future of the industry and social stability in some Russian regions. We have assisted some of our clients as creditors in the bankruptcies of the major gas refinery plants in Western Siberia. We have also managed to assist the others in solving their knot of legal problems during the period of "chronic" non-payments by consumers to electricity companies, which caused the growth of their debts nearly to the default level.
• Parallel to the contentious work we have developed broad skills in the legal support of various deals in the electricity and oil & gas sector, legal expertise of the documents for the licensing of natural resources exploration, juridical support of the energy assets' acquisition (distributive grid's equipment, steam power production and supply) and buying of the shares of electrical energy and oil production companies, advising on different taxation matters.
• Most of the attorneys of our Law Office have a long-term experience in commercial litigation, where different kinds of disputes on energetic and natural resources' matters take special place. For more than a decade we have had a broad litigation practice in state arbitration courts (judicial body for economical disputes) in different regions of Siberia and the Urals, which adjudicate more disputes in the sphere of natural resources exploitation, production and transmission of energy products than courts of any other region of Russia.
«Yukov, Khrenov & Partners»: Energy
For the concept of our specialist's practice and litigation skillssome of the trial cases, in which our attorneys took part for the last 7 years, should be mentioned:
• Dispute under the claim of gas production and supply company to regional gas distributor company for the penalty and interests due to the terms violation of the gas supply contract;
• Complex litigation support and legal assistance for major creditor in the process of bankruptcy of the company, owning complex of gas refineries;
• Dispute between one of the largest country's oil companies and Western Siberian largest electric power producer regarding the main terms of the contract for supply of associated petroleum gas as a fuel for electric power plants;
• Dispute under the claim of Western Siberian largest electric power producer against one of the largest Siberian oil companies to recover the payment for supplied electric capacity;
• Dispute under the claim of consumer against the grid's company to enforce connection to the grid on the consumer's term;
• Dispute on the claim of the Government of Republic of Khakassia for the annulment of privatization of Sayano-Shushenskaya hydro-power plant (the biggest in Eurasia) and its restitution into the state property;
• Dispute under the claim of electric power company against the Russian power turbine's manufacturer for the damages from industrial accident;
• Various disputes on challenging of the decisions of state regulatory authorities, constituting tariffs on electric power energy, including the disputes adjudicated by the Supreme Arbitration Court of RF.
«Yukov, Khrenov & Partners»: Energy
Examples of our recent non-contentious legal workfor the clients from energy sector include:
• Legal consultations and drafting of contract and other documentation for the acquisition of private share in PPF for the operation and development of thermal energy production company in one of the major Russian cities;
• Consultations and legal support to attract independent investments of the private energy supply company in the operation and development of the municipality's distributional grids in several Russian regions;
• Due-diligence and legal expertise on different matters related to the process of oil and natural gas fields exploitation and fulfillment of obligations under licensing agreements in the process of this;
• Preparation of the legal opinions for the Russian largest oil company;
• Consultations and preparation of legal opinion on the storage and operation of the state's mobilization fuel reserves by oil companies;
• Drafting of documentation and complex legal assistance for the project of acquisition of one of the regional main power companies, performing production, transmission and sale of electric power;
• Assistance and drafting of documents for the process of oil transmission, associated petroleum gas and petrochemicals;
• Preparation of the legal opinion for the independent electric power supply company on the terms and legal mechanism of resolving the problems with leasing of certain parts of distribution grid from the power production company to the grid's company being regional monopoly;
«Yukov, Khrenov & Partners»: Tax Law
Tax consulting:
• On going advice on the problematical tax aspects regarding typical as well as non-standard transactions performed by entities either with special or with common tax regimes.
• Preliminary assessment of the tax implications of contemplated transactions and investment projects. Identification and assessment of tax risks and tax optimization potential;
• Providing of the tax Due Diligence and evaluation of the information reflected in the tax and financial reports of companies and preparation of recommendations for the liquidation of the identified defects.
Tax disputes:
• Challenge of decisions and claims by tax authorities;
• Challenge of illegal actions introduced by tax authorities officials;
• Court claims regarding compensation of judicial expenses (e.g. reimbursement of court and attorney fees).
Communication with tax authorities on behalf of a client:
• Qualified assistances in the process of tax inspection (either field or cameral) of a Client, including on-line consultations and participation of the specialists in the negotiations with tax officials;
• Preparation of objections to tax inspections acts;
«Yukov, Khrenov & Partners»: Intellectual property
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Consulting on legal protection of intellectual property;
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Protective power verification of the objects of intellectual property;
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Copyright legal protection;
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Elaboration and lodgment of applications and appeals to the patent
Chamber disputes;
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Legal protection of intellectual property in judicial and extrajudicial
procedure, elaboration and analysis of the necessary documents.
«Yukov, Khrenov & Partners»: Legal support of business
Commercial law:
• Drafting contracts, alterations and addition to valid contracts.
• Legal analysis of drafts and valid contracts for the purpose of their conformity with legislation, business customs.
• Settlement of the disputes on concluding, execution, alteration and cancellation of contracts.
• Representation of interest while negotiating on celebration of contract, alteration and additions to valid contracts.
• Providing motivated expert opinion on title deeds due diligence for proprietor, potential buyers, creditors.
• Legal expertise of the appeal grounds for the ownership right, elaboration of the measures for their neutralization.
• Expertise of privatization lawfulness of state or municipal property. Tax law:
• Legal expertise of actions and adopted resolutions by tax authorities.
• Qualified consultations on lawfulness of tax authority requirements (accordance of documents, termination of the right of benefits, its inaction and resolutions).
«Yukov, Khrenov & Partners»: Environmental Law
Consulting new projects
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ecological regulation spheres identification to be included in the identified
project (subsoil use, water use, water protection, preserved natural areas,
forest legislation, etc.)
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analysis of the present limitations set by the environmental law (land status
evaluation and applicable regime, revealing existing limitations and
prohibitions);
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study of the sequence and ways to accomplish the project according to
nature management regulations (setting terms and procedures to get
required agreements, permissions, licenses and the order of establishing
corresponding legal relationship);
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possible juridical risks forecast regarding non-compliance to present
regulations (risk of claims, penalties, limitations or suspensions).
«Yukov, Khrenov & Partners»: Environmental Law
Business analysis of the current Client’s activities
• Revealing ecological violations by company's activities (availability control of all the required permissions and authorizations, legitimacy analysis in regard to the receipt and preparation of the appropriate documentation by the company, controlling the company's compliance to the terms of the mentioned documents as well as to the requirements of the applicable environmental law).
• Definition of the possible negative consequences caused by ecological violations (possibility of claims, penalties, limitations or suspensions).
• Provision of consulting services on violations' elimination and minimization of the possible negative consequences (necessity of suspension evaluation required to eliminate violations' including the preparation of authorization documents, revealing possibilities of receiving all the necessary authorizations to continue activity, analysis regarding the necessity and ways to compensate for the damage caused to the environment).
• Further activities planning to prevent possible ecological violations (revealing company's projects that involve environmental law, definition of the activities required to comply to the above-mentioned law).
Support for the judicial disputes and administrative proceedings
• Working out the legal proposition regarding the judicial proceedings based on the environmental legal relationships and required procedural documents preparation.
• Representation of the clients' interests in the courts of the appropriate jurisdiction .
• Studying claims by authorized bodies regarding the company's activity, working out the legal proposition for the above-mentioned claims and preparation of the appropriate documents (statements and objections etc.) for these bodies.
Alexander Khrenov
• Graduated with honors from the economic and legal faculty of the Ural State Law
Academy (UrGYuA) in 1996. Specializes in civil law.
Before joining the Law Office "Yukov, Khrenov and Partners" he was an attorney-at-law of the Law Office No 94 of the Inter-Republican Advocacy Collegium and the Law Office No 4 of "Injurcollegia". He represents clients' interests in judicial, administrative and other authorities. He manages current projects of the Law Office. Responsible for relations with clients and clients' base expansion issues. At present he is the Chairman of the Human Rights Commission of the Russian Association of Lawyers. Recommended by Chambers Europe as a highly qualified specialist. Languages: English.
Andrey Yukov
• Graduated from the Moscow State Law Academy (MGYuA) in 1995.
Specialization in civil law. Before joining the Law Office "Yukov, Khrenov and Partners" was an attorney-at-law of the Law Office No 94 of the Inter-Republican Advocacy Collegium and the Law Office No 4 of the "Injurcollegia". He started his legal practice as a Prosecutor of the Department for Ensuring the Prosecutor's Participation in the Arbitration Procedure of the Russian Federation General Prosecutor's Office. Represents clients' interests in judicial, administrative and other authorities. Manages current projects of the Law Office. He is in charge of relationship with clients and clients' base expansion issues. Recommended by
Chambers Europeas a highly qualified specialist. Languages: English.
Olga Goncharova
• Graduated from the Moscow State Law Academy (MGYuA) in 1994.
Specialization in civil law. Before joining the Law Office "Yukov, Khrenov and Partners" was an attorney-at-law of the Law Office No 94 of the Inter-Republican Advocacy Collegium and Law Office No 4 of the "Injurcollegia". Represents clients' interests in the Russian Federation arbitration courts of all instances, including the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation. She is in charge of the current projects of the Law Office.
Igor Nikolayenko
• Graduated from Kemerovo State University in 1992, specializing in jurisprudence and Institute of Business and Business Administration of ANE, strategic management. PhD in legal science. Worked as a Deputy Director General of "Basic Element" Company, Legal Director CJSC "Glavstroy - Management", headed the legal department of JSC "GMS', JSC"MPSM', JSC "MMSS", AKB "Soyuz". Has a reputation of trustworthy manager always aimed at cooperation, possible of gathering a team of specialists in short terms and provide practical solutions to solve the set tasks. Member of the Human Rights Commission of the Russian Association of Lawyers, Board member of the noncommercial partnership “Interregional self regulated organization of professional arbitral administrators”.
«Yukov, Khrenov & Partners»: Partners
Vyacheslav Uvachev
• Graduated from the Legal Faculty of Lomonosov's Moscow State University, PhD in legal science. His work experience includes Head of the legal department of JSC "Joint company "Siberian Aluminum", Counselor/Deputy Department Director "Siberian Aluminum" LTD. Provides support for investment and managerial projects, evaluates legal risks, develops strategies for business legal support, negotiates and consults on legal aspects. Has an extensive experience in communication and legal information in various sectors of business and law. Member of the Human Rights Commission of the Russian Association of Lawyers, Arbiter of the joint commission on corporate ethics of the Russian Union Of Industrialists And Entrepreneurs. Languages: English.
Alexander Ivanov
• In 1994 graduated from the Moscow State Institute for International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, International Law Faculty, Trade Law Section. Has more than nine years of legal practice as an external consultant, about seven of them - intensive litigation practice (arbitration courts, general courts, International Commercial Arbitration Court with the Chamber of Industry and commerce of Russian Federation). Before joining the Law Office was the head of the financial and corporate law section of the Russian Aluminum Management, head of JSC's "Rusal Managing Company" property protection projects department and was directing the Russian legal department of the "Rusal Global Management B.V." and was a partner of the "Liniya Prava" law firm. Specializes in contract law, arbitration and civil procedure, bankruptcy, corporate law and stock placement, tax law, privatization, currency regulation, etc. Languages: English, French.
