Moscow – Saint-Petersburg, 8 April 2014 – Ivan Smirnov has been appointed Managing Partner of the St. Petersburg office of EPAM, one of the oldest law firms in St. Petersburg.

Prior to joining the Firm, Ivan Smirnov was managing a number of key practices at St. Petersburg offices of leading international law firms and consulting companies. In 2011 Ivan joined the Moscow office of EPAM as head of regulatory department and as a litigation partner focusing on dispute resolution, tax, criminal, employment and family law, as well as in foreign trade and competition law. 

In his capacity as the new Managing Partner, Ivan will focus on broadening the client base and the range of services, primarily thanks to attracting clients from the Northwestern region that will be able to benefit from the Firm’s broad spectrum of services on the federal and regional level. Furthermore, Ivan will utilize his litigation experience to expand and enhance the Firm’s Dispute Resolution practice in St. Petersburg.

The Firm’s Managing Partner Ilya Nikiforov, who until recently combined the roles of the St. Petersburg office Managing Partner and the Firm’s Managing Partner, will now focus on the Firm’s global management issues splitting his time between the Moscow and St. Petersburg offices. In addition, as the Firm’s leading expert on international arbitration, Ilya will focus on business and client development opportunities in this constantly growing field.  

“During his time with the Firm, Ivan has gained a reputation as an efficient and business-oriented partner. He is enthusiastic and full of new ideas, and I am confident that in light of the new ambitious tasks we are facing, especially those associated with the Supreme Court’s settling in St. Petersburg, Ivan will succeed as the Head of the Firm’s St. Petersburg office”, says Ilya Nikiforov, Managing Partner at EPAM.

“I’m grateful to the Firm’s Partners Committee for their choice. New service, its quality and new opportunities for our clients both locally and on the federal level, combined with further strengthening of our current leading positions in complex dispute resolution are to become the hallmark of the Firm’s St. Petersburg office”, comments Ivan Smirnov on his appointment and the new role.