Baker & McKenzie Announces New CIS Managing Partner

Moscow, Russia, 4 July 2012 – Baker & McKenzie announced that Sergei Voitishkin had been elected managing partner of the Firm’s CIS offices, which are located in Almaty, Baku, Kyiv, Moscow and St. Petersburg, effective 1 July 2012. He takes over from Carol Patterson, CIS managing partner since 2006.

Mr. Voitishkin will be responsible for overall leadership and the Firm’s strategic growth in the region, as well as relationships with local regulators. The appointment reflects Baker & McKenzie’s strong and continuing commitment to the region. Mr. Voitishkin commented on his election saying “Baker & McKenzie has made significant progress in the CIS under Carol’s leadership. I’m looking forward to working with our team across the region to deliver high-quality legal advice which our clients demand in these difficult times and develop our leading market positions in the CIS.”

“We’re grateful to Carol for her contribution to Baker & McKenzie in the CIS,” said Koen Vanhaerents, member of the Firm’s Executive Committee and EMEA Chair. “We’re pleased that Sergei, a Russian citizen who was among our first lawyers there, will be taking on this role and, building on Carol’s achievements, will further enhance our management in the region.”

Sergei Voitishkin has been a partner with Baker & McKenzie since 2002 and will continue to head the CIS Corporate/M&A practice group when he takes up the position of CIS managing partner.

Additionally, the Firm announced a significant partner relocation, as well as partner promotion in its Moscow office, both effective 1 July 2012. Roy Pearce, an English-law qualified partner in Baker & McKenzie’s capital markets group, has joined the Moscow office; while Alexander Gomonov, a Moscow-based lawyer, has been promoted to partner in the Energy, Mining and Infrastructure practice group.

“The goal of Roy’s move is to help build our Russian capital markets practice and, in particular, deepen our work on the London listings of Russian companies. Having Roy in Moscow will also help our global team to continue to focus on capital markets throughout the CIS,” said Sergei Voitishkin. “We are also proud to see Alexander Gomonov among our Moscow partners. Over the years he has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to our clients and I am very pleased to announce his promotion.”

According to international rankings awarded by Chambers, Legal 500, and PLC Which lawyer?, over recent years Baker & McKenzie has been the leader in providing legal services in the CIS. In 2012 and 2011, Baker & McKenzie won European Law Firm of the Year and CEE Law Firm of the Year at the Chambers Europe Awards, respectively.

Globally, Baker & McKenzie has elected 63 new partners, bringing the total number of partners in the Firm to 1,400. The Firm has also added more than 50 lateral partners in key practice areas and jurisdictions, and opened new offices in Johannesburg, Istanbul and Doha.

Lawyer Profiles

Sergei Voitishkin
Sergei Voitishkin is CIS managing partner and head of the CIS Corporate/M&A practice group. Recommended by Chambers, Legal 500 and PLC Which lawyer?, Mr. Voitishkin specializes in corporate and commercial law matters. In recent years he has served as lead attorney on a number of high profile mergers and acquisitions in Russia, most recently advising Alliance Oil Company on the establishment of a USD 840 million joint venture with Repsol Exploración; shareholders of Novatek, Russia’s largest independent gas producer, on the sale of a 12% stake to Total; Siemens in connection with a EUR 2 billion contract for the delivery of regional trains to Russian Railways; and Rusnano on a USD 760 million investment agreement with Domain Associates, a US venture capital firm specializing in cutting-edge life sciences technologies.

Roy Pearce
Roy Pearce is a partner in Baker & McKenzie’s capital markets group. He joined the Firm in the CIS in 1996 and currently represents issuers and investment banks in capital markets transactions, including debt restructurings, with a focus on the CIS and CEE. Recommended by Chambers and IFLR1000, Mr. Pearce recently advised Bank of Georgia on its migration to a premium listing of shares on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market; he also acted as English law counsel to Ukraine’s Metinvest on its USD 1 billion Euro MTN Program; advised the steering committee of creditors on restructuring the USD 10 billion financial indebtedness of BTA Bank; and advised on the first bookbuilt rights offering in Slovenia and the first dual listing on the Ljubljana and Warsaw stock exchanges.

Alexander Gomonov
Alexander Gomonov is a partner in the Moscow office of Baker & McKenzie. Having joined the Firm in 2003, he specializes in corporate, commercial and natural resources law. Mr. Gomonov’s recent experience includes advising Alliance Oil Company on establishing a USD 840 million joint venture with Repsol Exploración, advising a global major oil company on its acquisition of an interest in a development, production and services contract in Iraq, advising a Russian independent oil and gas producer on an LNG joint venture, advising Centerra Gold on a number of exploration joint ventures in Russia, advising Intergeo on various transactions, as well as advising on a number of IPOs and RTOs at the Toronto and London stock exchanges.