On March 12, 2020 the results of the annual international ranking of Chambers Europe 2020 were published. KIAP Digital & Smart was listed among the best Russian law firms and has been recommended in three areas of law:
- Dispute Resolution: Domestic Mid-Market, Band 1
- Corporate/M&A: Mid-Market, Recognized practitioner
- Restructuring/Insolvency: Litigation, Band 4
It stands to mention that Corporate practice of DS Law is included in Band 4 in Corporate /M&A: Mid-Market.
Singled out for endorsement in their fields were three partners of KIAP in four areas:
- Dispute Resolution: Domestic Mid-Market: Andrey Korelskiy (Band 1)
- Dispute Resolution: Domestic Mid-Market: Anna Grishchenkova, (Band 3)
- Dispute Resolution: International: Anna Grishchenkova (Recognized practitioner)
- Competition/Antitrust: Ilya Ischuk (Band 4)
This year Litigation - KIAP’s core practice - third year in a row gets the highest rating and is being ranked in the first band again. "Leading mid-market contentious practice, representing both international clients and notable local names. Represents clients from a variety of industries, including retail, manufacturing and financial services", - says the rating review.
The clients are quick to applaud the support the team provides. One of them explains: "They don’t miss a single email and always return every call", adding: "We need immediate support, so it’s good to know that our counsel is always available".
Sources appreciate the clarity of the process: "They're very strategic in their planning, they're very clear and open with the client. I know what they're doing, why they're doing it and when they're doing it", - adds respondent.
For the second year in a row, Andrey Korelskiy gets the highest rating score and has been individually ranked in Band 1 in Litigation: Domestic Mid-Market. According to sources Andrey Korelskiy "acts for blue-chip domestic corporates involved in a variety of commercial disputes". A client describes him as "a skilled negotiator who demonstrates a good command of instruments in a complex litigation". Another client adds: "He's very good in court. He has very deep knowledge of the legislation and of the regulatory issues, so that helps him in court. He's quite flexible in his approach: he can change his approach as and when he needs to".
According to experts Anna Grishchenkova represents domestic clients in debt recovery cases, as well as unjust enrichment and liability disputes. She is also active in international arbitration.
Sources also praise the effective work of Ilya Ishchuk, describing him as "persistent, accurate and attentive to detail". He leads the department and is recognized for his experience in antitrust compliance as well as unfair competition mandates.
Bankruptcy practice of KIAP Digital & Smart is well regarded for its disputes capacity, including bankruptcy litigation for both creditors and borrowers. Clients laud the lawyers' commercial approach, saying the team "always sinks into the legal problem deeply, identifies risks clearly and proposes appropriate solutions to the problems".
Interviewees also appreciate the Corporate/M&A practice of DS Law thanks to strong market recognition and positioning. The team of the practice provides Russian law transactional support to mid-sized private equity and venture capital funds investing in Russia, often in relation to fintech investments. The Firm also assists corporate clients with day-to-day corporate issues. Sources note the group's client care as a strength. "We don't have time or patience and they're very quick and very reactive. They can draft documents ASAP", a client reports, while another adds: "They can give commercial advice as well as legal advice. They work quickly, they understand what we want as a client".
For more than 20 years Chambers publishes the world’s leading guides to the legal profession and during that time it has built a reputation for in-depth, objective research. The agency has a team of 150 highly qualified full-time researchers speaking 20 languages who conduct thousands of interviews with lawyers and their clients worldwide. Working with their editors, they identify and rank the world’s best lawyers (i.e. those who perform best according to the criteria most valued by clients – such as technical expertise, business acumen, prompt delivery, value for money).