Bech-Bruun sells Moscow office to Finnish Castrén Snellman

On Friday 15 December 2006 Bech-Bruun Law Firm sold its office in Moscow to the Finnish law firm Castrén Snellman. The transfer of ownership will take place on 1 February 2007 and at the same time the name of the office will be changed to Castrén Snellman.

Lars Svenning Andersen, Bech-Bruun’s Managing Partner, comments, “We have come to the realization that current developments in the Russian legal system will necessitate a substantially larger capacity than what we would be able to build up even in the long term in order to service our clients in all business areas, regardless of case size or complexity. By selling our office to Castrén Snellman, we will be even better equipped to help Danish and international enterprises set up in Russia.”

Both Bech-Bruun and Castrén Snellman have had offices in Russia for more than a decade, and the two Russian offices share many similarities. By joining the two offices, the new entity will have in its employ twice the number of Russian lawyers. This will further increase the possibilities of safeguarding client interests in highly complex cases from both St. Petersburg as well as Moscow. At the same time the new office’s potential for growth and specialization will be boosted.

For the past two years Partner Ole Borch has held the overall responsibility for Bech-Bruun’s office in Moscow and he will continue to be responsible for Bech-Bruun’s client relations in Russia. Sergei Stefanishin, Head of Representative Office, will continue to act as day-to-day manager of the Moscow office, and all the other lawyers will continue as previously.

If you have any queries, please contact:

• Ole Borch, Partner, Bech-Bruun: T 72 27 35 55, M 25 26 35 55
• Lars Svenning Andersen, Managing Partner, Bech-Bruun: T 72 27 33 00, M 25 26 33 00
• Pekka Jaatinen, Managing Partner, Castrén Snellman: T +358 2077 654 01