Herbert Smith announced today that Evgeny Zelensky, formerly one of Renaissance Capital's most senior in-house lawyers, will be joining its fast-expanding Moscow office as partner.
Evgeny was from October 2004 to June 2008 Executive Director and Co-Head of Legal and Compliance at Renaissance Capital, Russia's pre-eminent investment bank. Managing a team of 90, he worked on many of the most significant capital markets transactions done out of Russia, establishing a reputation as one of the leading Russian capital markets lawyers, notably in relation to ECM deals. Prior to Renaissance Capital he was at Cleary Gottlieb, working in that firm's New York and Moscow offices.
Evgeny will work alongside Herbert Smith Moscow head Allen Hanen and fellow partners Alexei Roudiak and Nick Moore in developing the office's capital markets practice, whose clients include Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Renaissance Capital and Alfa Bank.
Russia has one of the world's most active capital markets – last year there was 42 billion dollars worth of equity offerings – and the further development of this market is seen as critical to the broader economic development of the country.
Herbert Smith has established itself as one of the leading international law firms in Moscow. It has doubled in size over the last 18 months and now has a roster of blue-chip Russian clients (Renaissance Capital and Trust Bank being amongst the better known) and continues to secure highly prized mandates, such as representing Mikhail Prokhorov and his holding company Onexim Group on the current reorganisation of his holdings.
Allen Hanen commented:
"Evgeny is one of only a handful of Russian ECM specialists with deep experience in this market so his recruitment is particularly pleasing and important to us. He is well known and highly regarded across the investment banking community in Moscow and will give what is already a strong practice a great opportunity to expand significantly our market share and to deepen our relationships with banks and issuers alike."
Notes to editors
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