How much does the first consultation cost?

The consultation is free when an engagement is signed: if you entrust the matter to us, the first meeting costs nothing. At it we go through the situation and tell you whether the matter has prospects in court, what scenarios are available and roughly what running the case will cost. This information does not constitute a public offer (art. 437(1) of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Do you guarantee the outcome of a case?

No, and nobody can: the outcome of litigation is decided by the court. We are answerable for the quality of our work, for the pace and for making sure you always know what stage the matter is at. You receive our assessment of the prospects before the engagement is signed.

Who will handle my matter?

Every matter has a responsible partner. He assembles the team for the task — a litigator, a tax specialist, a valuer — and remains your point of contact until the end. Where the task requires the status of an advocate, advocates of the Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association are brought in under a cooperation agreement.

Do you work with the regions?

Yes. We have two offices — in Moscow and Mariupol — and we run matters throughout Russia. The engagement can be signed remotely, documents are accepted electronically, and we stay in touch by telephone, messenger and e-mail.

How do the firm's lawyers and the advocates work together?

Legal review, transaction support, insolvency and representation in commercial and civil proceedings are carried out by the lawyers of Kovalev & Partners LLC under an engagement with the company. Tasks that require the status of an advocate — criminal defence, attendance at searches and interviews, an advocate's formal request — are carried out by advocates of the Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association: the company has a cooperation agreement with the Bar Association, while the agreement on the provision of legal assistance is made by the client directly with the advocate (art. 25(1) of Federal Law No. 63-FZ of 31 May 2002 “On Advocacy and the Bar in the Russian Federation”). For you this is a single point of entry: we assemble the team.

What happens after I send an enquiry?

We read your description of the situation and come back within one working day: we ask clarifying questions and tell you what we can realistically do. We do not pass your documents or your description of the situation to anyone.

PRACTICES

Legal services for companies

Litigation, insolvency, tax, transactions and business reviews — from one team.

Companies come to us not with “a question about a contract” but with a situation: an audit, a dispute with a partner, non-payment, a transaction on the point of collapse. Such a situation almost always has several legal layers at once, so one responsible partner runs it: he holds the whole task and brings in a tax or insolvency specialist, a valuer or an advocate when they are needed.

Courts and disputes

01 / BUSINESS

Court representation and arbitration

Commercial and general courts, appeals, arbitration and the ICAC, interim measures and settlement agreements.

02 / BUSINESS

Claims and debt recovery

Claim letters, lawsuits, penalties and damages, bailiffs and debtor bankruptcy: recovery from the first letter to enforcement.

03 / BUSINESS

Commercial disputes

Supply, construction, leases and leasing, transport, insurers and banks: disputes where the outcome turns on industry detail and documents.

04 / BUSINESS

Corporate disputes and M&A

Shareholder disputes, exit and exclusion from an LLC, challenging resolutions, director liability, takeover defence, shareholders agreements and M&A.

Advise on M&A transactions: structuring, negotiations, transaction documents, closing and the transfer of assets
Run due diligence on a company or an asset: corporate history, liabilities, litigation and tax exposure, title to property
Conduct corporate disputes: expulsion of a shareholder, challenges to decisions of governing bodies, restoration of corporate control, disputes over a participation interest and its value

Running the business

05 / BUSINESS

Contracts and legal retainer

Contracts and disagreement protocols, internal regulations, register changes and liquidation, and ongoing retainer support.

06 / BUSINESS

Employment law for employers

HR compliance audits, dismissals and redundancies, employee disputes, labour inspectorate audits and personal data.

07 / BUSINESS

Military registration and reservation

Setting up and auditing military registration, reserving employees, commissariat inspections, fines and mobilised staff.

08 / BUSINESS

Intellectual property

Trademark registration, counterfeits and marketplace disputes, licensing agreements and domain name disputes.

09 / BUSINESS

Digital law: AI and crypto assets

AI requirements and documents, crypto assets and mining, marketplaces and platforms, advertising and ad labelling.

Audit AI services and products: whether you fall within Federal Law No. 243-FZ of 26 July 2026, what the personal data law (No. 152-FZ) and the rules on recommendation algorithms (No. 408-FZ) require, and which obligations arrive on 1 March 2027
Draft contracts for AI development and deployment: who owns the model and the generated output, who answers for errors and hallucinations, and on what terms datasets are licensed and rights to training data are cleared
Organise personal data handling in model training and use: the legal bases for processing, anonymisation under Federal Law No. 233-FZ, and cross-border transfers where foreign AI services are involved

Authorities and risk

10 / BUSINESS

Tax audits and disputes

Field and desk audits, responses to requests, appeals, business splitting claims, VAT refunds and currency control.

Support field and desk tax audits: responses to requests, written explanations, preparing staff for interview, attendance at inspections and seizures
Support police inspections and measures relating to economic offences — together with the advocates of the Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association
Prepare objections to the audit report and appeals to the superior tax authority

11 / BUSINESS

Administrative cases and inspections

State inspections, appeals against administrative fines, competition cases, licensing and defence of drivers facing a driving ban.

12 / BUSINESS

Public procurement

Support in tenders, complaints to FAS, defence against supplier blacklisting and disputes with state customers.

13 / BUSINESS

Foreign trade and sanctions

Sanctions compliance, delisting, cross-border contracts and payments, and customs disputes.

14 / BUSINESS

Insolvency and subsidiary liability

Debtor company insolvency and creditor representation, challenges to transactions, defence of directors and beneficial owners against subsidiary liability.

Assess the likelihood of insolvency and the signs of inability to pay — before somebody else files
Act on corporate insolvency: preparing the petition, the supervision stage, liquidation proceedings, dealing with the trustee and the creditors' meeting
Defend directors, shareholders and beneficial owners against subsidiary liability and damages claims

15 / BUSINESS

White-collar criminal defence

Defence in economic and tax cases, support during searches and interviews, financial investigations.

Defend in economic and tax cases: fraud, misappropriation, tax evasion, unlawful acts in insolvency, money laundering
Support pre-investigation checks: written explanations, interviews, production of documents
Attend searches, seizures and inspections and challenge how they are carried out and what is taken

Assets and reputation

16 / BUSINESS

Real estate and transactions

Property checks and transactions, leases, land and cadastral value disputes, unauthorised construction, managing companies, flooding, eviction and privatisation.

Check the property and the seller: chain of title, encumbrances, attachments, third-party rights, insolvency and succession risks
Structure the transaction: payment mechanics, letter of credit or escrow, the moment of handover, the parties' liability
Draft and negotiate sale, lease, exchange, investment and preliminary agreements

17 / BUSINESS

Valuation, audit and due diligence

Legal due diligence, counterparty checks, due diligence for private investors, valuation of businesses and property, audit.

Value businesses and participation interests: for transactions, disputes, a shareholder's exit, inheritance
Value the market price of real estate — for transactions, challenges to cadastral value, security and division of property
Value movable property: equipment, vehicles, stock

18 / BUSINESS

Reputation management

Removing defamatory content, defamation claims, reviews, business listings and ratings.

Secure the material published by having the pages inspected and certified by a notary — before it can be deleted or edited
Separate statements of fact from value judgments: only statements of fact can be challenged, and the whole strategy turns on that
Prepare demands to authors, platforms, media outlets, review aggregators and marketplaces

NEXT STEP

Tell us about your matter

We reply within one working day and tell you what we can realistically do.

Call us: +7 499 460-63-47