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.

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.

TEAM

The firm's lawyers and the Bar's advocates

Q: 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.

The people who run your matter, not names in a pitch deck.

THE FIRM

Firm leadership

The managing partner, the executive director and the partner for insolvency matters. Every matter has a responsible partner and a clear team: you know who writes the position, who appears at the hearing and whom to call if something is urgent.

Vladimir Kovalev

Lawyer, founder and managing partner of Kovalev & Partners LLC

Responsible for strategy in large and non-standard matters — above all corporate disputes, transactions and insolvency.

Corporate lawInsolvencyTax disputesSanctions lawCryptocurrency and digital assets

More about their experience

Education: Lomonosov Moscow State University (2002–2007) — Faculty of Geography, Department of Economic Geography, regional policy stream: full course of study, no degree awarded. Academic International Institute (2015) — law degree, qualification of Lawyer. Plekhanov Russian University of Economics (2020) — professional retraining under the programme for insolvency practitioners, giving the right to work in crisis management.
Continuing professional development: Mediation (2021), public and municipal administration (2022–2023), enterprise economics and management (2023). Since 2021 a postgraduate student in law at the Moscow Innovation University; completed the academic and teaching staff training programme in 2025, qualification “Researcher. Teaching researcher”.
Practice: Working since the age of 17: as an MSU student he became, at 19, the manager of a store in a federal consumer electronics chain. From 2010 an advocate's assistant, and from 2015 a practising lawyer. He founded Kovalev & Partners LLC in 2015 and has led the firm ever since.
Specialisation: Civil law and commercial litigation, crisis management, public administration, enterprise economics. Accredited mediator.

Beyond practice: chairman of the Perspektiva Association of Lawyers, Advocates and Insolvency Practitioners; chairman of the board of directors and vice-president of Bank Yoshkar-Ola; chairman of the Wings of a Dream charitable foundation.

The firm's most widely quoted expert: comments in Vedomosti, Izvestia, RBC, RB.RU, RIA Novosti and Gazeta.Ru.

“Our principle is an honest relationship with the client.”

Aleksey Sukhoruchenko

Executive director of Kovalev & Partners LLC, lawyer

Responsible for dealings with public authorities and for coordinating lawyers and advocates on projects: who runs the task, to what deadline and with what result.

Government relationsProject team coordinationCorporate lawPublic procurement: 44-FZ and 223-FZPre-action and litigation workAdministrative disputesContract workPersonal data

More about their experience

Education: Tyumen Law Institute of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (1996–1999), law degree. Tyumen State University (2001–2004), accounting, analysis and audit. Professional retraining in public and municipal administration: public governance and legal regulation (2022–2024).
Continuing professional development: RANEPA under the President of the Russian Federation: management of state and municipal procurement (2024), client-centred public service (2024), digital transformation and the digital economy (2022). STATUT School of Law — rights in the results of intellectual activity (2024). Anti-corruption compliance in state-owned organisations (2021).
Practice: Thirty years in the profession. From 1999 to 2002 an operational officer in the economic crimes unit of the police, then an investigator with the Federal Tax Police Service, working on economic crime. From 2002 to 2022 lead in-house counsel at Tobolsk-Neftekhim LLC and then at the Tobolsk trunk pipeline directorate of Transneft-Siberia; in parallel, from 2007 to 2022, deputy director for legal affairs at Promstroyproekt JSC. From 2022 to 2025 he headed the department of civil service, legal and records support at the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications of Sverdlovsk Region.
Experience and results: Litigation and pre-action work before the arbitrazh courts and the courts of general jurisdiction at every level: recovery of large debts and penalties under state and municipal contracts, recognition of rights in real estate, challenges to administrative liability. Support of procurement under Federal Laws No. 44-FZ and No. 223-FZ, defence of organisations during inspections by the prosecutor's office, the labour inspectorate and other supervisory bodies. Drafting of regulatory and internal acts and legal and anti-corruption review of documents.
Awards: Letters of commendation from the Governor of Sverdlovsk Region, the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications of Sverdlovsk Region and the Department for Justices of the Peace of Sverdlovsk Region; a certificate of merit from the head of the Tobolsk District administration.

Leads the government relations practice: managing dialogue with state bodies, participation in approval procedures and work with public sector clients.

Assembles the team for each project — the firm's lawyers, where needed the Bar Association's advocates, valuers and auditors — and holds the deadlines and the quality throughout the matter.

Combines the experience of an in-house counsel in industry with that of running the legal function inside a public authority — which gives an understanding of both sides in disputes with state customers and supervisory bodies.

Sergey Besedin

Partner of the firm, lawyer, insolvency practitioner

A partner of the firm brought into insolvency matters and other particularly complex litigation. A lawyer since 2009, an insolvency practitioner since 2021.

Corporate insolvencyPersonal insolvencyChallenges to transactionsCreditor protectionDebt recoveryCrisis management

More about their experience

Education: 2009 — North Caucasus Social Institute, degree in jurisprudence, qualification of Lawyer. 2020 — Unified programme for the training of insolvency practitioners, All-Russian State University of Justice (RPA of the Russian Ministry of Justice).
Practice: In legal practice since 2009; an insolvency practitioner since 2021 (registration No. 20325 in the consolidated state register of insolvency practitioners; member of the EVRAZIA association of insolvency practitioners). Many years of experience heading legal departments and running complex litigation projects in energy, construction and consulting.
Specialisation: Insolvency of companies and individuals, support of commercial litigation, challenges to debtors' transactions, recovery of receivables, and comprehensive legal support for businesses.
Approach: Combines analysis of debtors' financial and business activity with case law and the procedural tools available to participants in insolvency proceedings.

Lecturer and expert on the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation programme “Strategy and Tactics of Tax Disputes”.

OFFICE

Office administration and first contact

Your first point of contact with the firm: incoming enquiries, appointments, documents and day-to-day organisation.

Kristina Evtushenko

Office manager, Moscow

Runs the office and handles communication with clients and partners: first contact, scheduling meetings, documents and all organisational matters.

Client careOffice administrationDocument management

PARTNERS

Valuers, auditors and insolvency practitioners

Lawyers and advocates cover the legal side of a matter. But a large dispute almost always calls for adjacent specialists: a valuer to establish the value of an asset, an auditor to analyse a debtor's business activity, an insolvency practitioner to conduct the procedure. Over more than ten years of practice we have built our own circle of such partners.

These are not contractors found through a search engine but specialists we have worked with on many matters and whose performance under pressure we know: professional, thorough and on time — the way we work ourselves. We assemble the team for each task and answer for the result as a whole, rather than sending the client off to find a valuer or a practitioner alone.

01 / PARTNERS

Valuers

Valuation of businesses, real estate, movable property and claims. The report is prepared from the outset on the basis that it will be challenged in the proceedings.

02 / PARTNERS

Auditors

Financial, tax and HR audits, voluntary reviews and analysis of a debtor's business activity before an insolvency or a transaction.

03 / PARTNERS

Insolvency practitioners

Conduct of insolvency procedures. The candidate is approved by the court while the applicant nominates the self-regulatory organisation — we explain how that choice affects the case.

BAR ASSOCIATION

Advocates of the Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association

Tasks requiring the status of an advocate are carried out by advocates of the Bar Association, with which Kovalev & Partners LLC has a cooperation agreement. All other legal services are provided by the company's own lawyers. The Bar Association's advocates work in two cities, Moscow and Mariupol; the city is shown on each advocate's card.

The agreement on the provision of legal assistance is made directly between the advocate and the client, and the advocate's fee is paid into the Bar Association's cash desk or bank account (arts. 25(1) and 25(6) of Federal Law No. 63-FZ of 31 May 2002 “On Advocacy and the Bar in the Russian Federation”). The advocates of the Moscow office are entered in the register of advocates of the City of Moscow; the advocates of the Mariupol office are entered in the register of advocates of the Donetsk People’s Republic — the status of each may be checked in the relevant register on the website of the respective chamber of advocates.

Bar Association telephone: +7 499 460-64-27. Each advocate has a personal mailbox in the mka.moscow domain.

Dmitry Malyutov

Advocate, partner and chairman of the Bar Association

Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association

An advocate since 2009 and chairman of the Bar Association. Handles criminal and commercial cases and the insolvency of individuals and companies.

Criminal lawCommercial litigationPersonal insolvencyCorporate insolvency

More about their experience

Education: Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics (MESI), law degree, qualification of Lawyer. Professional retraining at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics under the unified programme for insolvency practitioners (crisis management). Postgraduate student at the Moscow Innovation University.
Practice: An advocate since 2009. Chairman of the Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association since 2019.
Specialisation: Criminal law and commercial litigation, insolvency of individuals and companies.

Conducted the insolvency of Ms Kh.: on 26 June 2020, in case No. А72-3325/2020, the Arbitrazh Court of the Ulyanovsk Region declared her bankrupt and RUB 1.9 million of bank debt was written off.

Comments for national media on insolvency, financial fraud and reputation management: Advokatskaya Gazeta, Vedomosti, Gazeta.Ru and Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

Kristina Tsypkalo

Advocate, partner of the Bar Association

Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association

An advocate since 2019, in the profession since 2011. Civil, commercial and corporate disputes, criminal defence, real estate transactions and business support.

Civil disputesCommercial and corporate disputesCriminal defenceReal estate and transactionsBusiness supportInsolvency

More about their experience

Education: 2011 — Odessa National Law Academy, degree in jurisprudence, qualification of Lawyer. 2017 — master's degree from the Crimean Law Institute (branch) of the Academy of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation.
Practice: In the profession since 2011; admitted as an advocate in 2019. More than ten years of work before the courts of general jurisdiction and the arbitrazh courts at first instance and on appeal, including as a judicial assistant.
Specialisation: Civil matters for individuals, commercial and corporate disputes, criminal defence, real estate transactions, ongoing legal support for businesses, insolvency matters.

Comments in the media on disputes between marketplaces and sellers and on the insolvency of a mineral water producer in Apsheronsk brought by the Federal Tax Service.

Publications: ComNews, Kommersant, Gazeta.Ru, RBC Pro, Izvestia, RB.RU and Sekret Firmy.

Yury Koval

Advocate

Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association

An advocate since 2014; before that more than twenty years in the military prosecution service, colonel of justice. Handles military law and military registration matters.

Military lawMilitary registrationCriminal lawAdministrative law

More about their experience

Education: 1992 — Faculty of Law of the Military Institute, degree in jurisprudence, qualification of Lawyer.
Practice: 1992–2013 — prosecutorial and investigative posts in the military prosecution service, colonel of justice. An advocate since 2014.

Commented for Lenta.ru on the launch of the unified military registration database and the procedure for serving electronic call-up notices.

Olga Lapina

Advocate

Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association

An advocate since 2010, practising in Moscow since 2020. Employment, family, inheritance and housing disputes; pro bono expert to the Moscow Business Ombudsman.

Employment lawFamily lawInheritance lawProtection of entrepreneurs' rightsNegotiation and mediation

More about their experience

Education: 2008 — Volgograd Law University.
Practice: Admitted as an advocate in 2010. From 2010 to 2020 a member of the Astrakhan Regional Bar Association. Practising in Moscow since 2020 and a member of the Moscow Chamber of Advocates. Pro bono expert to the Commissioner for the Protection of Entrepreneurs' Rights in Moscow.
Specialisation: Employment and family law, inheritance and housing matters.

Acts for clients for whom the stakes are not exhausted by the amount in dispute: business owners, executives and people in the public eye. In such matters, besides the law, what counts is a measured tone, the ability to speak to a person in their own language and to keep the conversation within bounds — wherever it takes place, in the meeting room, in court or within the family.

A separate part of the work is confidentiality: the details of matters and the names of clients are not made public, and do not appear on this site.

Seven expert comments in the media in 2024: Argumenty i Fakty, RBC, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Vedomosti, Izvestia, 5-tv.ru and Gazeta.Ru.

Marianna Dzyuba

Advocate

Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association

Bar Association office in Mariupol

A judge of the Primorsky District Court of Mariupol for fourteen years, and before that a prosecution investigator. Admitted as an advocate of the Russian Federation in 2026, entered in the register of advocates of the Donetsk People’s Republic; works from the Bar Association's Mariupol office.

Criminal defenceCivil disputesFamily disputesCourt representation

More about their experience

Education: 1999 — Yaroslav Mudryi National Law Academy, degree in jurisprudence.
Practice: In the law since 1996, starting in the registry of the Primorsky District Court of Mariupol. From 1999 to 2003 — service in the Mariupol prosecution authorities: assistant to the environmental interdistrict prosecutor, then senior investigator of the environmental and district prosecutor's offices. Afterwards — claims and legal work at the Torgovy Flot Donbassa shipping company. From 2004 to 2018 — judge of the Primorsky District Court of Mariupol. From 2019 — at the Bar: the Balashov & Partners advocates' bureau, and from 2021 head of the Constant Legal Protection advocates' association. Admitted as an advocate in 2026; practises from the Mariupol office of the Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association.
Specialisation: Criminal defence, drawing on her investigative experience in the prosecution service and fourteen years on the bench. Civil and family disputes, and representation before the courts of general jurisdiction.

Experience on both sides of the courtroom — fourteen years handing down judgments, and investigative work in the prosecution service — helps her assess the prospects of a case soberly before proceedings are even started.

Evgenia Mitrofanova

Advocate

Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association

Bar Association office in Mariupol

In the profession since 2002: an advocate since 2006 and, for eight years, a judge of the Primorsky District Court of Mariupol. Entered in the register of advocates of the Donetsk People’s Republic. A lawyer and a psychologist by education; works from the Bar Association's Mariupol office.

Criminal defenceCivil disputesFamily disputesInheritance disputesCourt representation

More about their experience

Education: 2000–2005 — Academy of Labour and Social Relations, degree in jurisprudence, specialisation in courts, prosecution and the Bar. 2008 — Yaroslav Mudryi National Law Academy, faculty for the training of professional judges, master of laws. 2017 — higher education in psychology.
Practice: In the profession since 2002: court session secretary, advocate's assistant, from 2006 an advocate of the Azov Advocates' Company, and in 2008–2010 deputy chair and then chair of its presidium. From 2010 to 2018 — judge of the Primorsky District Court of Mariupol, appointed for an indefinite term, general docket. Afterwards — practice as an advocate and in-house lawyer, including anti-corruption compliance work. An advocate of the Mariupol office of the Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association.
Specialisation: Criminal defence, including corruption cases — backed by eight years on the bench and special training in the investigation of corruption offences. Civil, family and inheritance disputes, and representation before the courts of general jurisdiction.
Further training: Seminars of the National School of Judges (2015–2016), including on the legal regulation of personal data protection; a special course of the International Law Enforcement Academy in Budapest on the investigation of corruption offences and combating human trafficking (2016).

The combination of judicial experience with a psychology degree helps in matters where negotiation matters as much as the law: family, inheritance and neighbour disputes.

PUBLICATIONS

Comment by our specialists

All material

Expert comment27 September 2024Corporate law

Court disputes between marketplaces and sellers

Kristina Tsypkalo, advocate of the Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association

The number of sellers on Russia's largest marketplaces may reach 700,000 by the end of 2024 — and with it the number of court disputes: since 2021 almost 4,300 claims have been filed against Ozon and Wildberries. An analysis of three typical conflicts: penalties and withheld payments, trade mark disputes and blocked listings, and lost or damaged goods.

Original source: ComNews.ru ↗

Expert comment4 September 2024Insolvency

Federal Tax Service files for insolvency of an Apsheronsk mineral water producer

Kristina Tsypkalo, advocate of the Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association

The Arbitrazh Court of Krasnodar Territory opened supervision proceedings against Alfa-Apsheronsk LLC, which owes more than RUB 3.9 million in taxes and contributions. The advocate links the situation to a sharp fall in revenue — from RUB 130 million in 2022 to RUB 24.9 million in 2023.

Original source: Kommersant ↗

Expert comment30 August 2024IT, telecoms and digital

Internet providers set about fixing YouTube: is that a breach?

Sergey Besedin, partner of Kovalev & Partners LLC, lawyer

Around ten telecom operators have deployed their own solutions to restore access to YouTube. Roskomnadzor has issued no official clarification — in the expert's view, no breach is formally apparent.

Original source: BFM.RU ↗

All publications and comment

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