Legal Services in the Sphere of International Economic Relations in Russia. The Role of National Law Firms (from the presentation at the conference “Legal Business in Russia”, “Vedomosti” daily)

Professional practice serving large capital-incentive operations in the sphere of international economic relations is characterized by a massive and targeted presence of international players. Before the crisis, more than 50 of their offices were opened in both our capitals. Foreign law firms are constantly present in countries where large-scale economic projects are brought into life. Excessive spread of foreign legal products, use of models subject to English law leads to stagnation of Russian law in its most important sections. Domination of foreign companies in all spheres of practice impedes national players on the market regarding cadres.
Legal services are more that many other services connected with national culture. Unlike other professions, such as a builder, an engineer or a teacher, a lawyer is the most national of all free professions.
Today, competition and coexistence of brands is characterized by great dynamics, quick mergers and break-ups of law firms, almost always related to departure of specialists. Market of legal services is confused and destructive if such transfers occur too frequently, since continuity and stability are required to create and implement complex legal products.
Whereas foreign firms possess and will possess large volume of assets, it is hard in current conditions yet possible and necessary to compete with them in the sector of their active market presence. There are ways for a better competition and they are easy to see: provision of more complex services to the clients. Complexity as a concept is implemented in advocate’s assistance.
Domestic advocates work in offices of foreign legal network firms on the condition that only clients of these firms receive services. There is an obvious violation in this model of legal services and legal assistance – misrepresentation of clients that a known foreign brand acquired its own advocate support.
The second directly negative factor is the absence of possibility for advocate organizations to initiate relations with the clients. Advocate services in the sphere of commercial law should be rendered by a company that determines itself which specializing lawyer is the most appropriate. This is the legal basis of development of brands of legal services due to stability, continuity, perfection and standardization of national legal products based on Russian law.