Global law firm Reed Smith has announced its expanded Kazakhstan offering with the official launch of its Kazakhstan office and the appointment of corporate partners Vladimir Shuster and Arman Tastanbekov, formerly of Morgan Lewis and White & Case respectively.
The office will be led from London by international arbitration partner Belinda Paisley:
“We’ve acted on disputes matters in relation to the Republic of Kazakhstan for 14 years and have been working to develop our Kazakhstan offering in response to growing client demand” said Belinda Paisley. “We’ve established a strong disputes practice in the region. However, our clients increasingly require on-the-ground transactional capability, and Vladimir’s and Arman’s arrival has helped us achieve just that. Having experienced partners on the ground will enable us to better serve our clients’ needs, while ensuring we’re able to provide a competitive quality service.”
Vladimir and Arman previously worked together at Dewey & LeBoeuf. Both advise on a wide range of corporate and commercial transactions with a particular focus on cross-border M&A, energy and natural resources, banking, private equity and capital markets. They have advised multinationals, state companies and local private companies on some of the largest and most sophisticated transactions in Kazakhstan and the broader Central Asia region. Together they offer clients the benefit of 20 years of experience in the region. Vladimir and Arman are also admitted to practise in New York (US).
“We are excited to join a firm of Reed Smith’s calibre and reputation and view this as a unique opportunity to build a first-class transactional offering in Kazakhstan,” said Vladimir. “Along with the firm’s strong offering in London, Hong Kong, mainland PRC, Singapore and the UAE – important jurisdictions for a Kazakhstan-based transactional practice – we are confident that Reed Smith in Astana will quickly become the go-to firm in Kazakhstan for our clients,” said Arman
Reed Smith’s disputes group recently acted for the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan (RoK) in successfully challenging two arbitrations brought before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes: the first, a US$1.29 billion claim brought against the RoK by The AES Corporation and its related companies, and the second, a US$1.5 billion claim brought against the RoK by KT Asia Investment Group BV.
As a sign of things to come, the firm’s corporate team recently advised the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on its participation in a consortium on the £3bn takeover of Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC.
“The relationships that we have established in Kazakhstan have given us a strong profile in the market; with corporate resource on the ground we expect to be able to take full advantage of the exciting opportunities the region provides”, said James Wilkinson, partner and head of the firm’s Europe and Middle East corporate practice. “The ENRC deal was one of the largest and most complex takeover deals in the City this year, highlighting both our capability and the quality of work emanating from Kazakhstan. Vladimir’s and Arman’s arrival puts us in an even better position to act on corporate transactions of this nature”, James added.
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About Vladimir Shuster
Vladimir earned his J.D. from New York Law School in 2001. He worked for Dewey & LeBoeuf in Moscow and Almaty before joining Morgan Lewis in its Almaty office. Prior to joining Dewey & LeBoeuf he served as in-house counsel to Samsung Electronics America. Vladimir is admitted to practise in New York (US) and New Jersey (US).
About Arman Tastanbekov
Arman earned his LL.M. at American University, Washington,D.C., in 2000, and his law degree from Kazakhstan State Law University in 1999 summa cum laude. He worked for LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae from 2002 until 2005, when he was hired as head of legal for BG Group in Kazakhstan. He re-joined Dewey & LeBoeuf in 2008 and moved to White & Case in 2012. Arman is admitted to practise in Kazakhstan and New York (US).
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a global law firm with 25 offices and more than 1,800 lawyers in offices across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the United States.
For further information, please visit www.reedsmith.com or contact Jeyda Star (Senior PR & Communications Manager EME) on +44 (0)20 3116 2571.