Salomon Partners
The law firm Salomon Partners was established in 2006 by several attorneys from different Russian and international law firms. Coming together for the purpose of engaging in our own private practice, we had a vision of a firm rendering specialized legal services of the highest quality in the various areas of our commercial specialization. Our aim has never been to be a ‘full cycle’ law firm with varying degrees of competence in all areas, but one undertaking legal transactions and projects exactly corresponding to our expertise. This approach allows for the accumulation a wide range of unique experience in the particular legal services we offer to out clients. Our clients turn to us for reliable, professional assistance in circumstances requiring advanced legal perspective. We undertake complex and extraordinary legal and commercial projects with the confident understanding that it is precisely in these special cases that our clients gain the most advantage and added value from our services.In our practice we aspire to strike a balance between international standards of professionalism and a deep understanding of the unique character of the Russian legal sphere. The wide and varied experience of our attorneys permits the combined advantages of the broader perspective of an external legal advisor with the result oriented approach of an in-house corporate lawyer. We strive to provide comprehensive, multisided consideration to each question put before us.Our approach is one of continually drawing on and applying the collective know-how from the sum of our experience. This is expressed in the publication of articles, participation in conferences, round tables, and working groups for the development and further refinement of legislation. We refuse to limit ourselves to simply helping our clients find answers to the concrete questions of the day. We are forward in our vision and try to expose the existing legal problems in scientific and legislative communities, actively participating in the development of approaches to their resolution.We are thoroughly committed to the principle of pro bono representation as a community service and our lawyers allocate time for this as a regular part of their practice. In light of our specialization in the spheres of intellectual property, media and telecommunications, we focus pro bono efforts on supporting independent film directors and film-production.We are dedicated supporters of grassroots efforts on the part of Russian legal firms to provide pro bono legal representation.MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONSOur firm has extensive experience in leading complex and non-standard mergers and acquisitions. We are continuously involved in M&A transactions, representing both sell-side and buy-side companies and their interests.Our M&A toolkit includes:- Leading legal due diligence, with the aim of exposing existing legal risks and developing optimal deal structures;- Legal support for sell-side and buy-side parties, including preparation and analysis of deal documentation, participation in negotiations on behalf of sell or buy-side parties, organizing and tracking work processes in the data room;- Legal support in tenders;- Deal structuring for mergers and acquisitions;- Guidance through standard procedures after the completion of deals;- Business restructuring after the completion of deals with the aim of removing or minimizing existing legal risks.Salomon Partners has successfully completed work on four corporate M&A transactions, the largest of which was valued at over 100 m USD and the others each valued at over $5 m USD.We are also engaged in questions of structuring and restructuring existing businesses. A primary goal in such projects is the creation of corporate business structures that permit the effective operation of a group of companies, minimizing risks inherent in given businesses and reliably protecting the property rights of groups within the corporate asset structure. Corporate structuring projects typically demand deep immersion into the internal corporate life of the client, requiring many hours of attentive dialogue with top-management, lawyers and other employees.In our short history, Salomon Partners has already been engaged in two corporate restructuring projects involving large holdings. Currently, we are engaged in making the reorganization procedures developed by our lawyers in their practice available to our clients.PRIVATE EQUITYOne of the primary areas of our specialization is legal support for investments in private equity and venture capital funds. Our clients in this area include two direct investment funds, a venture capital fund and diverse private investors. We also represent the interests of companies receiving investments from institutional investors. We have experience guiding investment transactions at all stages, beginning with council and signing preliminary documentation, performing legal due diligence and finishing with drawing up and analyzing final documentation, formalization of constituent and statutory documentation in accordance with investor requirements and additional procedures commonly encountered in completing such transactions.Direct and venture investment transactions are typically transnational. For the maximum effective protection of client interests, we work in close cooperation with a wide variety of legal and accounting firms in England, Cyprus, the US, Germany and Israel.Just this year our attorneys successfully facilitated the investment of $50 m into the Wild Orchid group and $5 m into the PRISTAV Debt Collection Agency, among other direct investment transactions.We are also experienced in the internal structuring of direct investment and venture investment funds.MANAGEMENT INCENTIVESCorporate transactions involving mergers M&A, private equity and venture capital investments frequently include complex questions connected to senior management employment contracts. We frequently represent the interests of general directors, senior managers and complete top management teams in labor negotiations with potential employers as well as representing employers in negotiations with management. We also participate in negotiations and litigation in disputes between employers and management.We offer advanced services required for the formation of complex, multilevel compensation systems including options and profit sharing programs, job security as well as non-disclosure and non-competition agreements.This year Salomon Partners represented the interests of a group of managers engaged in negotiations with a direct investment fund concerning their participation in the creation of a mortgage company, the interests of two general directors in their negotiations with the proprietors of the company, and also the interests of employers in negotiations with three top-managers. We have been involved in two labor disputes between managers with employers, in one case - on the part of the manager, and in the other - on the part of the employer. We also have experience in negotiating collective bargaining agreements.TECH MEDIA TELECOMMany of our clients work in high tech, media and telecommunications businesses. What’s more, many of the investment and M&A transactions we handle also touch on these business areas.Our attorneys aren’t just concerned with keeping abreast of regulatory legislation of various industries. We strive to understand the broader technical and commercial aspect of our client’s business as frequently it is impossible to find the most fitting approaches the problems put before us without such understanding.As a result of this broader approach to technology, our firm has garnered essential experience regarding specific issues facing clients in these industries. Specifically, this concerns issues involving legislation on advertising, on mass media, on communications, on software copyright issues, on patents, and other areas.We are also engaged in defending clients’ interests in litigation, including disputes with tax authorities. Understanding the specific character of the activity of these companies is very important for the formation of a correct legal position in these affairs.INTELLECTUAL PROPERTYIn venture capital investment deals and projects with technology and media companies, a large volume of the work presupposes the protection of intellectual property rights. We are continually working on projects which concern copyright and patent rights issues, as well as issues connected to rights of identification. A key component of business success for many of our clients lies in proper ownership structures for objects of intellectual property and reliable protection against third party infringement.Our clients in this area include film producers, independent filmmakers, publishers and authors. Frequently we provide legal services for this category pro-bono.Salomon Partners served in the capacity of expert council on legal regulation and protection of intellectual property (www.esip.ru) in reviewing part IV of Russian Federation Civil Code devoted to intellectual property proposed by the State Duma of the Russian Federation.We are an active partner in the effort to improve the Russian system protecting intellectual property. In 2006 our attorneys addressed the ISDEF 2006 forum (www.isdef.org) with a report on the development of practice in the field of protecting rights to software products in East European countries.REAL ESTATEOur firm has been involved in a significant number of projects in the spheres of real estate and construction.We specialize in providing legal services for wide range of real estate transactions.We are well versed in the legal issues related to the purchase and sale of real estate and investment in real estate and companies involved in this industry.In addition to expert qualifications in real estate transactions, Solomon Partners possesses experience in the s

practice areas

General Practice

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