Moscow calls to young Leeds lawyer

A trainee lawyer from the Leeds office of DLA Piper has travelled to Moscow to spend six months learning the ropes of the Russian legal system.

As her colleagues in Leeds enjoy the end of freezing temperatures and snow and look forward to Spring, Rebecca Lightfoot is facing treacherously icy conditions and two foot snow drifts on her daily commute to DLA Piper’s Moscow office, where she is working as part of the corporate law team.

She explains; “Russian law continues to evolve in the commercial market. As a result, the certainties offered in English law are attractive to many domestic and international players in the Russian market.

"There are also a lot of joint ventures in the Russia at the moment, so I am mainly working on contracts and shareholders' agreements.”

Rebecca (pictured below) is spending six months in Moscow as part of her two year trainee contract at DLA Piper, which was established in Leeds over 200 years ago and now has 67 offices in 29 countries, and encourages its trainees to spend time working in different markets to help develop their legal expertise.

“I am still getting to grips with the technicalities of the Russian market, but it is really interesting to apply my knowledge of English law to such a different business culture, and develop a real understanding of how another economy works.

“For example, although most companies want to use English law and English language contracts for their business agreements, Russian remains the main business language for the majority of negotiations. Therefore, a lot of time is spent translating contracts between English and Russian to ensure each party knows what they are agreeing to.

“Thankfully, I had Russian lessons before I left Leeds, and my supervising partner is fluent in English, Russian and French. If a Yorkshire company were looking to invest in this market, it would definitely help to have a feel for the basics of the language first ."

DLA Piper’s Moscow office is one of the largest in the local legal market and works on many of the country’s energy, telecommunications, hospitality and infrastructure projects, often involving colleagues in the UK and the United States. The Russian economy is the eighth largest globally, and UK exports into the country were worth £2.8 billion in 2008. The energy, advanced engineering and professional services markets are all strong areas of growth and Western goods and services continue to be in high demand.

The opportunity for Rebecca to work in Russia came as a result of the Leeds firm’s strong links with its Russian colleagues, explains partner Andrew Davies, who heads up the office’s Russian connection.

“One of the major benefits of being a global law firm is that we can provide a DLA Piper lawyer wherever a company wants to do business in the world. Opportunities in Central Eastern Europe and Russia are of great interest to a lot of UK businesses at the moment, so we need to know that market.

“We work closely with our colleagues in Russia on a daily basis. Rebecca is a talented young lawyer, so we were able to secure this opportunity, which will not only benefit her career but also give her a greater understanding of the Russian market, which she will be able to use to the benefit of our clients.”

Rebecca concludes; “It’s an amazing opportunity to be able to work in another country, and because of DLA Piper’s presence in the market, I am working on some really interesting projects.

“I am learning new things that I will be able to use in advising clients when I return to the UK – about the law, the culture and language, and the fact that you really can operate a business as normal, even when the snow is two feet deep!"
 
About DLA Piper

1. DLA Piper is an international legal practice with over 3,500 lawyers across 67 offices and 29 countries. From its offices across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States, legal and business advisers provide a comprehensive range of services to local, regional and international businesses.

2. DLA Piper received an award for Outstanding Achievement at the 2010 Legal Business Awards and is ranked 1st by revenue in the Legal Business Global 100 2009.

3. For further information about our organisation and services, please visit our website: www.dlapiper.com.

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