– Ksenia, you have an extensive experience of private legal practice, working as an inhouse lawyer. What new knowledge, skills and competences this new position required of you? Has your character gained new traits? 

– When I accepted the job offer of the Head of Alliance Legal CG Ural office, I understood the seriousness of the requirements for this position. At the same time, I was glad to find professional realization in the team of likeminded top experts. I liked the fact that my work would sometimes require full involvement, that there would be new difficult tasks and cases which demanded a high level of both legal knowledge and communication skills. Th is kind of work definitely made me more focused and concentrated, more attentive to details.

– What is the specific character of the Ural region in terms of legal support for business? What specializations are the most demanded? 

– The Ural region is rapidly developing now, and our clients face the diverse range of issues: starting with coordination and legal support for various business processes, optimization of tax burden and finishing with internal corporate procedures support. As a rule, our clients apply to us for a complex assistance: these are issues of restoration of violated rights under administrative procedure, in the course of court defense, and court enforcement action. As the Urals is a stronghold of the country, we have well-developed mining, metallurgy and machine- building industries. Th e specific character of our clients’ activity oft en results in a peculiar complexity of the cases, particularly there are issues which require special knowledge and complex expertise.

– What do you consider the most important in your work as the Head of the regional office? 

– It is impossible to imagine a successful manager who does not know how to cope with multitasking. You need to think over your actions and working strategy on each project in advance, but at the same time be flexible and ready to adjust this strategy. I also consider it one of my tasks to maintain a relationship of trust and a friendly, positive atmosphere within the team, because teamwork and contribution of each employee is very important. I think that emotional intelligence is a must have nowadays. We have smart, sensitive specialists working in our profession, and it is unacceptable to use an authoritarian approach on them. Respect to an employee’s opinion is a basic rule. This is the only way to generate ideas, create strategies, solve complex legal cases, which sometimes require non-standard practice and creativity. Also, I think that there is no place for negative emotions at work: in our everyday life we can dislike something or someone, but we must nip such emotions in the bud at work. When resolving any conflicts, I think it is important to listen to all sides, but I make a decision based on the interests of the common cause. 

– In your opinion, what features distinguish your image in the eyes of colleagues, clients, partners? 

– I hope that these are such qualities as professionalism, competence, inventiveness, the ability to find a non-standard way out of difficult situations, as well as optimism and sense of humor.

– Today Russian business operates under hard conditions of unstable economic and political situation in the world, unprecedented sanctions against Russia. Do these circumstances affect your work as well? 

– Yes, absolutely. A crisis always involves high risks; naturally, it requires restructuring and measures for the possible protection of assets. During March- April 2022, almost every day, our employees were busy analyzing regulatory acts that were adopted in large quantities in order to overcome the negative consequences of sanctions. They were dealing with the issues of eliminating specific risks for our clients and their business projects, the circumstances of force majeure. Th ere were also many questions related to the transfer of assets to foreign jurisdictions due to emigration of our clients: how to organize this process taking into account restrictions on currency export, the questions about transfers to companies from unfriendly countries and to accounts in foreign banks, how to optimize the tax consequences of such decisions. 

– Is the problem of labor disputes and social partnership still relevant under these conditions? 

– Our clients do not deal with HR issues that oft en. As a rule, we handle difficult cases of manager and his trustees’ dismissal due to corporate conflicts.

– As a highly experienced professional, you graduated from the Russian School of Private Law. What did this additional education give you? 

– I think that any additional education is a contribution to yourself, to self-development. Fundamental knowledge and the basis of professional competence should be reviewed periodically. I entered RSPL at the time I was working in an auditing organization, where I dealt mainly with tax planning and disputes with tax authorities. RSPL allowed me to experience the taste of civil law, return to my student life, to delve into legal theory more consciously, to systematize the practical knowledge I had gained before entering the school. – Do you have enough energy for your career, your family and other things? – It is a well-known truth that a person is successful at his work when he sincerely loves what he does. It is necessary to be honest and answer the following question: what would you like to do if you did not have to earn money? Only then you will have a profession that you love, and success will follow. I sincerely love law, so my work keeps me energized for all the other accomplishments.

– Do you have enough energy for your career, your family and other things? 

– It is a well-known truth that a person is successful at his work when he sincerely loves what he does. It is necessary to be honest and answer the following question: what would you like to do if you did not have to earn money? Only then you will have a profession that you love, and success will follow. I sincerely love law, so my work keeps me energized for all the other accomplishments.

Search: Russian Business Guide
Interwied: Panteleeva Ksenia, Legal Advisor, Deputy Managing Partner. Head of Alliance Legal CG regional office in Yekaterinburg