"Stepanovski Papakul & Partners have a big headcount, and they mostly have a local clientele," says one partner, neatly summing up the firm's profile. Unquestionably one of the largest legal teams in Belarus, with no recruitment or major losses of personnel this year, the firm continues to compete in tier two due to its high quality domestic work over the past 12 months....
[more]
"Stepanovski Papakul & Partners have a big headcount, and they mostly have a local clientele," says one partner, neatly summing up the firm's profile. Unquestionably one of the largest legal teams in Belarus, with no recruitment or major losses of personnel this year, the firm continues to compete in tier two due to its high quality domestic work over the past 12 months.
Its real landmark deals have been in finance and project financing, with a number of different investors, both domestic and some foreign, looking to get involved in various sectors in Belarus.
The most striking deal the firm was involved in was one of the largest project investments into the country, with a leading European bank looking to inject around €76 million worth of working capital to go towards building and equipping a greenfield wood processing complex in one of Belarus's Free Economic Zones. A team including leading lawyer Alexander Khrapoutski is advising on all aspects, including the intricacies of the loan agreement; the deal was still in progress at the time of writing.
A similar deal, also worked on by Khrapoutsky, saw him lead a team advising CBA Commercial with regards to its relationship with the Hungarian Export-Import Bank on the $30 million investment project financing of a logistical centre. The deal represents one of the largest investments of this kind in Belarus.
Lastly, the firm also gave advice and support on a long-term $2 million financing agreement by the Latvia-based AO Rietumu Banka, consisting of loans to Belarusian corporate entities.
[hide]