Dechert takes Chadbourne 11
US-headquartered Dechert has launched a new office in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with an 11-strong team – which has all come from rival firm Chadbourne.
Energy and natural resources lawyer Kenneth Mack, formerly managing partner of Chadbourne’s local office, joins Dechert as a partner to lead the commercial capital of the country.
Dechert CEO Daniel O’Donnell said: “The smooth and seamless transition of this office has been paramount to us.”
The team is made up of partners Victor Mokrousov, Sergei Vataev, and Mukhit Yeleuov and associates Ainur Abdalova, Abzal Kassymzhanov, Yevgeniya Nossova, Nadezhda Oparina, Benjamin Paine, Elshat Seksembayeva and Asel Yermekova.
Mack, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan, has lived in the country for more than a decade, and advises in the energy, telecoms, capital markets and bank and project financing sectors throughout Central Asia and Russia. He also acts as counsel to multinational companies on a variety of investment disputes with private entities in Kazakhstan.
O’Donnell added: “Our first priority has been to make sure our clients’ needs are met. Ken and his team are dynamic and entrepreneurial lawyers whose practice enjoys strong ties and synergies with our Moscow office and our practices in Central Asia and China. Their talent and knowledge of an increasingly important region adds tremendous experience and resources to our global energy practice, a key area of expansion for the firm, and we are delighted to welcome them to Dechert.”
The team’s clients have included major international corporations such as ExxonMobil, Shell, China National Petroleum Corporation and Conoco Phillips, on various transactional, regulatory and litigation matters.
“We look forward to working with Ken and his entire office on cross-border deals in the region,” said Laura Brank, head of Dechert’s Russia practice. “Kazakhstan is of great strategic importance not only to our Russian client base, but also our Chinese and multinational corporate clients.”
