OREANDA-NEWS. March 19, 2014. According to the recent observations of FBK Legal a significant increase can be observed in the demand for antimonopoly practice, which the company has been actively developing for a number of years. To date the total value of tenders contested by the Company’s lawyers is amounting to 3 bln roubles.

“We are facing a surge of applications from the participants in the competitions and auctions for state procurements. We have contested over a dozen bids for the last half year in the FAS of Russia and its territorial branches”, notes Nadezhda Orlova, FBK Legal managing partner. Moreover, the company has successful projects both in defending the clients’ interests in disputing the bidding procedures and in antitrust proceedings. In the field of state procurements accompaniment the practice lawyers took part in the scores of bidding appeals in many regions of Russia. Over 85% of appeals of the clients whose interests were represented by the FBK Legal specialists were considered to be fully or mostly justified, while on the average the portion of allowed claims on the market does not exceed 25%.

Among those who were able to appreciate the skills of the FBK Legal Antitrust Practice are Elbrus Capital, one of Russia’s largest investment funds, Gazprombank, a number of organizations incorporated under the Gazprom structure and many others. 

According to Sergey Ermolenko heading the projects in the field of antitrust law under FBK Legal, in 2014 the lawyers will face more work: with coming into force of Federal Law № 44-FZ “On the contract system of goods, works and services procurement for the state and municipal needs” much will change in the procedures of public procurement. “The number of cases under review by the FAS of Russia will increase: the Law contains many innovations and there is no available practice of their application. The bidders will face many uncertainties regarding the work under the new law, and lawyers - more work to ensure the balance of public (budgetary and municipal institutions, enterprises with public participation) and private (entities-the suppliers of goods and services to their beneficiaries) interests", - clarified Sergey Ermolenko.