Kommersant Publishing House Published a Rating of the Legal Service Market. BIEL Continues to Lead in the Field of the Family Law.
Kommersant Publishing House published a rating of the legal service market. BIEL Law Firm continues to lead in the field of the family law.
Kommersant Publishing House publishes the fourth annual rating of the legal service market. We thank the law firms for participation and the business for using the rating in assessing the reliability and choosing the consultants.
The rating goal is to provide legal service customers with a market roadmap which is structured in terms of potential requests of business customers, investors and private individuals. “Each year we improve the methodology to make the rating service a quality navigator in choosing the leading legal service providers”, Kommersant Publishing House said. RRating Methodology.
BIEL Law Firm has been recognized as a leader in the “Family and Inheritance Law.” Philipp Ryabchenko has been ranked as one of the TOP 5 lawyers in the family and inheritance law. Philipp Ryabchenko told the Publishing House about the 2017 positive results and the company’s strategy for the future.
1) What was the structure of the demand for legal services at your company in 2017? What are your forecasts of its change in 2018?
The inheritance and divorce law practices have traditionally continued to demonstrate a good performance. We have been operating in this service segment for a long time and note a good practice growth. At the same time, a number of major corporate disputes have been added to our practices. One of those disputes is the confrontation between Bashneft (aka Rosneft) and AFK Sistema where we acted for the defendant. Corporate disputes definitely tend to continue their growth in the current year and the appearance of other disputes for colossal amounts is not excluded either. Another category of disputes the number of which will only grow is related to the exercise by state bodies of their administrative powers. Clients’ requests in 2017 have gone far beyond the family law our company is often associated with. We hope that the positive trend of participation in major corporate disputes will continue. We expect that clients’ requests for settling corporate disputes and disputes related to the exercise by state bodies of their administrative powers will grow in 2018.
2) The same in respect of revenues: what are the results of the practices in 2017 and the performance and forecasts for 2018? (at least in general terms).
Family law practices have always generated a share of our incomes which is several times higher than the profit from other practices. Over the last few years, we have been diversifying this imbalance by establishing a strong practice relating to resolution of arbitration disputes.
3) What does your typical client look like (big\medium\small business\individuals\state), has its portrait changed in 2017, have its requests and requirements changed, etc.?
The portrait of a client depends on the practices. Nevertheless, sometimes the clients whom we represent defending their personal rights approach us on behalf of their companies. Our law firm has been representing upper-middle and big business clients for more than 25 years. We have never been a big firm and, therefore, the customized approach and the high quality level have always been the key priority in our work. Our approach aimed at minimizing the client’s costs — whether financial, reputational, organizational or others — allows us to establish long-term trustworthy relations with each client. The expectations of a high-level service grow from year to year and the client mostly appreciates competence, promptness, efficiency and, by all means, integrity. The combination of these features still gives a stable competitive advantage in the market. Clients depart from the classical per hour rate system more frequently in favor of fixed payments and success fees. Clients feel more comfortable in planning their budgets this way.
4) Based on the experience of your company, please tell us in greater detail why the demand for specific practices grows and which those practices are? Why and how much has the specific weight of disputes, for example, commercial, administrative, tax and other disputes, changed at your company?
A refusal to perceive the changed economic reality, a habit for super profits, and a refusal to live on the available incomes lead to conflicts inside companies, between counterparties, competitors and even married couples. We observe a general growth in requests for specialists in judicial proceedings. On the whole, there is a feeling of the general trend of a growth in disputes while the budget of each dispute individually decreases. The increasing request for dealings in disputes with state bodies in exercising their administrative powers by them can be singled out among specific practices. At that, the beginning of such projects is often carried over to the pre-trial stage. For example, as early as at the time of the check by the state bodies or at the stage of intra-departmental appeal against some or other acts and decisions of subordinate bodies of power.
5) What trends in the legal market in the past year could be singled out by you? What do you expect from the current year?
The monopoly for judicial representation is the main issue which should be resolved in the near future and which will determine principal changes in the legal market. There is a conviction that sooner or later such a monopoly should be introduced, but whether such a monopoly will be an attorney monopoly or licensing/accreditation will be introduced at courts is an acute debatable issue.