We can also pay attention to the following statistics: which specific law firms have “lost” the most attorneys, and which ones have lost the least. The word “lost” here denotes a certain number of attorneys from the bureau's list of professionals who ceased to be ones by April 2022.
In Belarus there were
7 law firms with 8 or more attorneys. Of these, one firm, “
Vlasova, Mikhel & Partners” (8 lawyers), has completely “lost” all its attorneys. We remind that this law firm is a
permanent participant of various international rankings, and, as a rule, occupies the first and second places in such.
Other frequenters of international legal rankings have lost more than 70% of their staff: those are law firms “
Stepanovski, Papakul and Partners” (the largest one, 13 out of 17 attorneys left), “
Borovtsov & Salei” (6 out of 8 attorneys left), “
Revera” (8 out of 11 attorneys left).
Among the well-known large firms marked in international rankings and focused on working with business, the firm “
Sysouev, Bondar and Partners (SBH Law Offices)” has suffered smaller losses – 1 attorney out of 9. Two other offices, which were created not on the basis of law firms after the 2013 legislative amendments, but were formed by “traditional” attorneys, expectedly “lost” a
negligible number of specialists. Thus, one attorney out of 11 was “lost” by the law firm “
Petrashevich and Partners” and
none was “lost” by the
Princeps-Consult firm (10 attorneys), where the current Chairman of the Minsk City Bar Association Vera Oreshko has worked.
Other law firms, known for their participation in international rankings – that is, business-oriented, engaged in large projects, shaped as corporations on the models of Western legal business, as a result of the reform ended up with the following:
“
Verkhovodko & Partners”– 2 out of 6 attorneys left;
“
Sorainen” – 3 out of 4;
“
Egorov, Puginsky, Afanasiev & Partners” – 2 out of 4;
“
Arzinger Law Offices” – 2 of 3;
Law firm “
Goretsky & Partners” has retained all three attorneys.
Besides the above-mentioned “Vlasova, Mikhel & Partners”, some other firms have completely lost all their attorneys, those are: “Business Attorney”, “Konon and Partners”, “De Jure Consult”, “Legal Edge”, “Prokhorenko Maria and Partners”, “PARADA & Partners” (total 17 attorneys).
The “reform” did not affect 60 law firms, 49 of which comprise small teams – up to 3 attorneys inclusive. A full list of law firms with an indication of the number of attorneys who have ceased to be ones can be viewed at the
link (the info is provided in Russian).
A little explanation should be made. In any case,
no law firms exist anymore. When we write about losses or retention, it is only about whether specific persons, specific attorneys, have remained in the legal profession. It is impossible to say whether there are any organizational structures left after law firms that could provide legal assistance to clients at the same level of expertise, team management. That is, there are no forecasts in this material as to the correlation between the retention of certain attorneys from legal firms and changes in the provision of services by specific legal brands. We’re addressing precisely the fact that certain carriers of expertise, organizational structures, accumulated connections and credit leave the legal profession. Business-oriented law firms have retained their competencies within the framework of law offices and continue to function. However, we must understand that this situation is an unfavorable one and deteriorates the clients’ positions. You can read more about it in this material [Interim Results of the Liquidation of Law Firms and Disbarment of Individual Attorneys].