Friday, April 16, 2010

08:30 – 09:00

REGISTRATION OF PARTICIPANTS

Sokos Olympic Garden Hotel

Bataisky pereulok, 3A, 190013 St. Petersburg, Russia

09:00 – 09:15

WELCOME AND OPENING OF THE SEMINAR

Welcome and introduction by each of the UIA and AIJA representatives.

Nicole VAN CROMBRUGGHE, Member of the UIA Executive Committee, Representative of the UIA President, Corrado de Martini, Brussels (Belgium)

Pauliina TENHUNEN, AIJA Bureau member, Castrén & Snellman Attorneys Ltd, Helsinki (Finland)

Stephen SIDKIN, President UIA Contract Law Commission, London (UK)

Host: St. Petersburg Bar representative – Ilya NIKIFOROV, Managing partner at EPA&P, St. Petersburg (Russia)

09:15 – 10:00

Joint venture or something else?  What works best for the client? 
The key legal and commercial considerations in deciding upon:

·   joint venture; or

·    subsidiary; or

·    distributor; or

·    agent

Pablo VINAGERAS, J & A Garrigues S.L.P., Barcelona (Spain)

Stephen SIDKIN, Fox Williams LLP, London (UK)

10:00 – 10:30

COFFEE BREAK

10:30 – 11:30

The form of the joint venture.  What are the advantages and disadvantages of:

·  a joint venture company; or

·  an unincorporated joint venture; or

·  a partnership,

having regard to:

-  the scope of the joint venture;

-  the obligations of the parties; and

-  the management and decision making process. 

Marcus SCHRIEFERS, Kleiner Rechtsanwälte, Stuttgart (Germany)

The Russian perspective:

Elena SOKOLOVA, Head of Corporate & M&A practice at EPA&P, St. Petersburg (Russia)

11:30 – 12:30

Russian law issues affecting joint ventures. 

Heidi PAALANEN-KOEVIRST, Castrén Snellman Attorneys Ltd, St. Petersburg (Russia)

Equity joint ventures: shareholders' agreement – an effective tool for corporate governance?

Yaroslav KARNAKOV, EPA&P, St. Petersburg (Russia)

12:30 – 14:00

LUNCH

14:00 – 14:45

Setting up, operating and liquidating a JV in Russia – preferred structure and financing

Evgenia TETEREVKOVA, Mannheimer  Swartling, St-Petersburg (Russia)

14:30 – 15:30

The impact of competition law: 

·   EU

·  Russian

Johannes WILLHEIM, Willheim Müller Rechtsanwälte, Vienna (Austria)

Irina SOKOLOVA, Federal Antimonopoloy Service, St. Petersburg region representative

15:30 – 16:00

COFFEE BREAK

16:00 – 16:45

What is to be gained from termination: 

·  the events of termination

·  the consequences of termination

·  getting back that which belongs to the joint venture partners

Nicole VAN CROMBRUGGHE, LVP Law, Brussels (Belgium)
Svyatoslav VYATKIN, Power Machines, St. Petersburg (Russia)
Sajai SINGH, J. Sagar Associates I advocates & solicitors, Bangalore (India)

16:45

Debt-to-equity swaps in Russia: new challenges and possibilities

Artem ZHAVORONKOV, Salans OOO, St. Petersburg (Russia)

20:00

OPTIONAL DINNER
Troika
Zagorodniy pr. 27
St. Petersburg

Saturday, April 17, 2010

09:00 – 09:30

REGISTRATION OF PARTICIPANTS

Sokos Olympic Garden Hotel

Bataisky pereulok, 3A, 190013 St-Petersburg, Russia

09:30 – 10:00

“You provide the land and the workers.  We’ll provide the know how”.  Practical aspects of the establishment and operation of a joint venture in Belarus. 

Toomas PRANGLI, Sorainen Partnery, Minsk (Belarus)

10:00 – 10:30

 How the joint venture can work – the accompanying contracts:

·  sales agreements

·  distribution agreements

·  licence agreements

·  lease agreements

Manuel FRICK, Frick Anwälte, Bern (Switzerland)

10:30 – 11:15

COFFEE BREAK

11:15 – 12 :00

12:00

Litigation, arbitration and mediation – what is best?

Massimo FONTANA ROS, Studio Profesionale Fontana Ros, Milan (Italy)

Moderator: Victor DUMLER, Senior Lawyer, EPA&P, St. Petersburg (Russia)

13:00

CLOSING REMARKS