Dmitry is actively involved in the improvement of Russian laws and has 15 years of hands-on experience in corporate law, securities, restructuring and corporate finance, M&A, bankruptcy and arbitration.

As an active mouthpiece of the Russian business community interested in the fundamental reform of the Russian Civil Code, Dmitry was recently involved in the creation of a new version of the Code as a member of the Non-Profit Partnership for Advancement of Corporate Law and a member of the Presidential Council task force to create an international financial centre in Moscow.

After he joined Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners in early 2009, Dmitry played key roles in such hallmark deals as:

• advising UC RUSAL on its USD 16.8bn restructuring;
• advising an international bank on the setting up of an investment fund inRussia;
• advising UC RUSAL on its IPO at Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the first Russian IPO in Hong Kong and the “Deal of the Year” inAsia, according to analysts;
• advising on corporate governance in the course of creating a JV between the Moscow City Government and Russian Railways as part of reconstruction of the Minor Ring of the Moscow Railroad;
• advising the leader in the Russian petrochemical market on the setting up of a joint venture with one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies.

He has also taken part in such high-profile litigation cases as:

• structuring and implementation of a defence strategy for a client, a major foreign investment fund operating in the real estate sector;
• representing a major Russian developer in a dispute with a bank, succeeding in having the creditor cancel an USD 80 million debt;
• advising a Russian company in one of the high profile litigation cases in the High Court inLondon.

Other highlights in Dmitry’s experience in drafting of laws include advising the Ministry of Economic Development of theRussian Federationand the Property Committee of the State Duma in respect of a wide range of major legislation, including the Federal Laws on Joint-Stock Companies, on the Securities Market and on Insolvency/Bankruptcy. He was also engaged in a joint project between the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS States and the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) for drafting a Model Joint-Stock Law for the CIS countries.

Concurrently with his law practice Dmitry teaches at theRussianSchoolof Private Law, Statute Law School, and M-Logos Institute. He has authored several monographs and around 70 publications.

Dmitry has a degree from theMoscowStateLawAcademy(1999, with distinction) and theRussianSchoolof Private Law (2001, master’s degree in private law). He completed a post-graduate course at theInstituteofLegislationand Comparative Legal Studies of the Russian Government and obtained a master of laws degree.

Dmitry Stepanov is recommended by Legal 500 (in Corporate and M&A, Banking and Finance, and Shipping and Transport), Best Lawyers (in Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions, Arbitration and Mediation, and Litigation) and IFLR 1000 (in Restructuring and Insolvency).