U.S. Firms Are Quick to Spot an Opportunity in Moscow
Proof positive that what's bad for the bulk of humanity is good for lawyers can be found these days in the Moscow satellite offices run by two D.C. law firms. It won't make anyone with devalued rubles feel better, but the economic crisis in Russia has been surprisingly easy on Steptoe & Johnson and Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, both of which have Moscow outposts.</br></br>The 13-lawyer Moscow office of Akin, Gump reports that its business mix has changed, without drastic financial consequences. Michael Waller, the managing partner there, said in a very long-distance phone interview that before the crisis the firm's capital markets lawyers were its main moneymakers. Those lawyers are basically idle now, but bankruptcy attorneys are more than picking up the slack. In fact, while the rest of the country, and many law firms in Moscow, are laying off workers, Akin Gump hired a new lawyer a few weeks ago.</br></br>"You have to structure your business so that you can provide services in a restructuring period as well as an expansion period," Waller said, predicting that revenue for the year will match last year's numbers. "We were incredibly busy for the first six or seven months of the year, and now we're just normally busy."</br></br>Meanwhile, Steptoe & Johnson Chairman Lon Bouknight reports the firm's six-lawyer office is considering some "new opportunities." "We represent people and companies that have been there for years and wouldn't have the ability to pick up and leave, even if they had the desire -- and they don't have the desire," he said. Firms specializing in capital markets have gotten pummeled, but the bulk of Steptoe's billables are generated through work on contracts, joint ventures and natural resource issues, he said.</br></br>"A lot of contracts need to be restructured now, and those natural resources are going to stay there in the ground notwithstanding the economic problems," Bouknight said. Moreover, the downturn will inevitably lead to a drop in the real estate market, which could translate into lower office rents.