Litigation trends

The desire of wealthy Russian parties to litigate before the English courts shows no sign of abating. With a number of Russian “super cases” in the High Court involving the very richest members of Russia’s business elite, the likes of Boris Berezovsky, Roman Abramovich and Oleg Deripaska can expect to keep many English lawyers busy as they thrash out bitter and high value disputes in London.

A window on the East

A string of Russian cases recently brought in the High Court has revealed much about power and wealth in modern Russia. These cases paint a picture of lavish lifestyles, vast and complex global business empires and intriguing commercial relationships. Three of the most high profile are Cherney v Deripaska, OJSC Yugraneft v Abramovich & Others and Berezovsky v Abramovich. In each case the core issues have still yet to be tried. Instead, the proceedings have been dominated by lengthy hearings on preliminary issues, fuelled by the parties’