BALAYAN I GROUP adds market-leading Corporate partners to the team

BALAYAN I GROUP is pleased to announce that Maria Borodina and Vyacheslav Yugai have joined as partners in the Corporate & Transactions practice.

About the new partners

• Maria Borodina joins from a senior position at Freshfields in Moscow. She is one of the market's most experienced and diligent M&A lawyers with a reputation as a tough negotiator. Maria has attained over 15 years of experience in corporate matters through implementing numerous domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions as well as joint ventures deals of different magnitudes and structures.
  Maria was educated in Russia and at Columbia Law School in the United States. Employing her dual qualification in Russia and New York, her practice will continue to concentrate on high-profile transformational cross-border deals for Russian and international clients. As part of her transactional experience, Maria frequently handles corporate, commercial, and regulatory matters in various industries.
  Alongside her transactional work, Maria plays a critical role in promoting positive diversity transformation in the legal profession.
• Vyacheslav (Slava) Yugai joins as a Corporate & Transactions partner and Head of Digital Transformation. Born to a Korean family in Russia, Slava brings a unique blend of strategic thinking, remarkable transactional experience, and Asian cultural values to the team. Slava is qualified to practice law in three major jurisdictions: New York, England & Wales, and Russia.
  Slava focuses on complex corporate transactions such as mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures. He has built an impressive M&A practice with considerable cross-border experience. Multi-national corporations, investment firms, and family offices regularly retain Slava to lead special situations’ projects and provide strategic legal advice. Prior to joining BALAYAN I GROUP, he acted as an associated partner and a co-head of Corporate and M&A practice at Noerr in Moscow and was counsel at Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners.
  Throughout his career, Slava has continually ranked as one of the best M&A lawyers in Russia by Chambers Europe, Legal500, The Best Lawyers, Pravo-300, Kommersant, and other directories.

"I am honored and proud that such exceptional professionals are joining me and my amazing colleagues at BALAYAN I GROUP on this spectacular journey. What a great team and a team of greats. We are delighted to have them on board" – said Oxana Balayan, Founder & Chair.

BALAYAN I GROUP legal unit was founded in 2021 by graduates of leading international and national law firms. We offer the highest quality legal services across the selected practices and industries. Other units of BALAYAN I GROUP include strategic consultancy for all types of transactions and BIG StartUp Studio to mentor young entrepreneurs by helping them accomplish their ambitious goals.