It was uncharacteristically decisive. Rapidly after Russia did the unthinkable and invaded Ukraine on 24 February, many international law firms with Moscow operations hurried out strongly-worded statements at the behest of a hysterical legal press. Linklaters was the first of the major players to react, announcing on 4 March that it would ‘wind down’ its Moscow office, and vowed not to represent any clients connected to the Russian regime. Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) promised the same, even swearing to withdraw ‘as quickly as we can’, while a host of firms ominously, and vaguely, pledged to ‘review the situation’.
The next few months saw many firms ostensibly live up to promises, albeit at varying speeds. Some favoured a hard and fast exit, and some went as far as to cease acting for any Russian nationals, irrespective of perceived guilt or innocence connected with the war. Fewer took more time to gently spin out their Moscow hubs to become new separate entities, with an optimistic view to reconnecting if the global situation ever makes that politically viable again.
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