Larisa Garmashova advises and represents clients in cases before Russia’s commercial courts and courts of general jurisdiction at all levels.

Larisa’s principal areas of practice include corporate disputes and disputes arising out of contractual relationships. She has extensive experience handling ancillary disputes in insolvency proceedings and advising clients on employment law matters – from representing parties in disputes between employees and employers to developing measures aimed at mitigating legal risks for businesses.

Larisa’s most significant matters include:

• Defending the interests of AB InBev Efes Brewery in a significant FMCG market-wide dispute worth over RUB 730m. The dispute arose in connection with an attempt to unreasonably recover from the client "under-received discounts" and "incentive payments" provided by the distributor to retail outlets and could have affected the entire distribution market. ("Dispute of the Year" according to Kommersant (2022)
• Defending the interest of JCS Labquesttechnology (LabQuest), a major player in the medical laboratory market in a corporate conflict with a large investment company on the implementation of a joint project to develop a network of medical offices. As a result, a settlement was reached ending over 20 lawsuits for a total amount of more than RUB 2bn and an agreement concluded on the division of the joint business on favourable terms for the company.
• Successfully defending a major foreign consulting firm in a series of separate disputes on recovery of damages in a bankruptcy of a manufacturing enterprise. The project resulted in claims exceeding RUB 3.5 billion being left without consideration and in the dismissal of further claims for damages exceeding RUB 4.8 billion.
• Defending Novartis in court in an attempt by Mamont Pharm, distributor of a generic drug produced in violation of a patent, to overturn a decision and order of the Russian FAS in a high-profile unfair competition case. ("Dispute of the Year" according to Kommersant (2022)
• Defending the interests of an international retailer in a dispute with a construction company for the recovery of more than RUB 2 billion in damages and the termination of the contract for the sale of retail space.
• Representing one of Russia’s largest insurance companies in proceedings concerning a claim for RUB 26.1 billion in insurance indemnity arising from a fire at a power station.
• Representing a foreign investor in a multi-jurisdictional corporate dispute with the former owner of a mining company. The size of the dispute, exceeding USD 40m and the nature and substance of the claims made this a significant case for the protection of foreign investors in Russia.
• Representing a former senior bank executive in a series of proceedings challenging transactions entered into by him after he had been held liable on a subsidiary basis. The successful implementation of the defence strategy established that the person controlling the debtor had acted in good faith and resulted in the complete dismissal of the claims brought by the Russian Deposit Insurance Agency.
• Advising a senior executive of a major company on whether payments received upon termination of employment under a long-term employee incentive programme were legally justified.
• Conducting due diligence reviews of major companies in relation to compliance with employment legislation, workforce arrangements and the assessment of legal risks faced by employers.

Larisa holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the Faculty of Law of Lomonosov Moscow State University and completed the Master of Private Law programme with distinction. She is the author of a number of articles on corporate law and international commercial arbitration.

Larisa is admitted to the Moscow Bar Association.