Ekaterina Verle has extensive experience in advising on various issues in real estate and construction, including acquisition and operation of commercial and industrial facilities, urban planning regulation, land-plots’ issues, industrial and environmental safety, and insurance.

Ekaterina specializes in providing a “turnkey” legal support to investment projects related to construction of large industrial facilities in Russian regions: from negotiating investment agreements with regional and municipal authorities to supporting their subsequient implementation.

Ekaterina has extensive experience in contractual work in the field of construction, including structuring relations between construction parties, drafting contracts during construction (design, construction and reconstruction contracts, project management, performing the functions of a technical customer, EPC contracts, etc.), negotiating with contractors and resolving construction disputes.

Ekaterina has extensive experience in construction and operation of engineering networks, connection of capital facilities to engineering infrastructure and resources supply issues. She is deeply immersed in various aspects of functioning of the wholesale and retail electricity markets in Russia, including renewables.

Ekaterina provides comprehensive legal support to large industrial and commercial facilities of multinationals.

Ekaterina’s recent experience includes*:

• Providing comprehensive legal advice to clients on the implementation of construction and reconstruction projects of regional airports in various Russian regions (urban development and land regulations, permits, regulation of airport activities, bidding procedures, counselling on entering into and performance of EPC contracts and investment agreements entered into with Russian regions).
• Providing comprehensive legal counselling on the selling of automotive manufacturers assets in a number of Russian regions, whose amount exceeded RUB 10 bn (due diligence of target assets, drafting of transaction documents, advising on permits, land and urban planning matters, industrial safety matters).
• Advising on the purchase of tea business assets held by Ekaterra (due diligence of target assets, drafting of transactional documents, and comprehensive legal advice). 
• Providing legal support to a major manufacturer which involved drafting an EPC contract for the design and construction of a gas chemical facility worth approximately RUB 200 bn. Additionally, the projected included the preparation of a complete set of tender documents (an EPC contract, technical service agreement, tender documents).
• Providing legal support to a number of developing companies related to the fight against consumer extremism arising from the implementation of Federal Law No. 214-FZ dated 30 December 2004 “On Co-Funding of the Construction of Apartment Blocks and Other Real Properties” (providing comprehensive advice on entering into and performance of contract agreements, as well as constructing of co-funding agreements, contributing to legislative initiatives, assisting in development of company standards etc.).
• Advising a major investment company on the location of a methanol plant in the Amur Oblast worth over RUB 38 bn (urban planning regulations, land plots’ issues, connection to engineering networks).
• Comprehensive legal counselling on the construction of a major pharmaceutical plant worth over USD 50 m (acquisition of rights to land plots, plant construction, engineering infrastructure networks, connection of plant facilities to the networks, development of the industrial park network infrastructure, industrial safety, drafting and performance of general design and general contract agreements, engagement in resolution of a dispute with the general contractor and a dispute over the connection to power grids, etc.).
• Advising a major industrial gas company on the building sites of manufacturing facilities in a number of Russian regions (land plots’ issues, construction, industrial safety, permits). The investment in the facilities alone exceeded USD 70 m.
• Advising an international manufacturer of construction machinery on the construction of a plant in Russia worth over USD 150 m, as well as drafting and signing of an investment agreement with regional and local authorities.
• Providing comprehensive advice to a major warehouses investor on purchasing warehousing facilities in various Russian regions (due diligence of target assets).
• Counselling on a number of acquisitions of hotel assets in various Russian regions (due diligence of target assets, advising on urban development and land matters, and drafting of transaction documents).

* including her personal experience at her previous place of work.

Before joining EPAM, for over 15 years Ekaterina has been working in Russian and international law firms in Real Estate and Construction Practice, ranked in Tier 1 according to international classification.

Ekaterina graduated with honors from the Moscow State Academy of Law (MSAL) in 2001.

Ekaterina is admitted to the Moscow Bar Association.