A Russian law firm will close its London office as a result of the invasion of Ukraine. Ivanyan & Partners, which also has offices in Moscow and St Petersburg, has decided to shut its office in the UK capital, former partner James Dingley said yesterday as he announced his resignation from the firm.

Dingley, who joined Ivanyan & Partners from Clifford Chance in 2020, said on LinkedIn: ‘Following the shocking developments in Ukraine last week, we have, together with our Russian colleagues, decided to close the London office of Ivanyan and Partners. I would like to thank my colleagues in London, Moscow and St Petersburg for their support and commitment to establishing the London office over the past eighteen months, as well as their unfailing professionalism.

He added: ‘I am no longer working on client matters, and will be leaving the firm once all office-related administration has been properly concluded. I will provide an update as to my future plans in due course. More immediately, I hope for a swift and peaceful conclusion to the current situation.’

Dingley follows the firm’s former managing partner Baiju Vasani who also announced his resignation from Ivanyan & Partners and that he is ‘no longer working for its clients’.

Vasani, who joined from Jones Day in 2019, said: ‘I thank the truly exceptional lawyers of the firm for their friendship and collegiality over these last two and a half years. It has been a real honour and I cannot speak highly enough of their deep professionalism and legal excellence.’

He added: ‘Like all of us who care about justice, including the overwhelming majority of Russian citizens, I pray that peace will prevail. To my many friends in Ukraine, I stand with each of you. I will be reaching out to you individually to see what I can do to help.’

Ivanyan & Partners has been contacted by the Gazette for comment.

The decision comes amid mounting pressure on UK-based lawyers to cut ties with Russia, with at least three City firms initiating reviews of client relationships in the light of the ongoing conflict.

However, the Law Society has supported firms representing Russian clients and in particular those working to ensure sanctions imposed by the UK government are lawful.

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