Anastasia Samusenko analysed for RBC+ the situation with corporate disputes in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

According to the reports of investment company A1 and Skolkovo Moscow School of Management, the level of conflict in the business environment in Russia in the second quarter of 2021 exceeded the values of the past four years. Specially for RBC+ Petersburg, Anastasia Samusenko, Associate at Maxima Legal, assessed the current situation and trends in corporate disputes.

Anastasia pointed out to RBC+ that “a new category of corporate disputes emerged during the pandemic when a business owner died suddenly and a corporate dispute arose between the heirs or the deceased’s former partners”. According to the expert, the emergence of such disputes has highlighted the problem of a lack of long-term planning of activities and business development. “We believe that in the near future many will want to fill in the gaps,” suggested the lawyer.

Analyzing the current situation in the field of corporate conflicts resolution, Anastasia Samusenko noted that the tendency to reduce the number of corporate disputes resolved through the application of criminal law is gradually starting to take shape. “Corporate disputes (at least those not related to corporate raiding, etc) have a peculiarity, which is that all parties lose due to the very fact of dispute, no matter what the final decision is. Therefore, the longer it takes to resolve a dispute, the more damage can be done to business and all parties tend to realise that resolving a dispute through negotiations is much cheaper and more profitable in the long run,” the expert explained.

However, according to Anastasia, in the near future the number of disputes will increase, which is largely due to the pandemic and the fact that companies are going through a crisis, and in such circumstances the goals of partners – business owners may no longer coincide.

According to the expert, one promising avenue in terms of legislation is to expand the number of disputes handled by arbitration tribunals. “Since many business owners would like to maintain confidentiality regarding the details of their relationship, arbitration should become an increasingly popular way of resolving corporate conflicts. Another advantage of arbitration is the speed of dispute resolution, which is important given that a lingering corporate conflict can ruin a business,” said Anastasia Samusenko.

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