Biglaw

Biglaw Partner Out Amid Russian Sanctions Scandal

The firm won't confirm the circumstances surrounding his departure.

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Andrei Baev

Reed Smith partner, Andrei Baev, is out a year after joining the firm from Chadbourne & Parke. Baev has come under scrutiny recently for his connections to Republican donor Elliott Broidy. The firm confirmed to Law.com that Baev “is no longer with the business,” but, as a matter of policy, would not comment on the circumstances surrounding his departure.

Baev reportedly reached out to Broidy in an attempt to influence member of the Trump administration regarding Russian sanctions:

Bloomberg LP reported on March 23 that Baev had reached out last year to Broidy, a Los Angeles-based financier currently serving as deputy finance chair for the Republican National Committee, about working together on a campaign to influence members of the Trump administration in order to alleviate U.S. sanctions against certain Russian companies.

Both men acknowledged to Bloomberg that Broidy made the offer after an inquiry from Baev, but the plan was never implemented by Chadbourne’s management committee.

As Bloomberg reports, Baev was motivated to reach out to Broidy after a potential client inquiry:

As the inauguration approached, several global law firms were exploring work they could do to help companies and individuals subject to U.S. sanctions, Baev said. Prompted by “a possible instruction from one of my corporate clients,” Baev said, he reached out to Broidy as well as another potential Washington consultant.

Baev declined to identify the client and said he was never retained to pursue the matter. He previously had done work for large Russian energy companies, including Lukoil Pjsc and Kremlin-controlled Gazprom Pjsc, according to a 2015 article in a U.K. legal publication.

In the face of the brewing controversy, Norton Rose Fulbright (which last year merged with Chadbourne) has denied that work was done to actually remove Russian companies from the U.S. sanctions list. But, as Bloomberg notes, Abbe Lowell was involved in the discussions:

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Abbe Lowell, then a U.S.-based partner at Chadbourne, also took part in the firm’s internal discussions about sanctions work, Baev said. Chadbourne has since become part of the law firm Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, where Lowell’s clients now include Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law.

Dan McKenna, a spokesman for Lowell and Norton Rose, said in an email that Chadbourne didn’t do any work to remove Russian companies from the U.S. sanctions list.

Baev reportedly left the London office of Reed Smith earlier this month.

headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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