Who we are

BRICS Consulting is a law firm that serves international and local clients who invest and conduct business operations in Russia, BRICS and CIS countries. We focus on practical solutions for business needs and clear guidance for risk management. We are especially focused on tax compliance and tax advice work.

We are a Russian company working under international standards. When your business requires professional legal support outsourcing & advisory, BRICS Consulting is the right choice.Eugene Isaev, Executive Partner

We are a local company with international credentials. We are therefore the right partner to deal with when you look for a local lawyer with quality service.

Our history dates back to the beginning of Russian market reforms in the early 1990s when Jon Hellevig began practicing law in Russia. The corporate structure emerged in 1998 when Hellevig, Klein & Usov law practice was set up as part of the consulting and business outsourcing firm Awara. Over the recent years, with the establishment of new reliable partnerships with companies from Brazil, India, China and South Africa it was decided to expand the legal practice under the new brand name — BRICS Consulting.

BRICS Consulting and Awara are the members of American-Russian Chamber of Commerce, Association of European Businesses in Russia, German-Russian Chamber of Commerce, Swedish Chamber of Commerce for Russia & CIS, St. Petersburg International Business Association, and Executive Resources International (ERI).

At the end of the analysis law is a competition of arguments embedded in the social practices of the given jurisdiction. We have to remember this when we approach Russian law, for the mismatch between the social practices of former Soviet Union and the young Russia possess formidable challenges for investors. BRICS Consulting provides a unique service concept to deal with these challenges.

We have a special zeal in countering bureaucracy in all its manifestations. Doing so we have been able to create an organization that is truly focused on putting the client first. We have avoided all unnecessary hierarchy and removed all barriers to fast and effective communication both internally and externally. We know that our clients feel the difference. The anti-bureaucracy focus is also evident from the advice we deliver. We always consider how the client can achieve the desired solution as cost-efficiently as possible. In Russia the administrative and business practices are heavily permeated by bureaucracy, therefore it is a business critical task to reduce it by all means possible. This is also the key to create a viable modern corporate culture.

As we recognize that at the end of the analysis law is a competition of arguments embedded in the social practices of the given jurisdiction, we do not see the role of a lawyer being to “tell what the law says”. Instead we understand that we are here for finding and delivering a quality service oriented on finding durable solutions for the client’s real business needs. Thus we do not just reply to questions – we relentlessly seek solutions and clearly communicate to client our findings and advice. As we combine the work of our lawyers with that of business consultants we base our advice on an understanding of client’s specific needs business and operational goals as expressed in the challenging Russian environment. We offer a unique combination of skills, responsiveness and efficiency.

Vision

We bring diverse people together and forge them into a team that will make a real impact and a value added contribution to the businesses of our customers.

We don’t just follow best practices – we establish them.

Mission

We deliver the best business administration services in Russia, Ukraine and the CIS.

We offer the best customer service.

We strive to be the quality leader in business administration services.

We strive to be the technology leader in business administration services.

We strive to be the cost-leader in business administration services.

Our Operating Principles (Values)

In our services we are committed to integrating business administration processes with the operating processes.

We strive to build a relationship of trust with clients and employees

We strive to be fair with all stakeholders.

We build long-term relationships with our clients and engage our employees and all stakeholders in our business.

We have a practice of transparent pricing and contract terms. No hidden clauses.

We tell the truth as we see it.

We are committed to fighting bureaucratic practices in all their manifestations both internally and externally.

Protecting the confidentiality of our client’s business is of highest priority for us.

We are committed to a continuous evolutionary change to cope with the changing world.

Due to our continuous change we avoid dramatic revolutionary reactions.

Corporate Culture

Engagement. We recruit and retain employees that have the potential of embracing our culture of engagement.

 Our people are self-motivated and self-disciplined who demonstrate:

  • Conscientiousness
  • Enthusiasm
  • Accountability
  • Persistency
  • Proactivity
  • Adaptability
  • A sense of urgency

We want to offer:

  • a stimulating work environment
  • a relation of trust and fairness
  • a chance to grow in competence and skills
  • work-life balance
  • adequate material compensation

Self-organized people. Our culture of engagement is built on the efforts of self-organizing people.

Virtual project teams. We run a flexible low hierarchy organization organized on the principle of virtual project teams where each client assignment represents a project.

Our offices are not independent stand-alone entities rather they form an integrated whole where all the staff works under the same management. Thus we make available at any given time all our professionals even when they maybe sitting in miles apart in various cities. In the age of Internet and mobile technologies it is only natural to organize work like this, but nevertheless most of our competitors are still organized according to the 18th century model of independent standalone offices.

Our organization allows us always to combine the best expertise for any task and ensure optimal use of capacity. We put together a project team combing all the best lawyers from the various locations separately for each client assignment. But more than that, we also engage professionals from all the other fields of Awara’s business administration services to complement the legal expertise of our lawyers with a broad understanding of the business premises.

We are profoundly convinced that law is a competition of arguments embedded in the social practices of the community. Therefore the function of the commercial lawyer is not to “tell what the law says,” but to deliver the winning arguments and durable solutions.

At BRICS Consulting we think that lawyers shall be committed to contribute to an overall increase of justice just the same way doctors are committed to contribute to health. It is with justice in mind that we conduct our business and advise our clients.

We are committed to deliver a quality service oriented on finding durable solutions for the client’s needs.

We want to live up to the perception of BRICS Consulting being the firm that brings real value-added in all its dealings. From the very outset we positioned itself as a firm helping foreign investors to adapt to the Russian reality and Russian firms to adapt to international best practices. It is our goal to continue delivering truly comprehensive and cost-effective advice that enhances the value of our clients’ businesses.

The mismatch between the social practices of former Soviet Union and the young Russia possess formidable challenges for investors. BRICS Consulting provides a unique service concept to deal with these challenges. The fundamental principle in doing so is the conviction that “law” represents an aspect of all business dealing (yes all human dealings), and therefore we cannot practice law in a vacuum beyond the business processes. Understanding this we engage non-legal highly qualified and experienced management and business consultants in our engagements. This way we really get to understand the underlying business process to which we bring the legal value-added advice.

We can react faster and combine all expertise in one act without having to go through time-consuming and complicate exercises to try to combine the deliverables of various specialized departments. We say that we do not suffer from the “left-ear doctor syndrome,” the condition of major consulting firms where functions are so specialized that consultants are available to assist only with their very narrow expertise, as if a doctor would specialize only in the left ear.

This is why BRICS Consulting is quick and cost-efficient.

As we see the role of the lawyer similar to that of a doctor, we have instructed all the work to be based on our principles of know-how expressed in the SmartSteps®. Following the SmartSteps® we first carefully identify the problem and then we act and react. This is how it goes step by step:

1) PRE-STUDY

We recognize that any work starts with a thorough analysis of the needs, aims and project goals. The scope is set and a preliminary project plan is made.

2) REQUIREMENT AND PREMISES ANALYSIS

The work goals (expected results) are mutually defined based on an evaluation of the needs in relation to the given circumstances.

3) SOLUTIONS ANALYSIS

The project solution is determined through defining the individual parameters based on the requirements and premises.

4) PLANNING

We analyze and plan how to reach the solution based on the results of the solutions analysis.

5) IMPLEMENTATION

Work is performed according to clearly formulated and documented plans.

6) DELIVERABLES

Each work results in a deliverable formulated in writing (verbal, numerical, or software). The deliverable always relates to the planned limits and scopes (initial or changed as per the iterative process).

7) TESTING, SUPPORT, MAINTENANCE AND CHANGE-MANAGEMENT

Our work-process is iterative. We constantly analyze, plan and test the aimed solutions (and its parts) in a pro-active way in order to enable best possible flexibility for the solution. We communicate with the client about our findings and suggestions through-out the entire project to guarantee efficiency and sustainable solutions.