Bank embarrasses top law firms by naming panel losers
26 October 2012
Russian bank Sberbank has embarrassed a raft of international law firms by telling the World that they failed to be appointed to its panel.

The bank is currently Russia's largest (well, at least until Putin decides to pocket it himself and lock up its executives). It has set up its first legal panel which, according to the Lawyer, consists of 37 firms. Those who made it to the prized corporate and M&A sub panel include Clifford Chance, Debevoise, Freshfields, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells, Linklaters and White & Case.

However a number of leading international firms did not "meet the necessary requirements", according to Sberbank, and so were publicly shamed on the bank's website. These included:

• Baker & McKenzie
• Chadbourne & Parke
• Cleary Gottlieb
• CMS
• DLA Piper
• Goltsblat BLP
• Latham & Watkins
• Morgan Lewis
• Norton Rose
• Orrick
• Salans
• SNR Denton

Sir Nigel Knowles is taken out as a warning to the others

It's an unusual strategy for a bank to humiliate its legal advisers: and as all of these firms managed to bag positions on other sub panels they will have to build a working relationship with Sberbank.

But maybe that's just how they do business in Moscow. Or maybe not, as the details now appear to have been pulled from the bank's website.

Sberbank wouldn't comment.