‘Russian business tends to evolve very quickly, whereas legal proceedings can take at least six months to complete, and it is not at all improbable for a business involved in a suit to close down before the case is resolved,’ lawyer Ivan Kadochnikov said to UrBC.

‘At the same time, intermediate courts (which are both cheaper and faster than the conventional ones) are not quite so popular since they are often associated with hostile takeovers and require more paperwork. This is why I tend to think that mediation can become a promising business in Russia, as the two parties will be able to settle their dispute out of court within a short period of time,’ Mr. Kadochnikov explained.

‘One problem mediation is faced with in this country is that a lot of lawyers and legal experts are trying to take over the mediation market. These people are used to correlating their pay check with the time spent in the court and not with the solution of their client’s problem, which is why even a good lawyer is not always the best mediator,’ he observed.