Corporate law, mergers and acquisitions

Natalia is SCHNEIDER GROUP Partner and General Director of the St. Petersburg office. She is a lawyer with more than 20 years of practical experience in legal consulting. Natalia provides tailored-made, practically-oriented legal solutions in establishing and managing subsidiaries of international businesses in Russia, manufacturing localisation, compliance, acquisition of real estate, as well as corporate and labour law. Natalia has been ranked among Russia's top lawyers for 2025 by Rossiyskaya Gazeta and was recognized as one of the leaders in the "Mergers and Acquisitions" category. Natalia was also recognized in the 2026 ranking of Russia’s best lawyers by Kommersant and was named a leader in the category "Corporate Law: Mergers and Acquisitions of International Assets."  She speaks Russian, German and English, and has a basic knowledge of French.

Anna joined SCHNEIDER GROUP St. Petersburg office in 2020. She has more than 10 years of professional experience at the international law firms.  Anna is a leading legal advisor in St. Petersburg. She specialises in financial and tax planning and provides legal support in manufacturing and real estate investment projects, manufacturing localisation, and infrastructure projects. She advises SCHNEIDER GROUP’s clients on clients law, IT regulations, foreign trade and financing, M&A, and international legal agreements.  For many years, Anna  has been heading the legal & tax committee of the Association of European Businesses (AEB) in St. Petersburg. She participates in the tax and financial reporting committee of the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce (AHK). Anna has been ranked among Russia's top lawyers for 2025 by Rossiyskaya Gazeta and was recognized as one of the leaders in the "Tax Law" category. Anna was also recognized in Kommersant’s 2026 ranking of Russia’s top lawyers and was named a leader in the category “Tax Law: Tax Advisory.”  She graduated with a degree in Law from St. Petersburg University.

Alexander joined the company in 2021. He has more than 25 years of professional experience and specializes in advising international companies on joint ventures, restructuring, M&A, and executive dispute resolution.  Companies from a wide range of industries, such as machinery, engineering, automotive, pharma, chemicals, food, consumer goods, professional services, fashion and retail rely on Alexander’s expertise. Alexander was included in Kommersant’s 2026 ranking of Russia’s top lawyers and was recognized as a leader in the category “Corporate Law: Mergers and Acquisitions of International Assets.”  Alexander graduated from Moscow State Linguistic University with a degree in Translation; a degree in Law from Lomonosov Moscow State University; a master's degree in Law from the University of Konstanz (Germany).   He speaks Russian, German and English. 

Sergey provides legal and tax advice to Belarusian and international businesses. He focuses on corporate and commercial law, taxation, business setup and restructuring, as well as investment projects and supports company clients in mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining SCHNEIDER GROUP, Sergey worked for one of the Big Four companies in Belarus, where he gained significant experience in legal advice for clients in various industries, including construction, oil and gas, logistics and transportation, retail, pharmaceuticals and IT. Since 2006, Sergey has been collaborating with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank on the “Doing Business in...” project. Sergey has more than 15 years of professional experience. He is a licensed lawyer and tax consultant. Sergey speaks Russian, Belarusian and English.

Alina joined the company in 2017 as associate. She was promoted to senior lawyer in 2018 and to legal counsel of the corporate law practice in 2021. With almost 10 years of professional experience, Alina specializes in supporting foreign investors in Russia, corporate governance and M&A projects. In 2021, Alina was included into the “Best Lawyers in Russia” rating in the M&A category.  Alina graduated from St. Petersburg University with a degree in Law and studied European Private Law at the University of Salzburg (Austria). 

Sergey joined SCHNEIDER GROUP’s St. Petersburg office in 2021 as senior associate. Previously he worked as an associate and senior associate for Beiten Burkhardt, a German law firm, for 12 years. Sergey has more than 17 years of professional experience. He specializes in corporate law, joint ventures, legal regulation of construction (including city-planning regulations) and bankruptcy law. Sergey has extensive experience in M&A and greenfield & brownfield localization projects for both domestic and international businesses. He also represents SCHNEIDER GROUP clients in Russian state courts. Sergey graduated from St Petersburg University with a degree in Law.

Assel Rakhmetkaliyeva joined SCHNEIDER GROUP in 2024 as Head of Legal Practice. She specializes in civil and corporate law, with extensive experience in corporate relations and construction. Assel has over 12 years of experience handling international contracts and transactions. Before joining SCHNEIDER GROUP, she worked on the BAKAD (Big Almaty Ring Road) public-private partnership (PPP) project – one of the largest infrastructure PPP projects in Kazakhstan, financed by the private sector. She gained extensive experience in the construction and infrastructure sector in PPP and EPC Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) projects. Assel has a higher legal education from Kazakh Humanitarian Law University, Master of Laws (LLM in International Economic and Trade Law) from Brunel University of London, UK and an MPA degree from KIMEP University, Kazakhstan.   She speaks Kazakh, Russian and English.