Lidings is pleased to announce Natalya Thotahewage, a recognized expert in pharmaceuticals and healthcare, joining the firm as counsel and the appointment of Elizaveta Fursova, Head of the Lidings' Employment practice, as counsel.
Natalya Thotahewage has 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical, medical devices, infant and medical nutrition and FMCG industries at major international corporations Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Abbott Laboratories. Before joining Lidings Natalya for nine years headed the legal department of Abbott Laboratories and Veropharm group of companies, where she was in charge of Veropharm's integration into Abbott, localization of production, support for launching pharmaceuticals and medical devices on the Russian and Eurasian markets, distribution and government procurement.
At Lidings, Natalya will specialize in advising and supporting pharmaceutical, healthcare, FMCG and retail companies on legal issues of market access and circulation of medicines, medical devices and dietary supplements in Russia and the EAEU, antitrust regulation, compliance, support of audits and inspections by regulatory authorities, localization of production, distribution, as well as support on issues of doing business under sanctions.
Natalya graduated with honors from the Faculty of Law of Lomonosov Moscow State University. She is a member of the Association of Antimonopoly Experts, heads the AAE's Committee on Markets for Medicines and Medical Devices, and is a member of the FAS Expert Councils on Healthcare and Retail. Natalya regularly acts as an expert at legal community events and has been ranked numerous times in the Kommersant 50 Best Legal Directors rating, as well as in the Legal 500 and Legal 500 Teams rankings.
Andrey Zelenin, Managing Partner of LidingsElizaveta Fursova has been part of the Lidings team for over 9 years. She specializes in representing major Russian and international companies in commercial, corporate and bankruptcy litigation.The decision on admission of a pharmaceutical and healthcare expert of such a high level is based on the firm's significantly increased number of large-scale projects in this industry. Natalya has an in-depth understanding of industry specifics, which will allow us to further strengthen our industry expertise. Her thorough knowledge of the market will be a good support for our current clients and for attracting new ones
Since 2023 Elizaveta heads Lidings' Employment practice. Her special professional interest is focused on labor disputes, pre-trial settlement of conflicts between employees and employers, as well as comprehensive support and assistance to companies on a wide range of HR issues: dismissal procedures, employee transfers, relocation, development of HR documents and implementation of local regulations.
Elizaveta graduated from the Faculty of Law of Lomonosov Moscow State University, is the author of numerous publications in leading legal magazines on dispute resolution and labor law issues, and regularly acts as an expert at legal community events. She is ranked among the best lawyers in dispute resolution, labor law, pharmaceuticals and healthcare by Pravo 300 and Kommersant ratings.
Elizaveta also works with students, acts as an arbitrator of moot courts, co-chair of the Enterprise Development Committee in the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia (AmCham) and a member of working groups in specialized committees of the Association of European Businesses (AEB), actively cooperates with the Legal Academy online school, where she authored the online course "Practice of Labor Relations".
Alexader Popelyuk, Partner of Lidings, Head of the firm's Dispute Resolution practiceElizaveta's successful expertise in dispute resolution with a focus on employment regulation allows our clients to obtain prompt non-trivial solutions despite the ever-changing legislative regulations. Elizaveta's appointment fully reflects her contribution to the development of these areas and strengthening the firm's position among the leading legal advisors
Andrey Zelenin, Managing Partner of LidingsBeing on the threshold of our 20th anniversary (note: this year Lidings turns 18), we set new ambitious goals for ourselves. In order to effectively implement client objectives, we are developing our team both from within by promoting bright talented lawyers and strengthening it by attracting top specialists from the market
We are pleased to welcome our new counsels. Wishing Natalya and Elizaveta high achievements and brilliant victories!