What will be 2020 remembered for: the results of the large-scale work of the Association

In 2020, the number of members of the Association increased by 85% compared to 2019. 51% organizations and 49% individuals became new members of the Association.
It is customary to sum up the results on the eve of the New Year. In this article, we would like to tell you, what changes took place in the Association in 2020, what projects we have launched and what has been implemented.

Bankruptcy prevention and business protection

Back in December last year, taking into account the active business position and the trustworthiness of the reputation of The Association of Lawyers and Law Firms for Registration, Liquidation, Bankruptcy and Judiciary, the leadership of the Association was admitted to the ranks of the Public Council under the Ombudsman for the Protection of the Rights of Entrepreneurs in Moscow. From that moment, active cooperation with the Moscow business ombudsman began. On February 4, in the Moscow City Duma, within the framework of the 3rd meeting of the Public Council under the Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of Entrepreneurs of the City of Moscow, a solemn signing of a cooperation agreement between the Commissioner Tatyana Mineeva and the Association took place. Taking into account the availability of all the necessary resources to provide high-quality legal support to entrepreneurs of the capital, it was decided to open a Public Reception Office on the basis of the Association to consolidate the efforts of the public Commissioners, experts, as well as representatives of the state authorities in the field of entrepreneurs’ rights protection.

On March 20, a Public Reception at the Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of Entrepreneurs on Anti-Corruption and Business Security was opened at the address: Moscow, Ostozhenka street, building 10. A mobile headquarters was created at the reception - this is an equipped minivan car for prompt departure to offer consultations and help entrepreneurs.

The opening of the reception coincided with the "hottest" period, when the entrepreneurs of the capital needed support more than ever. On March 26, restrictions that affected almost all spheres of life and business were introduced. Every day, the experts of the reception office received calls, explained the procedure for restrictive measures, requirements for operating companies and existing support measures, and helped enterprises find ways out of the current difficult situation. In addition to telephone consultations, the reception received written requests for consideration by the Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of Entrepreneurs in the city of Moscow.
Since its opening, the public reception has received 145 appeals and complaints from entrepreneurs. Most of all, business representatives complained about the actions of the Federal Tax Service.

Many asked for clarification on the provisions of the regulations adopted at the time of the restrictive measures. What is more, Association received complaints about the actions of employees of the executive power of the city of Moscow (the most frequent questions concerned the work of the Department of State Property of the city of Moscow and the administration of districts of the city of Moscow). There were complaints about the actions of employees of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing Office in the city of Moscow and on other issues.
80% of applicants personally visited the Public Reception, 20% - addressed by e-mail and telephone.

Taking into account the crisis state of business during the post-coronavirus period, the Association of Lawyers and Law Firms for Registration, Liquidation, Bankruptcy and Judiciary and the Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of Entrepreneurs in the city of Moscow initiated the signing of an Open Declaration on the Protection of the Business of the City of Moscow on July 18, 2020 in order to support business and prevent a wave of bankruptcies.
In 2020, 18 leaders of the main industry communities of Russian business joined the Open Declaration on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Moscow Business.
To achieve the goals of the declaration, the Association and the ANO Institute for Public Initiatives jointly opened the ANO Moscow Center for Bankruptcy Prevention and Business Protection, the director of which is Tatiana Ryabtseva, one of the leading experts of the Association.
For several months of work, 124 entrepreneurs turned to the Moscow Center for help. 85% of those who applied received legal assistance on the free of charge basis, and 15% used the paid services of the center as well.

The most popular free services are the analysis of the current situation in the company and a risk forecast and registration of LLC and IE in the city of Moscow. Despite all the difficulties, the business continues to live, and we are doing everything to help survive all the difficulties without risks for the owners of the companies.

Mediation is a trend of our time

2020 became the year of active development of an alternative direction of dispute settlement - mediation. In the current realities, the need to negotiate and find a compromise in working with partners has become more relevant than ever.

On September 2, 2020, the Association of Lawyers for Registration, Liquidation, Bankruptcy and Judiciary and the Presidential Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of Entrepreneurs Boris Yuryevich Titov signed an agreement on interaction and cooperation on the use of mediation procedures and legal education of entrepreneurs in the specialized field.

The work involved 15 professional mediators of the Association.

On the basis of the Association, an autonomous non-profit organization Center for consulting, guaranteeing and implementing mediation procedures “Capital Mediator” was opened.

During this period, 26 successful mediation procedures were carried out, and some of them were carried out at the site of the Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of Entrepreneurs under the President of the Russian Federation.

At the same time, the development of a pilot project for alternative dispute resolution in the field of "business state" has been launched within the framework of cooperation with the Headquarters for the Protection of Business under the Government of the city of Moscow.

Legislative activity

In 2020, the experts of the Association took part in the development of legislative initiatives.

Vice-President of the Association Vladimir Kuznetsov presented three legislative initiatives of the Association at the "Strong Ideas for the New Time" forum, organized by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives:

-          Regulation of the activities of law firms in order to increase the responsibility of lawyers for the quality of the services provided;

-          Elimination of the problem of VAT gaps;

-          Introduction of the institute of transfer agents at the Federal Tax Service of Russia.

The initiative to regulate the legal services market was widely supported by experts. The idea took the 314th place according to the results of the popular vote among 2068 submitted ideas of the topic "Modern Economy", entered the TOP 1000 list among 14767 ideas of the Forum and was recommended for support in implementation.

Throughout the year, the issue of amendments to the bill on bankruptcy was actively worked out. Together, we managed to prevent the adoption of amendments that were not supported by the legal and business community.

On the platform of the all-Russian public organization Business Russia, the Vice-President of the Association Vladimir Kuznetsov headed the working group on improving bankruptcy procedures, which included representatives of the largest business associations, the community of arbitration managers, representatives of leading law firms. The aim of the working group was to jointly study legislative initiatives to reform the institution of insolvency (bankruptcy) of the Russian Federation.

In addition to legislative activities, the Association's lawyers took part in the analysis and preparation of legal opinions for bills that were planned to be considered in various departments. In the last quarter of 2020, students of the faculties of law of Russian universities from different cities were also involved in such activities within the framework of agreements signed with the Association.

This is far from all that has been implemented this year. 2020 turned out to be difficult, but fruitful at the same time.

We wish Happy New Year 2021 to everyone! May all problems remain in 2020, and may the New Year bring development, prosperity and success to everyone!

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