The CIS Leading Counsel Network (LCN), which launched last year and is spearheaded by Russian firm Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners, is in the process of finding three new members.

The “best friends” group, which also includes Ukrainian practice RULG, Azerbaijan’s FINA and Moldovan outfit Turcan & Turcan, is set to expand from the current nine members to 12. The idea is to provide a full-service network across the region.

Irina Paliashvili (pictured), a partner at RULG and chair of LCN, said: “We are keen on expanding the network further. We are currently looking at bringing in members from Georgia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. We want full coverage across the CIS economies.”

LCN was born out of the CIS Local Counsel Forum networking group. Most of the members were already part of the Forum yet only one of the target countries, Georgia, currently has a representative. This makes Tbilisi-based BGI Legal a candidate for the Georgian spot on LCN. Tajikistan and Uzbekistan members will have to be sought independently.