Dmitry Makarov, Russian Professional Exchange In Vela Wood Austin
October 14, 2016 | By Vela Wood
Hello, my name is Dmitry Makarov, and I’m a lawyer from Saint-Petersburg, Russia on a professional exchange at Vela Wood law firm. I’m participating in a Russian business leaders program, which is organized by American Councils and the U.S. Department of State.
I am staying in Austin for three weeks conducting research on the differences and similarities in legal procedures of starting and running businesses in the Russian Federation and United States of America. The purpose of my research is to help startups overcome legal barriers of entering foreign markets and grow international businesses as well as bring Russian and American companies closer together.
My professional experience includes working as a legal counsel for big international companies, such as Jensen Group and Cargotec. Currently, I run a legal business in Saint-Petersburg that is focused on legal support of startups and small businesses. I also developed a not-for-profit educational project called Legal School, which is aimed to teach young and ambitious entrepreneurs the basics of law and financial management.
At the moment my research is focused on indicating preferable forms of legal entities that will match all the needs of startups in different fields of business. Future research will be conducted on various options, such as transferring equity to employees, tax consequences of such equity transfers, and fundraising options for startups.
Many thanks to Radney Wood, Partner at Vela Wood, for dedicating his time to support my research and becoming my mentor for the duration of my fellowship. I am looking forward to establishing long lasting professional relationships in Austin.