Laura M. Brank

Laura Brank is a corporate and finance lawyer focused on emerging markets transactions. Over the past 30 years, Ms. Brank has advised multinational corporations, investment funds, banks and multilateral institutions, as well as high net worth individuals, on complex cross-border corporate and finance transactions, as well as on corporate governance and compliance matters across the emerging markets, with a particular focus on Eastern Europe and Central Asia. She has extensive experience in the mining and energy, TMT, life science and manufacturing sectors. Previously, Ms. Brank was the managing partner of Dechert’s Moscow office and remains head of its Russia Practice. Since February 2022, she has acted for dozens of companies exiting the Russian market through third party sales, management buyouts or liquidation of assets. 

Ms. Brank has been recognized in Chambers, ILFR1000, Best Lawyers and Who’s Who Legal and has been named to Legal 500’s “Hall of Fame” in the areas of corporate governance, M&A, finance and compliance. She was the recipient of both M&A Today and Lawyer International’s Commercial, Corporate and M&A Advisor of the Year – 2020 awards. Chambers Europe has variously praised her ability to "see[s] things from the investor's point of view" and her "pragmatic, business-oriented and astute advice", noting that she is “one of the best-known corporate lawyers in the market”, who is “quick and pragmatic, skilful at negotiating positions and good at proposing excellent solutions.” She has also been named in IFLR1000’s Women Leaders and in Legal Media Group’s Banking, Finance and Transactional Guide and the Guide to the World’s Leading Women in Business Law. She has also been listed in Euromoney’s Expert Guides for Women in Business Law and Mergers and Acquisitions. Ms. Brank has also been recognized in The Lawyer’s Hot 100 survey in the area of M&A, a list of 100 lawyers to have excelled in their respective fields. She was also recognized with the 2014 Leadership Award for her significant contributions to cross-border M&A by M&A Advisor. 

Ms. Brank sits on several boards, including the Global Leaders Assembly Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes constructive engagement across borders on global challenges, which she also helped to found together with other graduates from Georgetown University’s Master of Science in Foreign Service program.  She is a member of the executive committee and the board of directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia and also served as a director on the U.S.-Russia Business Council's Board of Directors from 2010 and was a member of its executive committee through 2023 until the Council was dissolved.

Ms. Brank also sits on the European Advisory Board of Georgetown University’s Law Center and on the Advisory Board of Georgetown University’s Master of Science in Foreign Service program.