Our Firm's lawyers were the first in the legal profession to win an actual court award of RUB 15 million in moral damages in addition to formally representing the medical error victim. Although payouts continue to be woefully low in this field of practice, we keep setting new precedents by winning compensations dozens of times above the average court award in similar cases. In some cases, we provide legal assistance on a pro bono basis.
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The case of underage cancer patients infected with HCV at a hospital in Blagoveshchensk
In 2019, the consumer rights agency Rospotrebnadzor exposed instances of malpractice at the Municipal Clinical Hospital for Children in Blagoveshchensk, Amur Region, leading to 169 children undergoing cancer treatment getting infected with HCV. Our Firm filed lawsuits on behalf of 23 families, winning upwards of RUB 11 million in moral damages. This case marked Russia’s first collective legal action by families of medical error victims.
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The Tsurkanov family case
In 2019, a medical error during childbirth led to the newborn falling into a coma and subsequently passing away. Our attorneys represented the parents and older children. Our strong litigation strategy secured the recovery of more than RUB 5 million in moral damages from the maternity hospital.
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The case of Irina Razina
Medical negligence during childbirth left the child irreversibly disabled, causing his eventual death and leaving the mother’s health in tatters. Our Firm took the Ivan Pavlov Medical University to court to demand compensation for moral damages. The circumstances of the case were so shocking and the evidence so irrefutable that the judge did not hesitate to award the plaintiff RUB 15 million in damages.
Legal support for social and cultural initiatives is very much part of our practice. Vertical has provided legal guidance to signature cultural initiatives for 15 years, paving the way for successful project outcomes. The Alma Mater Foundation, founded by Senior Partner Liubov Duyko in 2016, continues to receive support for its creative projects from our team and Trustees.
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Legal support to Joseph Brodsky Museum Foundation
The Foundation was established with the mission to transform the communal apartment where the poet lived into a memorial home and a cultural center of gravity. A Room and a Half, the Joseph Brodsky Memorial Home, opened in 2020. Our attorneys provided full-spectrum support to the Foundation in advancing its mission, securing the conservation of A Room and a Half as part of common public legacy rather than a private asset.
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Legal support to the TOLOKA band
Toloka is a modern folk band whose young performers explore the roots of Russian folk music. Vertical Law Offices provides legal support to the band, taking care of its contractual relationships with artists, record studios and concert agencies, and sponsoring the band members to travel all over Russia for ethnographic research.
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Legal support to SHAR animation film school & studio
The SHAR school & studio, founded by a group of famous animation directors, including Khrzhanovsky, Khitruk, Nazarov, and Norshtein, has released original animation productions and trained young animation talent for 30+ years. The Firm's attorneys have advised the studio on diverse legal matters for years, including nonprofit structuring, learning process management and intellectual property issues.
Drawing on our extensive expertise across a wide spectrum of legal fields, including corporate law, we assist nonprofit organizations in getting legally constituted and structuring their operations. Our Firm's attorneys have authored several training courses designed to advance legal capacity-building in the nonprofit sector. The idea is to build a sustainable legal framework for NPOs to raise the effectiveness of their social initiatives.
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Legal support to RusDog, the animal protection NGO
RusDog is in the business of providing shelter for homeless pets and finding them new homes, running one of the largest municipal animal shelters in Russia. Our Firm's attorneys have provided legal support to Rusdog for a number of years, taking care of such matters as trademark registration, employment for volunteers, and documentation for starting a pet hotel.
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Turn-key legal support to Ostrova charity
The Ostrova Foundation’s mission is to help people with cystic fibrosis and their families. Our Firm's attorneys oversee the Foundation’s contractual relations, advise its staff, beneficiaries and doctors, help with subsidy and grant applications, provide guidance on the more complex treatment and medication issues, and support the Foundation’s contribution to legislative initiatives on cystic fibrosis prevention and treatment.
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Legal support to ORBI Foundation
ORBI Foundation is Russia’s first organization dedicated to addressing the stroke problem. The Foundation provides assistance to stroke survivors, their families, and medical institutions dealing with the stroke problem. Our Firm's attorneys have helped ORBI set up and formalize in documentary form the process for targeted charitable solicitation in favor of the foundation’s beneficiaries.
