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Mr Girs is a seasoned, courtroom-tested international generalist lawyer and mediator with a broad multidisciplinary skill set and a keen eye for detail. He is well-versed in civil law, with a practical understanding of English contract law and a proven result-oriented ability to navigate the intricacies of different legal systems worldwide.
Mr Girs's mostly business-related practice is full of a humanitarian angle. Enriched with volumes of practice related to criminal law and human rights, he demonstrates a deep commitment to justice. In addition, he is certified in Corporate Governance, Anti Money Laundering, and Anti-Corruption, a testament to his understanding of the complexities of the modern business world.
- IMI open data reveals Mr Girs's unique position as one of just four IMI Certified Mediators with Russia among active practice locations and the only Russian-speaking one among them. Furthermore, he is one of the few foreign mediators legally capable of endorsing a settlement equal to a writ of execution directly enforceable without recourse to the court proceedings in Russia. These features combined set him apart as one of the most suitable candidates to mediate or co-mediate a Russia-bound international dispute.
Mr Girs entered the mediator profession in 2021 on top of related international experience in law and dispute resolution. Practising law since 2003, his professional score accounts for many lawsuits, some corporate warfare, countless negotiations, and all sorts of deals, incl. plenty of settlements. He is a genuine all-rounder.
The volume of projects Mr Girs advised over the years totals around $5 billion, and the geographical reach of his practice covers two dozen countries on three continents — he is skilled in handling interdisciplinary tasks, incl. work with the media and politically charged matters.
MMA for Mixed Mediation Arts is the freestyle of Mr Girs in mediation, where the process is essential, but the aim of settlement is a guide star always kept in sight.
- The 'Facilitative' approach, a practical and widely used method, is the priority, but it comes with the limitations of a toolkit to overcome negotiation deadlocks and suggest solutions when they are what the parties expect. On the other hand, the 'Evaluative' approach, better called 'Suggestive', carries a risk of being misperceived as prejudiced or judgmental. While the most delicate, the 'Transformative' approach is primarily suitable for cases where restoring the relationship is of interest to parties, which is only sometimes the case.
- A strict limitation of mediation approaches or styles is more for theory than practice. Real life demands legal advice above and beyond pure lawyering, and the same applies to mediation — it shall be natural, that's the way.
Mr Girs adheres to the needs-based approach and deploys all the appropriate means separately or interchangeably, whatever drives the parties towards the settlement agreement they need.
Building-up on top of his two decades-long law practice Mr Girs holds mediation practice mainly about Civil & Commercial Disputes, especially those related to contractual and corporate matters.
Workplace mediation is another area of his focus, especially for complicated cases involving highly sensitive matters such as injury, fraud, damages, non-disparagement, non-compete, non-disclosure, whistleblowing, etc.
The business industries and subjects he is particularly well familiar with include:
• Art • Banking • Construction • Diving • Hospitality & Tourism • iGaming • Insurance • IP • IT • Joint Ventures • Manufacturing • Media • M&A • Professional Services • Real Estate • Production & Sale of Goods • Transport & Freight Forwarding •
For monetary assessable disputes:
(a) up to EUR 50'000 = EUR 150/hour
(b) EUR 50'000 - EUR 100'000 = EUR 200/hour
(c) EUR 100'000 - EUR 300'000 = EUR 250/hour
(d) EUR 300'000 - EUR 1'000'000 = EUR 300/hour
(e) EUR 1'000'000 - EUR 3'000'000 = EUR 400/hour
(f) EUR 3'000'000 - EUR 10'000'000 = EUR 500/hour
(g) dispute value exceeding EUR 10'000'000 - negotiable on a case-by-case basis.
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In a multi-party dispute, the fee rate comes with an increment of 25% for each of more than two. For other disputes that are not financial in nature, an hourly fee rate is negotiable on a case-by-case basis. Open to pro bono practice for those who need.
- Independent international solo practitioner, open to co-mediation.
- iGaming disputes mediation is being practised with the industry-specialised Kudos Mediation Firm - see www.mediation.ink
Continuous professional development of Mr Girs encompasses diverse training from Britain, Russia, Belorussia, India, Switzerland, and America, a rare combination. This is both interculturally rich and efficient, as multijurisdictional certification allows transcending national borders.
- Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG)
- Law Society of Ireland / 2024 - MCPC Mediation Training under the aegis of the Supreme Court of India
- Main Mediation Centre of Bombay High Court in association
with Maharashtra National Law University - Mumbai / India, 2024 - The International Mediation Institute's CMTP and QAP:
- International Accreditation Programme by CEDR / Britain, 2024
- India International Mediation by EMA & CAMP / USA – India, 2023
- Interpersonal Mediation by UK Mediation, Ofqual regulated qualification / Britain, 2021 - WIPO Workshop & Advanced Course on Arbitration and Mediation
- The World Intellectual Property Organization / Switzerland, 2023 - Workshop on Mediation Advocacy for Lawyers and Legal Academics
- The National Law School of India University, FSRI & CAMP / India, 2023 - UNCITRAL Mediation Framework and International Commercial Arbitration
- The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law / Austria, 2023 - Certification in Mediation Theory and Practice
- The Center for Mediation and Negotiation / Belorussia, 2022
PROFESSIONAL ACADEMIC EDUCATION:
- Professional Retraining Diploma in Mediation *
- The National University of Modern Technologies / Russia, 2022 - Master of International and European Law (LL.M)
- The Riga Graduate School of Law / Latvia, 2003 – 2005 - Higher Professional Degree, Qualified Generalist Lawyer
- The Baltic International Academy / Latvia, 1999 – 2003
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* Registered within the Federal Register of Information on Educational Documents and Qualifications, Training Documents (ФИС ФРДО) of the Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science of Russia, that is a domestic legal precondition for a full-fledged mediation practice at the national level allowing endorsement of a settlement agreement that is then equal to a writ of execution and can be enforced directly through the Federal Bailiff Service without prior recourse to the court proceedings in Russia.
- Mentoring two IMI Qualified Mediators.
The IMI Code of Professional Conduct — these are the professional rules that are adhered to by default in general.
IMI Professional Conduct Assessment.