"Soaring Growth in 6 Years": MB Legal Expands Its Services and Geography

Founded in 2020, the law firm MB Legal has in recent years undergone a path of rapid and notable growth, becoming one of the country's largest and most multidisciplinary law firms.

Today it is not only expanding its range of services - adding new practice areas such as criminal law and the regulation of the cryptocurrency and gaming sectors - but is also growing its geographic reach, having already opened an office in Georgia as well.

The law firm's founder, Mesrop Manukyan, along with partners Grigor Grigoryan and Anahit Sargsyan, spoke with Banks.am about MB Legal's new stage of development, the changing demands of the market, the expansion of the partnership team, and the firm's upcoming goals.

"Today we are one of Armenia's largest law firms"

Mesrop Manukyan

Today MB Legal is a firm providing complete and comprehensive legal services in Armenia  across a variety of sectors and businesses. Having been founded just 6 years ago, I can now confidently say that we are one of the largest law firms in Armenia.

Since our previous conversation, the firm has recorded significant growth - in headcount, in revenue, in geographic presence, and in the volume of services provided. Alongside all this, quality has in no way suffered, as evidenced by three key indicators. First, we hire only people with high professional expertise and a strong sense of purpose; our requirements are quite high, even for the firm's interns. The second indicator is our work with clients, which is grounded in long and in-depth analysis, ensuring the high quality of the end result. The third indicator is continuous development - both of the firm and of its specialists individually. At MB Legal, we always encourage our employees' growth and motivate them not to stay in the same place.

"At MB Legal, the criminal law practice is developing very rapidly"

Another testament to the firm's growth is its involvement in the field of criminal law, which was absent in previous years. We decided to develop this practice based on both the size of the market and client demand. 

The field of criminal law is usually served by individual attorneys who have already established a certain name and reputation. For our firm, the best way to enter this field was precisely to collaborate with such a specialist. As a result, we made an offer to Artashes Hovhannisyan, who worked for about 6 years at the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia, after which he also went into legal practice, accumulating very interesting and unique experience. Today, under his leadership, the criminal law branch at MB Legal is also developing very rapidly.

In parallel with this, it is a matter of principle for us to continue ensuring high quality in the practice areas that constitute the firm's "core" - the corporate and IT sectors, and the securities market.

"There is great interest in Armenia today"

In addition to the practice areas mentioned above, we are also working actively in the new, fast-growing field of gaming-sector regulation and in the cryptocurrency market. Client demand in these areas is now incomparably greater than it was three years ago.

In a broader picture, I can say that Armenia is becoming more attractive to major investors. The construction of data centers, the energy sector - there are "big players" who want to make large investments in Armenia and need a reliable local representative to do so. There is quite considerable interest in Armenia today, and our firm stands, as it were, at the crossroads of these changes.

Time to share management

The firm's growth inevitably brought with it the need to restructure management as well. The decision to expand the number of partners was very organic and directly tied to the firm's overall growth, under which sharing management is the more effective approach.
At the time of its creation, MB Legal was a small firm, but in 6 years, as I noted, we have appeared on the list of Armenia's largest and leading law firms. This is also attested by the fairly high rankings awarded to MB Legal and its partners by the authoritative Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 platforms.

New partner Anahit Sargsyan grew professionally within the firm itself - together with the firm. At many decisive moments she has been indispensable, and partner status is a recognition of this professional approach.
The other partner, Grigor Grigoryan, joined us from Ernst & Young, bringing with him serious international management experience.

"The firm's soaring growth influenced my decision to join the team"

Grigor Grigoryan

I joined the MB Legal team relatively recently. Before that, I worked at various firms both as a corporate-sector lawyer and as a consultant. At the heart of my decision were the soaring growth of this Armenian law firm and the great opportunities I see in terms of MB Legal's development. Today the firm is continuously expanding both its range of services and its geographic reach.

I myself am mainly focused on corporate and business law, and I provide clients with advisory services precisely in these areas.

"The legal market is closely tied to economic activity"

As in any country, so too in Armenia, the legal market is closely tied to the country's economic situation: the more active the economy, the more active legal services are as well, because all the processes taking place in the economy require corresponding legal support.
Today I can divide our main clients into two large groups.

The first consists of foreign companies preparing to begin operations in Armenia and needing to find their bearings in this market. We present to them the country's general picture and existing regulations, including in the tax and legal spheres.

The second group is our existing clients, for whom we carry out ongoing servicing. We often also take on the role of in-house lawyers, even in cases where a company has its own team of lawyers, since there is a need for an "outside perspective" or, for example, for court representation.

"The company and I are growing up together"

Anahit Sargsyan

I joined MB Legal in 2021 in the capacity of a lawyer. I was still a student, and I can say that I have matured here the most - both as a professional and as a person. The company and I are growing up together (smiles - ed.). For me it was a matter of principle to choose a workplace that has growth potential and strives to provide unique services in the market. I give the same advice to the young professionals who are choosing their path today.

By working actively in the capital and securities markets, we today provide services in these areas that are unique for Armenia, and the quality of these services is reflected in our clients' steady trust. I myself have been actively involved in these fields from the start; in addition, I carry out ongoing servicing of investment service providers and financial institutions, provide support related to amendments to charters and the attraction of investment, and also work in migration law.

"Companies are making the decision to come to Armenia in a more conscious way - not fleeing some calamity"

Three years ago, in connection with the geopolitical situation that had arisen, we singled out only one migration bloc, driven by the Russia–Ukraine war and the relocation that followed it.

Today migration to Armenia has changed, and businesses we could not even have imagined years ago are often relocating to our country. This is happening not because of one calamity or another, but as a result of genuine interest in Armenia. 

Companies are coming to Armenia by conscious choice - not fleeing one calamity or another. At the same time, clients today are more demanding and, before making an investment, want to thoroughly study the country's legislation and market.

"To become the indisputable leader in Armenia"

Mesrop Manukyan

Today we want and strive to become the indisputable leading law firm in Armenia, while at the same time also expanding the geography of our operations. The first step in this direction has been taken, and MB Legal's Georgian office has already been operating for several months, providing services to quite serious clients in the financial-banking sector. This is extremely important for us, because usually it is foreign companies that come to Armenia, whereas in this case it is an Armenian company expanding its geographic reach - becoming a trusted partner abroad as well.

Anahit Sargsyan

Especially over the last year and a half, MB Legal has truly been in a phase of lightning-fast yet stable growth. 

This is noticeable not only in the increase in the number of employees, but also in the diversity and size of our portfolio.

Grigor Grigoryan

Yes, the law firm MB Legal is moving with steady steps toward expansion in every respect. We are approaching this stage with great responsibility, because it is a matter of principle for us that the pace of growth in no way affects the quality of the services provided.

Yana Shakhramanyan

Photo by Emin Aristakesyan