As part of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum 2026, the AEB organized a panel discussion on "Class Actions in the Dynamics of Judicial Practice: What's New and How to Deal with It." The event attracted considerable interest from the business community, law firms, and government agencies.

The session was moderated by Ekaterina Erova, Chairperson of the AEB Legal Committee, Senior Associate at Melling, Voitishkin & Partners.  

During the panel discussion, participants addressed current issues related to the development of the class action mechanism in Russia, the evolving judicial practice, new challenges for businesses, and risks in sectors such as e‑commerce, finance, construction, and air transportation. Special attention was paid to abuses, including the use of class actions as a tool for corporate raiding, blackmail, and unfair competition, as well as ways to counter such threats. The speakers touched upon procedural complexities of enforcement — issues of participant joinder, distribution of court costs, and contingency fee arrangements — and also discussed effective mechanisms for developing the institution, including pre-trial settlement and special procedures for typical disputes. Participants provided practical recommendations for companies on risk management, compliance, insurance mechanisms, and building dialogue with consumers and regulators. 

The speakers — Oleg Prusakov (Rospotrebnadzor), Vladimir Yarkov (Ural State Law University named after V.F. Yakovlev), Denis Arkhipov (EPAM), Victor Domshenko (LEVEL Legal Services), Evgeny Rodin (En+, RUSAL), Elena Streltsova (Kutafin Moscow State Law University), and Andrey Pyanykh (MTS).