Elena has 19 years of professional experience. She began her career at CLS in 2005 immediately after graduating from university and, having successfully progressed through all stages of professional development, became a Partner of the firm seven years later.

Elena Stepanova has extensive practical experience in conducting comprehensive legal due diligence of land plots located across various regions of Russia for the purposes of developing retail, industrial, warehouse, manufacturing and other commercial facilities.

Elena has unique market experience in projects involving the full legal support of turnkey tenant fit-out and leasing of multifunctional shopping and entertainment centers. In total, the legal team under her leadership has negotiated and executed more than 1,500 lease agreements.

Elena has substantial experience in supporting large-scale turnkey construction projects for retail, industrial, warehouse and other commercial facilities across numerous regions of Russia.

Many projects delivered by the team under Elena’s leadership have been recognized as among the largest and most significant in the market in terms of investment volume, geographic scale and social impact.

Owing to her extensive experience, deep professional expertise, the high profile of completed projects and strong client trust and feedback, the Real Estate and Construction Practice headed by Elena has consistently held leading positions in international and national rankings for many years.

The professionalism of Elena and her team is recognized by leading international and national legal directories. According to research conducted by The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, clients highly value Elena’s ability to combine profound legal expertise with a strong understanding of business specifics. Clients note that “Elena finds answers to all arising questions and remarkably combines professionalism with a genuine desire to help.”

In 2020–2026, Elena Stepanova was ranked among the top 10 real estate lawyers in the CRE-100 ranking of the most influential figures in the commercial real estate market. She is individually recognized by Pravo-300 in the categories “Land Law” and “Real Estate, Land and Construction”; by Rossiyskaya Gazeta in the category “Real Estate and Housing & Utilities”; and by Kommersant in the category “Construction and Real Estate.”

Board Member of the Commercial Real Estate Market Association (ARKN).

Education

• All-Russian State Tax Academy under the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, Faculty of Law (2005, Diploma with Honors)

Languages

• English
• Russian