Ruslan Sulaimanov

«Business Administration» - 2008; «International and Business Law» - 2010

 

«Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Success is a result of a constant self-improvement and persistence in achieving goals».

Ruslan Sulaimanov

 

Ruslan: Yes, I am indeed an alumnus of the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) holding two degrees: B.B.A. in «Business Administration» and LL.B in «International and Business Law». After AUCA, I graduated with an advanced master’s (LL.M) degree in «International Business
Law» from the Central European University and completed a number of executive education programs at Berkeley Law School, Stanford Law School and Harvard Law School.

At the moment, I advise Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Group (ADNOC Group) as legal counsel working at its headquarters located in the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). My core area of legal expertise is corporate law and, specifically, domestic and cross-border
mergers and acquisitions (M&A). ADNOC Group is the largest national energy group in the UAE involved in upstream, midstream and downstream oil & gas operations. ADNOC Group also invests into renewable energy and plans a large-scale production of green hydrogen with the aim to achieve the country’s energy transition objectives. As a counsel for the group legal affairs, I advise ADNOC Group on its inbound and outbound M&A deals, joint ventures and other corporate matters, supporting its strategic investments in the Middle East, Africa, Asia,
Europe and the Americas.

Prior to my current role, I was an associate attorney at King & Spalding (K&S), which is a reputable international law firm founded almost 140 years ago in the United States. The firm’s 23 offices are located in Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Singapore, Tokyo and other cities around the world. My time at K&S was mainly split between its offices in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM). Both, the DIFC and ADGM, are financial free zones which, although geographically located in Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively, moved away from the UAE’s legal system (based on Roman, French and Egyptian law, with an overlay of Islamic law) and adopted legal systems based, to differing degrees, on English common law. While working at K&S, I mainly specialized in general corporate, M&A, secured financing and venture capital transactions in the UAE and wider Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. I advised clients investing into healthcare, education, food & beverage, e-commerce, infrastructure, energy and other industries.

 

Ruslan: Yes, that is right. Both disciplines, «Business Administration» and «International and Business Law», are interrelated and supplement each other. Familiarity with accounting principles and financial statements helps lawyers performing legal due diligences to identify and analyze legal risks from a wider perspective. Business communication courses equip attorneys with negotiation skills essential for discussing term sheets, agreements and other
transaction documents with counterparties. Such skills also help to advocate in court, liaise with clients and coordinate the work of junior legal personnel. Knowledge of marketing helps legal professionals to promote their practice and attract new clients. Having a background in business administration allows lawyers to achieve competitive advantage on the market in comparison to other legal specialists, advance through ranks later in their careers and become partners while working in private practice or general counsels while working in-house. Even a high-level understanding of business administration allows lawyers to comprehend commercial aspects of a transaction deeper and, thus, provide a better legal advice. Both programs offered by AUCA are very well developed, each with its own rich academic curriculum and strong professors.

 

Ruslan: During my high-school years, I took part in various English language competitions and, later, was selected for participation in the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program. I lived with a host family in California, attended a local high-school as an exchange student and studied together with American students for one year. While living in a foreign country, I kept preparing for final high-school graduation exams due to be held in my home country at the end of the school year. I also continued preparing for the republican examination designed for high-school graduates applying to universities in my home country. Upon returning home, I passed all exams, achieved one of the top scores at the republican examination and received a special honors diploma from the President of the Kyrgyz Republic. That award acknowledged my proficiency in various disciplines, including English and mathematics, which was required for admission to certain top universities, including AUCA. Those factors predetermined my further
path to AUCA, which was (and still is) one of the leading universities in the country, having a superb reputation and wide network of alumni working internationally. AUCA is committed to freedom of expression, critical thinking and academic honesty. Classes are taught by renowned American, European and Central Asian professors. AUCA is the first university in Central Asia to offer US accredited degrees. When AUCA sent me an admission letter along with the merit- based scholarship offer, I accepted it without hesitation and never regretted my decision ever since.

 

Ruslan: Student life at AUCA was extremely busy. This university offers a wide range of courses. Law students, for instance, participate in moot court competitions, practice to provide legal advice while working at the AUCA legal clinic, publish their academic works in legal bulletins, polish their skills as interns in courts and law firms. All students can participate in extracurricular activities, learn foreign languages and be elected to the AUCA senate. The
university also invites reputable alumni as guest lecturers who share their experience with students. Several years after graduation, I was honored to be invited by AUCA to conduct several guest lectures where I was asked to provide insights on how to be successful in a legal profession and also share practical knowledge relating to my area of legal specialization. All of this clearly adds value to the academic environment. But what really makes AUCA a
distinguished place for studying, in comparison to other local universities, is the opportunity to liaise with students from other countries and, thus, learn from different cultures and traditions. I was lucky to study alongside students who came from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, United States and Canada.

Ruslan: Correct, I received my LL.M degree from the Central European University (CEU) located in Budapest, Hungary (which later relocated to Vienna, Austria). Although CEU applies a competitive selection process to its applicants, many talented graduates of AUCA were admitted to study there (which speaks a lot about the AUCA’s good undergraduate preparation). Now all of them work for large international organizations, leading law firms or
teach law in academia. 

CEU constantly invites interesting guests to meet students. For example, I had an opportunity to attend a lecture of, and speak with, Dalai Lama, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists. At the same time, the university offers an intensive law school program based on a western curriculum. Courses are focused on both, common law and civil law based subjects. Professors often provide a comparative analysis between each legal system. While studying at CEU, students are expected to review hundreds of pages of academic materials daily. This prepares young professionals for their future legal careers, which would require them to work with large amounts of data under tight deadlines. CEU professors often use the so-called Socratic method during their classes, providing hypothetical problems that require in-class discussions and independent research. A similar approach was used by AUCA professors.

Classes at the AUCA are taught in English (which is not very common for universities located in Central Asia). This, along with the western method of education, clearly gave me a proper academic foundation for my further successful completion of the LL.M program in Europe and a number of executive education programs at the Ivy League law schools in the United States.

 

Ruslan: After graduation, I practiced law working at Kalikova & Associates (K&A), which is the largest “Band 1” national law firm in the Kyrgyz Republic. For many years K&A has been holding the leading positions in international directories, including Chambers Global, Who' Who Legal
and Best Lawyers.

At K&A I participated in important investment projects, helped foreign investors to establish their business enterprises locally and advised on corporate matters relating to mining, banking, hotels, energy and other industries. My legal practice at K&A allowed me to gain significant professional experience within a short period of time.

After I received my master’s degree from CEU, AUCA invited me to teach courses on «Private International Law» and «Business Legislation» as a part-time academic instructor. While practicing law at K&A, I taught these courses at AUCA with the aim to pass knowledge and experience to future legal professionals

 

Ruslan: Certainly. During my graduate studies, my classmates and I often traveled to nearby European countries visiting Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Sweden and even Norway. One of my former classmates from AUCA studied in Norway at that time. She gave me a tour of all places worth seeing in Oslo. You can meet AUCA graduates all over the world.

While working at K&A, I had the opportunity to go on business trips to remote regions of our homeland, various CIS countries and further abroad. I recall a business trip to the United Kingdom together with a former managing partner of K&A (who was also a graduate of AUCA). The trip was aimed at establishing business ties with partner firms and participating in the Global Law Summit, the conference that was dedicated to the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta (one of the most famous legal documents in England's history). It proclaimed that no man could be deprived of justice and law. One of the sessions of the conference took place in the High Court of London, where the participants could observe the original of this antique legal document.

Later, despite already working in private practice, it seemed important to me to continue my professional self-improvement. For example, I attended a summer school relating to «Private International Law» organized by the Hague Academy of International Law located in the Netherlands. The Hague is the home to the highest judicial institutions, such as the Peace Palace, International Court of Justice and Permanent Court of Arbitration. The materials
provided by the academy allowed me to enrich the course on «Private International Law» that I taught at AUCA.

 

Ruslan: It is important to realize that life is a marathon, not a sprint. Success is a result of constant self-improvement and persistence in achieving goals. At the same time, success cannot be an end-goal by itself because it is an abstract concept. The desire to benefit your family, society, and country is essential because it fulfills your life with meaning.

As for the rest, I wish you to: (i) be flexible, but, at the same time, cultivate an unbreakable inner core in yourself and have principles; (ii) exercise regularly and maintain a healthy lifestyle, (iii) value your time and the time of other people (remember that time is the most valuable resource), (iv) learn from your own mistakes and mistakes of the others, (v) surround yourself with like-minded people and (vi) search for mentors among senior fellow students, professors, and colleagues (do not forget that there are many instructors at AUCA who would be glad to show you the right path and support you by giving a piece of advice).

Believe that you will achieve success if you continue moving despite any difficulties. As was mentioned by wise men in the past: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” and “just keep putting one foot in front of the other.”

 

Do not be afraid to dream and give it a try – the sky is the limit!

30 NOVEMBER, 2020