Law Firm Sues Russian Oligarch Leonid Yonkis for $800,000 in Fees
The Tel Aviv-based law firm Pirat-Vilensky-Mizrachi-Knaani is suing Russian oligarch Leonid Yonkis for NIS 3.1 million (approximately $800,000) in unpaid legal fees. The firm claims it provided Yonkis with services related to insolvency proceedings against Russian debtors, but their engagement was unilaterally terminated.
The lawsuit states that the firm, specifically its insolvency department led by attorney Lior Dagan, possesses specialized expertise in international insolvency. Yonkis initially approached the firm in late 2022 to represent him against a Russian debtor named Kapnik, promising more cases if satisfied. The fee agreement stipulated hourly rates for senior partners, lawyers, and interns, capped at $65,000 per month, plus a 25% success fee on recoveries.
Subsequently, Yonkis transferred nine insolvency cases in Russia to the firm, describing the debtors as "heavyweights" with aggregate debts in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The firm agreed to a nominal annual retainer of $20,000, along with success fees of 30% to 10%, and a $5,000 monthly retainer for dedicated staff. The firm alleges that Yonkis exploited the absence of an hourly cap to demand numerous, sometimes esoteric, tasks, effectively treating the firm as having an "open check."
The firm asserts it represented Yonkis from May 2024 to November 2025, investing thousands of hours. They engaged with numerous asset holders, questioned dozens of debtors and third parties, and filed numerous court applications in Russia, many of which were successful. The firm claims that new "constraints" emerged during the process, forcing them to invest far more hours than anticipated, which they later realized were solely Yonkis's personal limitations designed to serve his own interests.
Pirat claims Yonkis terminated their services after the firm reached a settlement with a debtor named Rubinov. The firm alleges Yonkis undermined this settlement for his personal gain, attempting to loot the bankruptcy estate. According to the firm, the termination was a ploy to avoid paying the agreed-upon legal fees. No defense has yet been filed in response to the lawsuit.
