Ilia Martynov

About Ilia

Ilia Martynov is a Legal Consultant at Sterling Law. He advises private and corporate clients on a broad range of cross-border commercial, corporate, finance, and dispute resolution matters, with a particular focus on complex international legal issues, strategic transactions, and legal risk management.

Working with clients across multiple jurisdictions and sectors, Ilia supports businesses and individuals on matters ranging from corporate structuring and investment to cross-border disputes and legal operations.

Ilia graduated with First-Class Honours in LLB from the University of West London and completed his LLM at the University of Cambridge (Fitzwilliam College) in June 2023, where he read Public International Law.

Areas of Expertise

Commercial, Corporate Law, M&A, and Private International Law

Ilia advises clients across the UK, US, Canada, and EU on a broad spectrum of corporate and commercial matters, particularly those involving a cross-border dimension. His experience includes advising on incorporations, governance, restructurings, shareholder arrangements, reorganisations, liquidations, and strategic corporate projects, as well as supporting clients on domestic and cross-border M&A transactions.

He also has experience advising on private international law, including matters involving foreign law, conflict of laws, jurisdiction, and cross-border enforcement. He regularly supports clients where legal issues span multiple jurisdictions, requiring careful coordination of legal strategy across different systems and regulatory environments.

Venture Capital & Growth Investments

Ilia advises founders, start-ups, growth-stage businesses, and investors on private investment and venture capital matters, including fundraising rounds, investment structuring, shareholder arrangements, and the legal frameworks required to support growth and scale.

Banking and International Finance Law

Ilia advises private and corporate clients in disputes involving international financial institutions, including major UK banks and FCA-regulated entities. His experience includes advising on contested transactions, account restrictions, financial misconduct issues, and broader disputes arising from domestic and cross-border banking relationships.

He has acted for a corporate client in legal proceedings against Santander Bank in a dispute involving approximately £700,000, and in a separate matter against HSBC involving over £1 million.

Arbitration and Litigation

Ilia has been involved in complex LCIA arbitration and litigation matters, including as part of teams led by Senior Partners acting in high-value and multi-million disputes. His experience includes cross-border claims, contentious commercial disputes, and strategic procedural applications.

Legal Operations

Ilia advises start-ups and established businesses on establishing internal legal processes tailored to their operational and commercial needs. His work includes developing internal legal frameworks, legal team workflows, legal risk appetite models, and wider legal risk management structures.

Notable Cases

Galkin v Semchenkova and Gorbuntsov: member of the legal team acting for the Claimant in a multi-million claim involving contractual issues, misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment, including the successful defence of a complex security for costs application.