Veronika Koroleva has joined challenger law firm gunnercooke in London as partner, specialising in trade and commodity finance.

She had been a consultant at the firm since September last year.

Until 2016, Koroleva had been at Dentons, which she joined in 2001. She was made a partner in 2011 and from 2013 was responsible for leading the firm’s trade and commodity finance practice in London.

Koroleva previously worked at Barclays, as secondee in-house counsel supporting trade finance business in the UK, and at Andersen Legal in Moscow, practising Russian law.

She has advised on a wide range of structured trade and commodity transactions, including pre-export and prepayment financings, borrowing base facilities and ownership-based structures, receivables finance and supply chain finance.

Separately, Koroleva is also involved in advising and coaching on culture change, where she helps professional services organisations to improve gender diversity and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

At gunnercooke, Koroleva and Marc Weisberger, who joined the firm in February 2018, are the only partners that specialise in trade and commodity finance.

Founded in 2010, gunnercooke is a senior lawyer-only firm operating nationally and internationally via offices and hubs throughout the UK.