Maria Ostashenko is a Partner at Alrud Law Firm, where she heads the Commercial, Intellectual Property, and Data Protection and Cybersecurity practice areas. She represents foreign clients in matters involving data protection regulation in Russia, advises on obligations of operators related to data processing, including cross-border data transfers, structuring data flow between the members of international groups. She also advises Russian and foreign clients in areas including pharmaceuticals, healthcare, FMCG, banks and financial institutions, retail trade, telecommunications, media, and technology.

Ms. Ostashenko took part in working on the draft amendments to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and presently conducts workshops on the Civil Code developments. She is a frequent speaker at major Russian and foreign conferences and workshops, and an author of numerous analytical articles published in legal periodicals. She is a member of the IBA, the INTA, the International Technology Law Association (ITechLaw), the International Distribution Institute (IDI), and the IAPP.

A graduate of the Moscow State University, Ms. Ostashenko was also awarded an LL.M. degree in private law by the Russian Private Law School by the President of the Russian Federation.