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Estonia's legal landscape in dispute resolution remains surprisingly stable amid economic turmoil, Cobalt Managing Associate Annika Peetsalu reports. Despite a surge in bankruptcies, particularly in the construction sector, the volume of legal disputes has not significantly increased.

Latvia has recently taken significant steps to amend its arbitration law, introducing a set-aside mechanism among other necessary changes. This article provides an overview of the background to these changes, the specifics of the new set-aside mechanism, and other amendments made to the Latvian arbitration law.

After prolonged delays, the Estonian Parliament finally incorporated the EU Whistleblowing Directive into national law on 15 May 2024 by passing the Act on the Protection of Whistleblowers of Work-Related Violations of European Union Law (referred to as the Whistleblower Protection Act).

Cobalt, working with Dentons, has advised Latvian national airline AirBaltic on its EUR 340 million issuance of senior secured bonds with a maturity of 5.25 years to be listed on the Euronext Dublin stock exchange. TGS Baltic, working with Linklaters, advised joint global coordinators BNP Paribas, Citi, and JP Morgan, joint bookrunners Morgan Stanley and SEB, and co-managers LHV and Signet Bank.

Across Europe, defense sectors are experiencing significant transformations and budgetary escalations, driven by a need for enhanced military readiness and modernization. Avellum Partner Andriy Romanchuk, Cobalt Partner Deividas Soloveicik, Nagy es Trocsanyi Partner Gyorgy Kiszely, and Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii Partner Serban Paslaru take a closer look at defense spending in their respective countries.

In a compact nation like Estonia, the prominence of construction projects can swiftly transcend local interests and become matters of national interest. The escalation of public attention toward large-scale construction projects invites heightened scrutiny by different interest groups. Notably, several recent projects have become entangled in legal disputes, profoundly impacting anticipated timelines and financial forecasts. This article aims to delineate emerging patterns from recent cases and offer recommendations aimed at preventing and avoiding legal contentions.

On the occasion of this year’s recent Deal of the Year Awards Banquet and GC Summit in Warsaw, did you know that, according to the Activity Rankings feature of the CEELMDirect website, partners of pan-Baltic law firms dominated the list of the ten lawyers who worked on the most client matters reported by CEE Legal Matters in the first decade of its existence?

Cobalt at a Glance

COBALT is a closely integrated alliance of top-tier law offices across the Baltics, uniting more than 250 attorneys and support staff. During 25 years of experience, we have become a strategic partner to our clients in handling both daily matters and complex large–scale transactions and disputes.

The firm’s broad spectrum of expertise and established position as the market leader gives a comprehensive basis for providing full-service business law advice.

Top international and regional businesses, financial institutions, state and local governments, and the region’s most promising start-ups are among our clients. We offer leading-edge solutions in key industry sectors: Consumer Products, Trade & Distribution, Real Estate & Construction, Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare, Energy & Utilities, Communications, Media & Technologies, Financial Services, Transport & Logistics.

COBALT has been named Baltic Law Firm of the Year 7 times receiving Chambers Europe, IFLR, The Lawyer and Mergermarket awards, and we are regularly listed amongst the top-performing M&A legal advisors in the Bloomberg, Refinitiv and Mergermarket deal tables. Recognized as the No.1 Lithuanian law firm in the Prospera Law Firm Review 2021 and No. 1 law firm in Latvia in 2022, 2020, 2019, and 2018 client satisfaction surveys. We were recognized as a Baltic-wide Law Firm of the Year at the 2022 Chambers Europe Awards ceremony and named the Baltic States Tax Firm of the Year and Pro Bono Firm of the Year at the annual ITR EMEA Tax Awards 2021 ceremony. 

More information on COBALT can be found at www.cobalt.legal.