Former Counsel Antti Perli, who specializes in advising venture capital funds and tech companies, has become a Partner with Ellex’s Estonia office.

Former Kaarma & Kaldvee Partner Rait Kaarma has joined Pohla & Hallmagi as Partner and Head of Tax. Also joining with Kaarma, from his old firm, is Attorney Elena Lass.

I have been the managing partner of the pan-Baltic law firm Lextal – with offices in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – for six years. During this time the market has changed considerably.

Sandra-Kristin Karner was appointed Equity Partner at Walless, while Edgar-Kaj Velbri has been promoted to Associate Partner at the firm.

Andrius Digrys has joined BLRT Grupp AS as its General Counsel in Estonia.

On October 18, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Lextal has advised Estonian financial technology group IuteCredit on its EUR 75 million senior secured corporate bonds issuance. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Kadi Raudsepp, Head of Legal & Compliance at IuteCredit, to learn more about the matter.

Sorainen has promoted nine new Partners in three different countries. Estonia's Kaido Kunnapas and Katlin Krisak, Lithuania's Simonas Skukauskas, Monika Malisauskaite-Vaupsiene, Evaldas Dudonis, Kazimieras Karpickis, and Indre Sceponiene, and Belarus' Ann Laevskaya and Kirill Laptev have all joined the Sorainen partnership at the beginning of 2022.

Contributed by Walless.

Similarly to the rest of the world, the major factor affecting every aspect of life is COVID-19, however, despite the crisis, things are going rather well in Estonia, according to Lextal Partner Kristi Sild.

Former PwC Legal Estonia Head of M&A Rutt Vark will rejoin Ellex’s Estonia office as an M&A Counsel as of January 1, 2022.

The real estate market in all three Baltic States is closely related and, although the legal systems vary a bit, buyers face the same or similar issues. Although important details concerning the purchase of real estate are brought forth in the sale contract drawn up by a notary (in Estonia and Lithuania) or attorney at law (in Latvia), in practice various nuances still tend to be left unattended.

In my career, I have lived through four crises. In 1991, when I started a legal business, there was a total economic collapse, with a shortage of the most basic essential goods – no furniture or computers, or even proper light bulbs for the office. Then there was the ‘Russian’ crisis of 2000, a crisis of foreign currency and the ruble. The one of 2008-2010 followed. And now we have the COVID-19 pandemic – perhaps not so much an economic crisis as one arising from a climate of uncertainty.

Triniti has appointed Klen Laus as a Partner with the firm’s Estonian practice.

While no major plots or surprises were witnessed during the latest presidential and local elections, Estonia’s recent legislative developments might have a significant impact on the business sector, according to Walless Partner Rolan Jankelevitsh.

 In “The Corner Office” we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. With summer having just passed, the question this time: What is your one favorite yearly activity to disconnect?

Rask Attorney Keidi Koiv has been appointed Co-Head of the firm’s Public Procurement practice.

On August 19, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Sorainen had advised Montonio on raising EUR 2.5 million from Tera Ventures, as well as ffVC, Superangel, Practica, 365.fintech, Startup Wise Guys, and a number of business angels. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Rasmus Oisma, Director at Montonio Finance, to learn more about the matter.

Regional periodical league tables ranking M&A activity through the lens of the law firms advising on the deals are often dominated by Baltic law firms, with the CEELM Index special issue of the CEE Legal Matters magazine reflecting the same trend. To better understand why that is so, we spoke with several Partners – from both Baltic firms and other CEE jurisdictions.