Category: Lithuania

Co-Founding Partner Vilija Viesunaite has been appointed Managing Partner and Agne Varneliene and Agne Ustinoviciene have been promoted to Partner at Triniti in Lithuania.

Viesunaite is Triniti’s regional Head of Intellectual Property and Head of Dispute Resolution in Lithuania. Triniti describes her as “a recognized expert in the fields of intellectual property and media, [and] dispute resolution, with over 20 years of professional experience.” She is also a Lithuanian and European patent attorney. She received her Masters Degree in International and European Law at Vilnius University.

Agne Varneliene and Agne Ustinoviciene both joined Triniti in 2016. Varneliene, who has a Master’s Degree in Law from Vilnius University, has experience in the fields of energy, commercial and corporate law and litigation. Ustinoviciene, who also has a Master’s Degree from Vilnius University, focuses on tax, agricultural, bankruptcy and restructuring law, and dispute resolution.

“I think we are at an excellent starting point to achieve future plans,” said new Managing Partner Vilija Viesunaite. “Our law firm has been really successful in recent years. With the recruitment of new professionals and without any change in their number, the firm managed to achieve a 17 percent increase in turnover.”

Sorainen has advised Rocket Software on opening a new development center in Vilnius.

Rocket Software is a software development company founded in 1990 in Boston, Massachusetts. It currently employs 1500 people around the world and plans to hire more than 200 engineers and programmers in Lithuania in the next 2-3 years.

According to Andrew Baldrian, Vice President of Engineering at Rocket Software, “we want to create an innovative, next-generation software development center that will become an integral part of the growing Rocket Software family.”

Sorainen’s team consisted of Partner Mantas Petkevicius, Senior Associate Agniete Venckiene and Assoicate Auguste Bucyte.

SPC Legal has advised real estate investment company Capital City Group on the sale of a tunnel car-wash station in Lithuania that is leased by UAB Svaros Broliai to a company managed by Kenova Asset Management. Sorainen reportedly advised the buyers on the deal.

According to SPC Legal, “Svaros Broliai is a rapidly expanding Lithuanian car wash station operator and service provider.”

The SPC Legal team included Partner Povilas Karlonas and Associate Juste Adomaityte.

Edvard Gasperskij and Audrius Zvybas have been promoted to Associate Partner at Glimstedt in Lithuania.

Gasperskij specializes in lax and commercial law. According to Glimstedt, “he has extensive experience in advising on reorganization, transaction structuring, business and property acquisition, corporate group formation, and dissolution-related legal and tax matters.” He holds an LL.M. from the Vilniaus University Faculty of Law and an MBA from ISM University of Management and Economics. He has been at Glimstedt for 14 years.

Zvybas specializes in banking and financial law and financial restructuring and rehabilitation, as well as international commercial and investment arbitration proceedings. According to Glimstedt, “he has represented his clients in all major arbitration institutions, such as ICSID, ICC, VIAC, and SCC and as a recommended arbitrator of the Vilnius Court of Commercial Arbitration has been advising clients on complex M&A transactions that involve various financing schemes, including securities, and range from local business transfers to large-scale international mergers and acquisitions.”

Zvybas holds an LL.M. from the Vilnius University and an LL.M. from UCL. Prior to joining Glimstedt in 2004, he spent a year in-house with HIP-Azotara, part of the ARVI group.

Walless has advised the Affidea Group on its acquisition of 100% of the shares of UAB Kuncu Ambulatorine Klinika, the operator of the Vetrunge clinic in Klaipeda, Lithuania. Cobalt advised the unidentified seller on the deal, and financial details were not disclosed.

The Vetrunge clinic provides general medical services, including healthcare services for children, adults, and pregnant women.

Affidea is a provider of advanced diagnostic imaging, outpatient, and cancer care services in Europe. It operates 256 centers in 16 countries. 

Walless’s team included Partner Povilas Zukauskas and Senior Associate Arturas Grimaila.

Cobalt’s team included Partner Elijus Burgis, Senior Associate Zygintas Voronavicius, and Associate Liucija Bitinaite.

Walless has advised Spanish companies Elecnor and Abengoa on their agreement to electrify the Vilnius railway hub and the Kaisiadorys-Klaipeda railway for Lithuania’s state-owned railway company Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai. Sorainen advised Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai on the EUR 363 million contract.

According to Walless, “the project will create an economic value of around EUR 500 million and will also contribute to the reduction of pollution.”

Walless’ team included Partner Laura Ziferman and Associate Gabriele Adomaviciute.

Sorainen’s team included Partner Laurynas Lukosiunas, Counsel Asta Augutyte-Rapkeviciene, and Senior Associates Zilvinas Briedis and Inga Macijauskaite.

SPC Legal has advised UAB Akmenes Projektai, a company managed by Domestique Asset Management, on unspecified investment agreements with Akmene FEZ Management Company in the Akmene free economic zone in Lithuania.

According to SPC Legal, “Akmenes Projektai, together with Vakaru Medienos Grupe, a furniture manufacturing company in the Baltics, is developing a circa EUR 140 million particle board production plant.”

The SPC Legal team was led by Partner Povilas Karlonas.

SPC Legal has successfully represented UAB T Parkas in a dispute regarding the termination of a state-owned land lease agreement with another user of the land plot.

According to SPC Legal, “when [T Parkas] acquired the 30,000-square-meter property near the Vilnius Central Rail Station, also known as Taxi park, in 2016, it encountered a number of operational issues regarding the ability to use the land necessary for the building. The asphalt layer, which was put many years ago on the land plot among the buildings and served as lot/access area, was registered as an individual real estate object owned by one person. The owner of this asphalt layer was granted a lease to a major part of the land plot, which was covered by the asphalt.”

T Parkas’s efforts to terminate the state-owned land lease agreement with the asphalt owner were successful, but the decision of the National Land Service to that effect was appealed in court. According to SPC Legal, “in the course of the court dispute [the firm] brought counter-claims … requesting the nullification of former decisions of the National Land Service [granting] the asphalt owner land lease rights and establishing an easement in respect of the asphalt.”

Finally, SPC Legal reports, “the higher court, after considering all claims of appeal, accepted [T Parkas’s] arguments as well-grounded: [it] declared the former decision of the National Land Service null and void, and also instructed the lower court to re-consider our request regarding the establishment of an easement as there are solid factual and legal grounds for it.”

The SPC Legal team included Partner Povilas Karlonas and Associate Egle Valiuliene. 

Solveiga Paleviciene, Head of the Dispute Resolution Practice at Glimstedt, has been appointed Managing Partner, taking over from Partner Linas Sesickas, whose two-year term ended.

Although stepping down as Managing Partner, Sesickas continues to head the Glimstedt Banking & Finance practice.

Paleviciene, whose main focus is investment law and international arbitration, has been with Glimstedt since 2014. According to the firm, “as a strong professional in her field, she has gained an appreciation of the foreign arbitration community and acts for companies and financial institutions in the most complex contractual and extra-contractual disputes, cases, and shareholder disputes.”

“Solveiga is the mirror of our law firm, reflecting our beliefs and approach to work,” says Partner Kestutis Jaskutelis. “She is a strong and fearless professional, capable of understanding the needs of exceptional clients. Solveiga has won the trust of our most demanding clients, the respect of her colleagues at our law firm, the courts, state authorities, and academia.” 

Former Associate Partners Eva Suduiko and Arturas Kojala have been promoted to full Partners at Cobalt Lithuania, and former Senior Associate Vydmantas Grigoravicius has been made Associate Partner.

According to Cobalt Managing Partner Irmantas Norkus, “2019 was the most successful year for Cobalt in its entire history. We strive to move forward and remain one step ahead. The addition of new partners and the consolidation of the leadership team is our response to the increasing needs of the market and the growing expectations from clients.”

Suduiko specializes in Banking/Finance, Capital Markets, and M&A.  According to Cobalt, “during her legal career, [she] has advised clients in various M&A transactions, cross-border financing, and security arrangements. She constantly advises clients, both local and international, on various regulatory matters, including the cross-border provision of services, the issue of securities, and other capital and financial markets related projects.” She graduated from Vilnius University with a Master’s degree in law. Prior to joining Cobalt in 2004, she spent two years with NASDAQ OMX Vilnius.

Kojala has over 15 years of experience in the areas of Real Estate law and logistics and waste management matters. According to Cobalt, “Arturas advises local and foreign clients on the aforementioned matters, including property development, acquisitions, and disposals, leasing, contracting, design and other matters.” He graduated from the Academy of Law of Lithuania and holds a Master’s degree in law from the Mykolas Romeris University. Prior to joining Cobalt, he spent two and a half years with the Authority for Gambling Control of the Ministry of Finance of Lithuania, a year and a half with the J. Aleksaite Law Firm, another year and a half in-house with Maxima LT, eight years with the Freidenzon, Kojala & Partners law firm, and a year and a half with Sorainen.

Grigoravicius has more than 16 years of experience in the areas of management and lease of private and public real estate, privatization, construction law, and related dispute resolution. According to Cobalt, “Vydmantas advises clients on a broad variety of matters related to real estate, management, use and disposal of state-owned and municipal property, privatization law, and related dispute resolution.” He holds a Master’s degree in law from the Mykolas Romeris University and a Bachelor’s degree from the Lithuanian Police Academy.