CEE Legal Matters

Category: News

  • Sorainen Launches Pro Bono Program to Support Pandemic-Fighting Projects

    Sorainen has launched a special pro bono program dedicated to supporting projects in the Baltics and Belarus set up to help solve pandemic-related issues.

    According to the firm, “by doing this [Sorainen] will effectively distribute EUR 100,000 worth of legal and tax support” through pro bono services.

    To qualify for the program, Sorainen reports, “organizations should be offering products or services designed to help fight the Covid-19 pandemic or mitigate its impact on society and the economy, be based in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, or Belarus, and be public/private sector companies or NGOs. An interest to scale the initiative across the Baltics and Belarus will be ‘considered an advantage.’”

  • Bird & Bird and KG Law Advise Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego on Credit Agreement Annex

    Bird & Bird and Kyriakides Georgopoulos have advised Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego on a credit agreement annex.

    The credit agreement, now annexed for the fourth time, was initially executed in 2018. Under the agreement, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego granted a credit of EUR 15.5 million for the development of an existing 4-star hotel and the construction of the new 5-star hotel on the Greek island of Zakynthos to Rainbow Tours S.A., as well as to White Olive A.E. and Rainbow Hotels A.E. – Greek companies which are part of the Polish Rainbow Tours Group.

    According to Bird & Bird, “Annex No. 4 was signed in connection with the conclusion of an investment agreement by Rainbow Tours and White Olive with Fundusz Ekspansji Zagranicznej, managed by PFR Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych, under which FEZ invested in the development of the hotel business of the Rainbow Tours group on the Greek market. As a result of this investment, FEZ will become a minority shareholder in White Olive. The funds raised under the investment agreement with FEZ will be allocated to the acquisition of two further facilities by this company, thus expanding its hotel portfolio in Greece to five.”

    Bird & Bird’s team included Counsel Maciej Georg and Junior Associate Filip Windak.

    Kyriakides Georgopoulos’ team included Partner Konstantinos Vouterakos and Associate Zaphirenia Theodoraki.

  • Alan Ragueneau Becomes Europe Managing Director at Nextlaw In-House Solutions

    Alan Ragueneau, the former Legal Director Market Operations and Sales EMEA at Whirlpool, has joined Nextlaw In-House Solutions, Dentons’ global legal operation advisory, as Europe Managing Director.

    Ragueneau studied at Cardiff University, the University of Nantes, and the University of California School of Law. Prior to joining Whirlpool in the spring of 2018 he was European Chief Counsel at Mondelez International and served as Global Head of IP at Galderma.

    According to Dentons, “throughout his career, he has had a passion for developing and optimizing legal operation strategies and solutions across various legal practice areas – including intellectual property, transactional/M&A, antitrust, privacy, and compliance.”

    “I am delighted to welcome a professional of Alan’s calibre to lead our European team,” said Chris Pinnington, CEO of Nextlaw In-House Solutions. “With more than two decades of experience in the legal departments of large multinationals, he has a deep understanding of the most pressing challenges facing general counsel, as well as innovative solutions to address them.” 

    “In my new role for Nextlaw In-House Solutions, my main focus will be to help clients bring innovation to their legal departments, improve their operational strategies, manage spending, implement new management systems, as well as lead and engage their teams,” said Ragueneau, of his new mandate.

  • Cobalt Advises Lauma Fabrics on Delivery of COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment to Estonia and Latvia

    Cobalt has advised Lauma Fabrics, a textile manufacturer in the Baltics and Europe, on the delivery of COVID-19 personal protective equipment to Estonia and Latvia.

    According to Cobalt, “the European Medical Group and group company Lauma Fabrics have so far organized two PPE cargo deliveries to Estonia and Latvia to provide much-needed masks and respirators in the fight against COVID-19. The second delivery, on April 16, carried a record-large cargo of 3PLY surgical masks and FFP2 respirators in the Baltics, a total of four million protective masks, and 18,000 respirators. The flight costs were co-financed by the European Union within its Civil Protection Mechanism. The agreement made between Lauma Fabrics and the National Health Service of Latvia states that the company will deliver five million surgical masks and one million respirators in total, with a third delivery of PPE products expected shortly.”

    Cobalt’s team in Riga included Partner Sandija Novicka, Associates Marija Berdova and Arturs Valdersteins, and Assistant Lawyer Gabriela Santare, while its team in Tallinn included Partner Martin Simovart, Counsel Elena Hansov,  Senior Associates Madis Reppo and Tonu Kolts, and Associates Liina Saaremets and Tiit-Gregor Mets.

  • Sorainen Successful for E Energija in Arbitration Against Republic of Latvia

    Sorainen has successfully represented Lithuania’s E Energija against the Republic of Latvia in an ICSID arbitration.

    E Energija received an award of EUR 3.1 million, following ICSID’s April 8 rejection of Latvia’s appeal for annulment of the tribunal’s 2018 award. According to Sorainen, the award, which is now final, is “recognition that Latvia violated the bilateral investment protection treaty [with Lithuania].”

    According to Sorainen, “the arbitral award in the E Energija case was the first award on the merits in the ICSID case against Latvia. After arbitration lasting eight years, the arbitral tribunal ordered Latvia to compensate the Lithuanian investor for losses unjustly caused with regard to investments in Rezekne city central heating companies. As a result of arbitrary actions by Rezekne municipal institutions ‒ namely, canceling licenses previously issued to E Energija’s subsidiary Latgales Energija, as well as seizing assets and investments in the heating network ‒ the Lithuanian investor was forced to leave the market and abandon its investments. E Energija was unable to successfully protect its rights in the Latvian courts, so it filed a request for arbitration with ICSID in 2012. In its award, ICSID concluded that by allowing these actions and transferring the business to a municipal company, Latvia had violated the bilateral investment protection treaty between Latvia and Lithuania.”

    Finally, according to Sorainen, “Latvia had the opportunity to voluntarily enforce the award in 2018, [but] it tried to avoid doing so by applying to annul the award. Nevertheless, the committee ‒ specially set up to review this issue ‒ unequivocally recognized that the award was lawful and the application submitted by Latvia would be rejected. In its decision, the committee likewise acknowledged that Latvia has to cover all costs related to reviewing the application.”

    Sorainen’s team included Partner Valts Nerets, Senior Associate Agita Sprude, and Attorneys Daniel Kaasik and Elvis Grinbergs.

     

  • Dentons, DGKV, Karanovic & Partners, and Schoenherr Advise on Optima’s Acquisition of Majority Stake in Globe Trade Centre

    Dentons, DGKV, Karanovic & Partners, and Ilej & Partners in cooperation with Karanovic & Partners advised Hungary’s Optima Befektesi Alapkezelo on its acquisition of a 61.49% share in Globe Trade Centre S.A. from Lone Star Funds. Schoenherr advised the sellers on the deal.

    Globe Trade Centre is a Polish joint stock company listed on the Warsaw and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges. An affiliate of Lone Star Funds initially acquired a stake in GTC in 2013 and increased its shareholding over time. The GTC portfolio includes commercial buildings and several development projects in Poland and various capital cities in CEE, including Budapest, Bucharest, Belgrade, Zagreb, and Sofia.

    Optimum Ventures Private Equity Fund is a member of the Optima Investment Ltd group — a Hungarian long-term investor in high–quality, income-generating real estate assets in Hungary and CEE. Optima was established in 2015 with the objective to manage funds of the foundations of the National Bank of Hungary.

    Dentons’ team was led by Budapest-based Partners Istvan Reczicza and Rob Irving as well as Impact Advisory Head of Advisory Services Balazs Tuske. The team also included lawyers from Dentons’ offices in Amsterdam, Bucharest, and Warsaw including Partner Kuif Klein Wassink, Jakub Celinski, and Perry Zizzi, and Associates Nora Jakab, Kamran Pirani, and Brigitta Kovacs.

    The Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov team in Sofia was led by Partner Violetta Kunze and included Counsel Kaloyan Krumov, Senior Associates Maya Vladimirova Mircheva, Rusalena Angelova, and Tsvetelina Bayraktarova, and Associates Darina Kuzeva and Martin Dimitrov.

    The Karanovic & Partners team in Belgrade consisted of Senior Associates Ana Lukovic, Veljko Smiljanic, and Milorad Gajic, and Associate Marija Vicic.

    The Ilej & Partners in cooperation with Karanovic & Partners team in Zagreb was led by Partner Goran Ilej and included Senior Associate Franka Baica and Associate Antonija Kanjer.

    Schoenherr’s team was led by Partners Markus Piuk and Madalina Neagu and included Bucharest-based Senior Attorneys Alexandra Munteanu and Cristina Enaga. The firm’s team included Belgrade Partner Ivan Pantovic; Budapest Partner Zita Albert and Budapest Attorney Laszlo Krupl, Chisinau Attorney at Law Tatiana Iurkovska; Warsaw Partner Agata Demuth, Attorneys at Law Konrad Bisiorek and Jan Bagatela; and Zagreb Attorney at Law Ksenija Sourek.

     

  • Six CEE Lawyers in CMS’s Global Partnership Round

    Six CEE-based lawyers — Agnieszka Skorupinska, Jakub Podkowa, and Jakub Wieczorek in Warsaw, Natalia Kushniruk in Kyiv, Roxana Fratila in Bucharest, and Artashes Oganov in Moscow — are among the 41 worldwide that CMS has promoted to the firm’s partnership as part of its 2020 round.

    Agnieszka Skorupinska, who heads CMS CEE’s and Poland’s Environmental Law Practice, joined the firm in 2016 after six years at Dentons and three at WKB Wiercinski, Kwiecinski, Baehr. She graduated from the University of Warsaw in 2007.

    Jakub Podkowa and Jakub Wieczorek, who both specialize in Banking/Finance matters, both moved to CMS in 2018 from Dentons, where Podkowa had spent over 11 years and Wieczorek four (Wieczorek also spent six years at Clifford Chance). Podkowa graduated from the Marie Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin in 2004 and Wieczorek from the University of Warsaw in 2008.

    Ukrainian lawyer Natalia Kushniruk specializes in Real Estate and Construction. She has spent the past 13 years at CMS, and obtained her law degree from Ukraine’s National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in 2005.

    Romanian lawyer Roxana Fratila, who heads CMS’s Real & Estate and Construction practice in Romania, joined CMS in 2006 after spending one year at Musat & Asociatii and four years as a lawyer with Ernst & Young.

    Russian lawyer Artashes Oganov, who heads CMS’s Real Estate practice in Russia, joined the firm in 2017 after spending ten years with Dentons and legacy Salans and two years as an associate with Beiten Burkhardt. He received his law degree in 2005 from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

    “Demonstrating the firm’s ongoing commitment to nurturing and promoting female talent,” a CMS statement declared, “women account for half of the new partner promotions in the UK and over 40% of all new partners globally.”

    “We are very pleased to recognize the great talent and skills we have across the firm,” commented Penelope Warne, Senior Partner of CMS UK. “We are also delighted by the strong representation of women joining as new partners and are very committed to investing in all our people and empowering all of them to reach their full potential. We would like to congratulate all our new partners on their well-deserved promotions.”

  • Lucia Regecova Moves from MOL Back to Glatzova & Co.

    Lucia Regecova, former Head of Corporate Services at MOL Czech Republic, has rejoined Glatzova & Co.

    Regecova, who joins the firm’s Prague office as Counsel, spent six years at Glatzova & Co. as Managing Associate and Head of Slovak Branch before leaving in 2015 to become the Head of Legal, Procurement and Asset Management at MOL Czech Republic. She received degrees from the Catholic University of Lublin, in Poland, and University of Trnava in the Slovak Republic.

    “We highly appreciate Lucia for her professionalism and we are very happy to have her back in the office,” said Founding Partner Vladimira Glatzova.

  • Dentons Promotes 20 Partners Across Europe and Central Asia

    Two Turkish lawyers and six Polish lawyers have been included in Dentons’ 20-person global partnership round.

    In Istanbul, Ozge Akman (Litigation and Dispute Resolution) and Mahmut Karyagdi (Intellectual Property and Technology) were promoted to partner. In Warsaw, Agnieszka Kulinska (Energy and Regulatory), Karol Laskowski (Intellectual Property and Technology), Agnieszka Lipska and Bartosz Nojek (Banking and Finance), Jakub Sobotkowski (Real Estate), and Dariusz Stolarek (Tax) were promoted as well.

    Ozge Akman holds an LL.B. from Marmara University and an LL.M. from Istanbul Bilgi University. Prior to joining Dentons in 2010, she spent four years with Akman Law, two years with Bener, a year with Fora, and another year with Akman Law.

    Mahmut Karyagdi has an LL.B. from Istanbul University. Prior to joining Dentons in 2010, he spent almost two years with the Mustafa Unal law firm and almost six years with the Akman Law Firm.

    Agnieszka Kulinska has a Master’s degree in law from the University of Warsaw. Prior to joining legacy Salans in 2010 she spent four and a half years with Wardynski & Partners.

    Karol Laskowski, who is the Head of IP/TMT at Dentons Warsaw, has a Master’s degree in law from the University of Gdansk and an LL.M. from Tilburg University. He’s been with Dentons since 2011.

    Agnieszka Lipska has a 2004 Master’s degree in law from Warsaw University. Before joining Dentons in 2016, she spent almost four and a half years with CMS Cameron McKenna and almost eight and a half years with Allen & Overy.

    Bartosz Nojek joined Dentons immediately after receiving his Master’s degree in law from Warsaw University in 2009.

    Jakub Sobotkowski has a 2004 Master’s degree in law from Warsaw University as well. He spent 10 years with legacy Salans before it merged and transformed into Dentons in 2013.

    Dariusz Stolarek has a Master’s degree in law from the University of Lodz and a Ph.D. from the University of Warsaw. He joined legacy Salans as a Tax Associate in 2006.

    Dentons reports that six out of the 20 lawyers promoted in eight different countries were women.

    “In these challenging times, it is more important than ever to stay true to our strategy and our values, and that includes developing, nurturing, and recognizing top talent,” said Tomasz Dabrowski, Dentons Europe CEO. “I am delighted to congratulate these outstanding lawyers on reaching this important career milestone. Their well-deserved promotions reflect the strong performance of our business over the last year and our long-term optimism for the future.”

  • Sorainen Advises Kaamos Group on EUR 15 Million Loan from EBRD

    Sorainen has advised the Kaamos Group, its Estonian subsidiary Kamos Timber, and its Belarusian subsidiary, Mozyr Sawmill, on a EUR 15 million loan from the EBRD for the construction of a new sawmill in Belarus on a brownfield site near Mozyr.

    Kaamos Group operates in property development, construction, and timber in Estonia, Latvia, and Belarus.

    Sorainen’s team included Partners Kiryl Apanasevich and Piret Jesse, Senior Associate Ann Laevskaya, and Associates Artem Semchik and Robin Teever.

    Sorainen did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

    Editor’s Note: After this article was published CEE Legal Matters learned that Borovtsov & Salei had advised the EBRD on the deal. The firm’s team included Partner Alexander Botian, Senior Associate Nikolay Artemyev, and Associate Saman Negaresh.