Janis Lagzdins has left Eversheds Bitans to lead PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal in Latvia.

Janis Lagzdins
Eversheds Bitans itself got its start as the firm associated with PWC a decade ago, though it separated from the firm when the Enron bankruptcy put great pressure on the Big 4 accounting firms to spin off their teams providing legal advice to clients. “So,” Lagzdins says with a laugh, “I can say I’m starting again at the beginning with PWC.”
Lagzdins initially joined PWC as Head of Legal in July. The post had previously been held by Estonian Karl Paadam, who led the Latvian team as well as its Talinn counterpart. Paadum now focuses on the Estonian office, and on his regional role as Head of PwC Legal Baltics. In August PWC Legal became independent of PWC, and Lagzdins’ title changed as well, to Managing Partner. Lagzdins minimizes the change, however, saying it’s a formality more than anything else. He explains that PWC Legal is “like a separate entity, but at the same time [remains] very integrated into the network of PWC.” As a result, he emphasizes, “we are working shoulder to shoulder with our tax consultant, assurance, and advisory colleagues.”
Although Lagzdins describes PWC Legal in Estonia as a “full service” firm (except for general civic litigation), he feels the association with PWC is a strength. He says, “we have a lot of clients from PWC, and a lot of clients in cooperation with the tax team for reorganizations and restructurings, so therefore we are in a good position in the market right now, because in Latvia most firms just offer legal assistance, and clients have to search for separate tax advice. So in that way we are one step in front of our competition.
Lagzdins currently manages a team of 5 lawyers, but he says he expects to add two more senior associates before the end of this year, and he hopes to had another 2 in 2015.