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“It’s like an oxymoron to try and offer personal service for private clients in a giant law firm,” Jan Pavelka says, explaining why, after helping launch and manage the Private Clients department at Havel, Holasek & Partners, he left that firm last summer to start the Pavelka boutique.

Pavelka, who graduated from Pilsen University in 2005, joined Havel & Holasek as a trainee in 2008, and he became a Czech attorney in 2009. He was promoted to Managing Associate in 2014, but when his expectations for future advancement failed to realize, he started to consider alternatives. In the summer of 2015 he ran into Banking/Finance lawyer Ondrej Planecka of PWC — the two had first met when Havel & Holasek tried to recruit Plenecka several years earlier — and an innocent conversation about Pavelka’s plans led, eventually, to the two deciding to work together. They subsequently hired junior lawyers Karel Rada and Lucia Polackova and moved into impressive offices overlooking Namesti Miru in the second district of Prague.

With the first generation of business owners after communism now considering retirement, inheritances, trusts, and (he says) often divorce, Pavelka believes single-shop practices covering all their needs is going to be especially hot for the next decade or so. As a result, Pavelka says, his team is dedicated to providing “complete care to the client, from A to Z.”

And, indeed, Pavelka is proud to note that his team offers complimentary skills. Pavelka himself comes with a Corporate/M&A background, while Planecka — who spent some time at Salans in Prague before moving to PWC in October 2011 — comes with a Banking/Finance focus. Junior lawyer Karel Rada specializes in Insolvency, while Lucia Polackova has a mixed corporate/employment/IP background.

Finding clients seems not to be a concern at the moment. Pavelka claims that the network of contacts and clients he developed while at Havel & Holasek — he co-managed the well-known Havel & Holasek “Gentleman’s Club” social evenings for clients with Managing Partner Marek Losan, along with other business development activities — is more than enough to keep his office busy for the time being. Nonetheless, he made a point of finding premises with available space, as he expects to grow in future years — though he insists Pavelka will stay a Private Clients boutique.

Pavelka smiles. “This is the best thing that ever happened to us. Because we can take it somewhere. Sometimes good things happen in life.”

Klavins Ellex has advised SIA Mezaparks SPV on its sale of shares in SIA Biroju Centrs Ezerparks (BCE) to the joint stock company Valsts Nekustamie Ipasumi (VNI), the state-owned company charged with managing all state-owned real estate. Cobalt/Borenius (the merger between the two firms concluded on January 1, 2016) advised VNI. Consequently, via its acquisition of Mezaparks’ 68.5% of BCE shares, VNI becomes the sole owner of BCE. Closing is expected on January 15th, 2016.

According to Klavins Ellex Partner Ilga Gudrenika-Krebs, who led the Klavins Ellex team on the deal, VNI already owned 31.5% of the shares in BCE, while Mezaparks owned the remaining 68.5% of the shares in BCE (since the foundation of BCE in June 2008). The main asset of BCE is the new administrative building of the Latvian tax administration authority, which is delivered in leasehold to the authority for 30 years. The building, located at Talejas 1, in Riga, is a state of the art building with the total area of 40,000 square meters, commissioned in 2014 and purpose-built to house the central operations of the State Revenue Service, including tax and customs authorities.

Klavins Ellex Partner Ilga Gudrenika-Krebs led the team advising Mezaparks SPV.

The Cobalt/Borenius team advising SRE was led by Riga Managing Partner Lauris Liepa and Partner Indrikis Liepa.

Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners (EPAM) has announced that, as part of its annual promotion round, Competition lawyer Anna Numerova has been promoted to Partner in Moscow; and that Igor Schikow, the Head of EPAM’s Tax Practice in Moscow, and Viktoriya Podvorchanska, the Head of the Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Practice in Kyiv, had both been promoted to Counsel.

Numerova joined Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners as Counsel in 2013 from Korelskiy, Ischuk, Astafiev, Attorneys at Law, where she been a Partner for a year, and spent over years before that as an Associate at Alrud. According to a statement released by the firm, “she has outstanding experience advising on a wide range of antitrust issues, including those related to M&A transactions and transfer of assets by large local and international companies in Russia and abroad. She also represents clients before the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia as well as in arbitration courts, advises on various commercial and corporate law issues and conducts legal due diligence. Anna chairs the General Council of the Non-Profit Partnership for Competition Support, she is a member of the Government Commission on Competition and Development of Small and Medium-sized Businesses, a member of the Advisory Board on Advertising of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia and of the Non-Profit Partnership ‘CIS Competition Support Association.’” The firm reports that in 2015 Numerova was awarded the Russian Second-Class Medal of the Order of Merit for the Motherland. She holds a 2008 Master’s degree in private law from Russia’s School of Private Law and a 2011 LL.M. in International Business and Economic Law from Georgetown University Law Center (USA).

Schikow, who has been appointed Counsel in Moscow, is the Head of EPAM’s Tax Practice in that office. According to the firm, “he has fundamental experience in domestic and international tax law, which is based on a deep understanding of the theoretical law and excellent knowledge of the specifics in Russian law application. Igor focuses on complex tax projects that include a complex analysis of the issues, the organizational structures and the ultimate tax solution providing for appropriate remedies. Igor is also a preferred tax adviser for major German and Austrian DAX-listed industrial companies in connection with their investments in Russia. Igor graduated from the Law School of Academic Law University at the Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. He is a member of the Tax Advisors Chamber in Moscow, where he has been teaching a course on international tax law since 2008. Igor graduated from the MBA course in International Taxation at Freiburg University, Germany, where he also teaches a course on corporations’ taxation in Russia.”

New Counsel Podvorchanska is the Head of Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Practice of Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners Ukraine. According to the firm, she “advises companies in healthcare and pharmaceutical sector on their operations in Ukraine, with particular focus on regulatory matters. This includes advice on regulatory compliance in such areas as product approval, licensing, quality control, GMP certification, pricing. She also counsels pharmaceutical and medical product companies on business structuring, supports marketing campaigns and product launches, assists with development or refinement of their corporate policies and procedures and participation in public procurements. Viktoriya obtained her Master of International Law degree from Institute of International Relations, Kyiv Taras Shevchenko National University.”

Along with Numerova, Schikow, and Podvorchanska, EPAM also announced that Michael Copeland had been made a Partner in the firm’s London office, that Alexey Andrusenko, Andrey Mashkovtsev, Roman Malovitsky, and Andrey Bashirov had been appointed Counsels in Moscow, and that Arsen Miliutin and Oleksandr Maydanyk were appointed Counsels in Kyiv.

Wierzbowski Eversheds has announced that attorney Lukasz Jankowski, who heads the firm’s energy law practice, has been promoted to Partner.  

Jankowski has been affiliated with the firm since 2013, when he moved over from the Chalas i Wspolnicy law firm. According to Wierzbowski Eversheds, “he has extensive experience providing legal support for electricity and gas companies …. He has carried out projects for energy trading companies and distribution system operators. He has advised on investments in grid infrastructure. He has negotiated and drafted contracts for sale of electricity, contracts for distribution services, comprehensive agreements, grid connection agreements and EFET contracts. He has represented enterprises in the power sector in numerous administrative disputes before the President of the Energy Regulatory Office and in proceedings before the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection, the courts of appeal and the Supreme Court of Poland. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw.”

Along with Jankowski, the firm announced that banking and finance attorneys Malgorzata Bakula and Magdalena Chrzan had been promoted to Senior Associate.

Krzysztof Wierzbowski, Managing Partner of Wierzbowski Eversheds, commented: “I would like to congratulate each of the attorneys who have been promoted and to thank them for their contribution to the growth of their practices and the entire law firm. Over the past three years, Lukasz Jankowski has built a strong and recognized energy law practice. With the huge work and dedication he inspires in his whole team, our portfolio of clients now includes the leading Polish and international entities from the energy sector. He is an excellent example of a leader and I am very happy we have him on our team.” 

Weinhold Legal has provided legal services to LKQ Corporation on Czech and Slovakian elements of its EUR 1.04 billion pan-European acquisition of The Rhiag-Inter Auto Parts group from the Apax Partners private equity group. K&L Gates was global counsel to LKQ, while Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advised Apax Partners on the deal.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016 subject to the satisfaction of conditions and receipt of regulatory approvals.

LKQ Corp. — a public company incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Illinois — is a leading supplier of alternative automotive parts It has operations in North America, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Scandinavia, Australia, and Taiwan. Rhiag — which includes ELIT Group and Auto Kelly,  the leading distributors of auto parts in the Czech Republic and Slovakia — is a leading European distributor of aftermarket spare parts for passenger cars and commercial vehicles. It operates through 247 distribution centers and 10 warehouses, in Italy, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Poland, and Spain.

Apax Partners is a leading global private equity advisory firm. Over its more than 30-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised 32 funds with aggregate commitments of USD 38 billion. Funds advised by Apax Partners invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech and Telco, Services, Healthcare and Consumer.

“Rhiag expands our addressable market with the addition of 10 new countries to our European footprint,” stated Robert Wagman, President and Chief Executive Officer of LKQ Corporation.  “Rhiag has a strong market position in Italy and the Czech Republic and experienced management teams in their respective markets. Clearly this acquisition will accelerate our strategy of creating a Pan-European aftermarket mechanical parts distribution business in this highly-fragmented EUR 188 billion wholesale DIFM market.”

Luca Zacchetti, Rhiag Group CEO, commented: “I believe that, combined with LKQ,  Rhiag Group will be in an even stronger position to deliver its superior service level to customers across Europe.  I am committed to pursuing our existing strategic goal of profitable market share growth.”

Rhiag’s revenue for the twelve months ended September 30, 2015 was approximately EUR 882 million, and LKQ expects the transaction to be accretive to its earnings in 2016. These projected results exclude restructuring and acquisition related expenses.

LKQ intends to initially finance the acquisition with borrowings on its revolving credit facility and the assumption of Rhiag’s indebtedness. As of September 30, 2015, the Company had approximately USD 1.3 billion of available borrowing capacity on its credit facility.

Weinhold Legal´s team was led by Daniel Weinhold and Dusan Kmoch provided services related to Czech and Slovak legal aspects of the transaction, including extensive legal due diligence. 

The K&L Gates team was led by London Corporate Partner Jeremy Davis and Milan Corporate Partner Pasquale Marini, supported by London Competition Partner Neil Baylis, London Insurance Partner Frank Thompson, supported by lawyers Patrick Navein, Francesco Carloni, Francesco Peruffo, and Serena Germani. Marini stated: “With operations in Italy, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Poland, this was a transaction requiring a high degree of responsiveness and genuine pan-European support.”

The London-based Simpson Thacher team included Partners Derek Baird, Nicholas Shaw, and Ian Barratt, Counsel Kate Sinclair, and Associates Lucy Gillett, Vanessa Tisci, Martin Weatherston-Wilson, and Rohan Kaul.

Neither Weinhold Legal nor K&L Gates was able to provide information about other CEE firms working on the deal before this article was published.

Kochanski Zieba & Partners has announced that attorney Pawel Borowski was promoted to Partner, and will head the firm’s Pharmaceutical, Healthcare and Life Sciences sector practice.

Borowski joined KZP in July 2014. He represents clients in pharmaceutical matters, particularly with respect to clinical trials, distribution, sales, marketing, and promotion of medicinal products, as well as refund proceedings. Prior to joining KZP he worked, inter alia, at the Warsaw offices of the Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Lovells law firms. He also lectured postgraduate students at the Business School of Warsaw University of Technology on Pharmaco-economics, Pharma Marketing, and Pharmaceutical Law.

The firm also announced that Aleksandra Polak, Sylwia Uzieblo-Kowalska, Anna Zieba, Klaudia Szymanska, and Mateusz Ostrowski have all been promoted to Senior Associate positions.

Speaking of the promotion round, KZP Co-Managing Partner Rafal Zieba said, “as a firm we believe in the continuous development of our lawyers.” He continued: “This is a clear demonstration that a glass ceiling does not exist at KZP. Many of those that have been promoted have joined us from international law firms. We believe that having a relatively young, yet very experienced group of lawyers, gives us a huge advantage over our competition. We are seeing more and more a new breed of younger in-house counsel, and having a team that can work hand-in-hand with our clients, we consider is hugely beneficial to our clients. We would like to congratulate all those promoted and wish them further successes.”

Sorainen has advised major Lithuanian credit union Mano Unija on structuring the financing of business loans it had already issued through the Latvian peer-to-peer lending marketplace Mintos.

Mano Unija will place on the Mintos platform its business loans secured by mortgage and borrower guarantees. Business loans will be from EUR 10,000 to EUR 100,000, with repayment periods from six months to five years. The plan is that the loan risk will be very low and the annual yield 9 percent.

Vytautas Olsauskas, the Chairman of the Mano Unija Credit Committee, explained Mano Unija’s use of Mintor: “Lithuania lacks options that allow financing for small and medium companies. Almost every day we meet with business people who face difficulties in obtaining the necessary funding for their business or ideas. So we are looking for new options that allow us to provide new solutions which would not only eliminate problems regarding lack of financing for small and medium companies but also spread the entrepreneurial spirit in our country. Partnership with Mintos will help us to implement this mission.”

Martins Sulte, CEO of Mintos, added: “Investments in business loans through the Mintos platform reached almost EUR 1 million within a few months. We are happy to cooperate with Mano Unija since this will allow us to provide much more support for Lithuanian small and medium companies.”

The Sorainen team was led by Partners Tomas Kontautas and Rudolfs Engelis, supported by Senior Associate Augustas Klezys and Associate Arturas Asakavicius.

DLA Piper has appointed David Christian Bauer as Country Managing Partner in Austria, taking over from Claudine Vartian, who in turn takes over for Bauer as Location Head for Litigation & Regulatory.

Bauer has been with the firm for over 5 years and has led the Vienna Litigation & Regulatory practice since 2013, and in addition to his new role he will continue to practice. He focuses on high end cross-border banking litigation, regulatory proceedings, corporate litigation, arbitration, M&A and foundation law. 

Vartian has led the Vienna office for the past 6 years and, according to a statement released by the firm, “has been fundamental to its restructuring and development in recent years.” The firm also reports that Vartian “will continue to serve as a member of both the International and Global Boards and also take the lead promoting the firm’s pro bono work in Austria.”

Speaking of his new role, Bauer said: “I am very much looking forward to my new role and to working with colleagues locally and internationally to further build our position and reputation in the market. My priority areas of focus are our clients and our people – developing client relationships and creating opportunities for our people to build their careers. Our clients can continue to count on DLA Piper as a trusted global legal advisor that adds value to their business.”  

Vartian said: “David Christian Bauer is an excellent lawyer, a trusted advisor for many top corporations and also an experienced manager. Under his leadership the Vienna office will continue its successful growth process.”

Magnusson has announced that Attorney-at-Law Elvira Tulvik has joined its team in Estonia, where she will strengthen the team’s capabilities in administrative law, tax, gambling law, and dispute resolution. She moves over from KPMG, where she had spent the past two and a half years.

According to Magnusson, Tulvik’s main areas of practice are administrative law and administrative court procedure, specializing particularly in tax and gambling law. She represents clients before state authorities and in court. She also advises clients on improving their business structures in terms of tax efficiency, minimizing risks, complying with regulations, and communicating with partners and the state. She advises on day-to-day operations as well as on major transactions, including business reorganizations.

According to Tulvik herself, “I have worked with many sectors, but mostly technology and IT, banking and finance, real estate, energy, transportation, and gambling …. I have also dealt with the law of armed conflict and human rights.”

Tulvik has a colorful background. She has held various senior staff positions in the Estonian Defence Forces, and worked for KPMG as a tax advisor from 2004-2005 before moving to Deloitte in a similar capacity in September 2005. In September 2010 she moved from Deloitte to Sorainen, and in June 2013 she moved to KPMG. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from the US Naval Academy, and Masters Degrees in both International Relations and Law from the University of Tartu.

Magnusson’s Tallinn office reported being “delighted to announce her appointment and are looking forward to sharing her skills and expertise with our clients in the future.”

K&L Gates Warsaw has announced that Administrative Partner Maciej Jamka has been awarded the Gold Cross of Merit by former Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski.

The Gold Cross of Merit is the highest of three grades (the others being Silver and Bronze) of a Polish civil state award established on June 23, 1923, to recognize services to the Polish state. At the time of its establishment the Cross of Merit was the highest civilian award in Poland. It was awarded to citizens who went beyond the call of duty in their work for the country and society as a whole. 

Jamka received the honor for his role six years ago in the concluding a settlement in an ongoing dispute between the Republic of Poland and Dutch insurer Eureko BV over a failed privatization, which had lasted more than 10 years. According to a statement by K&L Gates, that dispute “not only threatened the country with a huge indemnity [according to the Wall Street Journal at the time, it “sav[ed] the country from a potential USD 12.1 billion payout in an international arbitration case”], but also materially deteriorated Poland’s international reputation as a place for politically safe investments.” At the same time, an element of the settlement was the planned IPO of Polish insurance company PZU SA, which was wildly successful several months later.

Commenting on the award on LinkedIn, Jamka wrote: “Solving this long-term dispute was definitely one of the most difficult transactions in 25 years and thanks to this transaction Poland today has the largest insurer in the region, which generates billions in profits, and has a recently consolidated banking sector. We rarely come across such honors in the legal profession, so it was even more of an honor to receive this award.”