TNS SIFO Prospera: Roschier maintains its ranking as the number one law firm in Finland in the 2012
Roschier has been ranked as the number one law firm in Finland for the fourth consecutive year in the most recent independent Law Firm Review conducted by TNS SIFO Prospera. The survey was conducted for the fourth time in Finland and it included 93 Finnish organizations with the highest volume of annual purchases of legal services.

Roschier ranked as the overall leader in Finland based on the majority of the evaluation criteria. In particular, the firm is considered to be ahead of its competitors in large project capacity, specialist competence and client understanding. In two of the new evaluation criteria introduced this year, namely high-quality advice and being a good “speaking partner” on strategic issues, Roschier ranked number one among the respondents of the survey.

In addition, Roschier has recently received recognition as one of the top firms in Sweden in Prospera’s Tier 1 Law Firm Review, published in October 2011.

During the past year, Roschier has steadily strengthened its position in Sweden and continued to dominate on the Finnish market, a fact which is confirmed by its participation in many of the major deals on the market in 2011. These include, among others, the acquisition of the Finnish energy distribution and district heating assets of Vattenfall AB by a consortium of 3i, Goldman Sachs and Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company, the sale by Fortum Oyj of Fortum Energiaratkaisut Oy and Fortum Termest AS to EQT, the joint venture of Finnair and Flybe for the acquisition of Finnish Commuter Airlines, DENTSPLY International’s acquisition of Astra Tech, and the outsourcing of Nokia’s Symbian software operations to Accenture.

“While our firm has consistently been ranked as a top-tier Northern European law firm by leading independent ranking institutions, rankings are to us just a confirmation that we are doing the right things for the benefit of our clients. That having been said, we are of course extremely happy and honored that we have maintained our position in the Prospera survey for four consecutive years,” comments Roschier’s managing partner Rainer Hilli. 

You may find more information here.

RLN Successfully Assisted in the Dairy Cartel Case
Raidla Lejins & Norcous successfully assisted two major Lithuanian dairy companies AB Rokiškio sūris and UAB Marijampolės pieno konservai in connection with their alleged participation in cartel agreements and the fines imposed by the Competition Council. Vilnius Regional Administrative Court cancelled the fines for an allegedly prohibited exchange of information between competing undertakings.

The court held that the Competition Council had wrongfully imposed a fine of almost LTL 1.65m on AB Rokiškio sūris and a fine of LTL 256 500 on UAB Marijampolės pieno konservai. The main reason for the decision made by Vilnius Regional Administrative Court was that the Competition Council missed the limitation period within which, in line with statutory requirements, an action may be brought against economic entities for an alleged infringement. The case was led by Managing Partner Dr Irmantas Norkus and Partner Elijus Burgis. The firm’s associates Ilona Jančiauskaitė and Marius Inta also assisted the client in the case.

RLN and mergermarket Introduced the First Baltic M&A Analysis
Raidla Lejins & Norcous carried out the Baltics M&A Monitor survey jointly with mergermarket, an independent mergers and acquisitions intelligence service which belongs to the Financial Times group. This was the first survey of its kind in the Baltics, providing an in-depth overview of M&A deals completed in 2011 in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and M&A outlook for 2012.

The Baltics M&A Monitor publication and the survey findings were introduced on 24 January at the conference hosted by Raidla Lejins & Norcous. Speeches at the conference were delivered by Dr Irmantas Norkus, Managing Partner of Raidla Lejins & Norcous, and Ms Sarah Syed, mergermarket Editor.

The Baltics M&A Monitor survey is available here.

Dr Rimantas Simaitis Has Become the Fifth Partner of Raidla Lejins & Norcous Vilnius Office
Since 1 January 2012, Dr Rimantas Simaitis has been promoted to become the fifth partner of Raidla Lejins & Norcous Vilnius office and will further lead the Dispute Resolution Practice Group of the firm. The practice group is the largest of its kind in the market for legal services and is comprised of 16 outstanding professionals in the area of litigation, arbitration, bankruptcy and restructuring, insurance, energy and transport law, public procurement and alternative dispute resolution.

“Five years of work with attorney at law Rimantas Simaitis have enabled us to achieve excellent results in the area of dispute resolution. Our clients appreciate and trust his ability to come up with tailor-made solutions and make them work. We believe that the move from cooperation to partnership will enhance further the competence of Raidla Lejins & Norcous in the area of litigation,” said Dr Irmantas Norkus, Managing Partner of Raidla Lejins & Norcous.

Dr R. Simaitis joined Raidla Lejins & Norcous in 2006. Prior to joining the firm he had practised in the Civil Cases Divisions of the Supreme Court of Lithuania and the Court of Appeals of Lithuania for many years. The new partner of the firm is a former Chairman of the Working Group on Mediation of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ-GT-MED); member and/or head of different working groups formed by the Board of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, the Ministry of Justice, and the Judicial Council; Associated Professor at Vilnius University; recommended arbitrator of the Vilnius Court of Commercial Arbitration; and a recommended mediator of the Chamber of Arbitration of Milan.

The areas of expertise of Dr R. Simaitis include litigation, alternative dispute resolution through arbitration, negotiation, mediation, conciliation, adjudication, bankruptcy and restructuring, enforcement, criminal law and procedure, energy law, and transport law.

The international legal directory PLC Which lawyer? has ranked the Dispute Resolution Practice Group led by Dr Rimantas Simaitis among the highest ranking Baltic practices in 2011.

Another directory of law firms, The Legal 500, notes the experience of Raidla Lejins & Norcous in arbitration proceedings and calls Dr R. Simaitis “excellent in resolving disputes” and “able to deal with the most complex problems”.

The professionals of the Raidla Lejins & Norcous Dispute Resolution Practice Group, led by Dr R. Simaitis, provide legal advice to banks, insurance companies, energy, manufacturing and trading, IT and telecommunication, construction and real estate development companies, transport undertakings, and public authorities.

Dr R. Simaitis is a legal adviser to International Road Union (IRU), UAB Vilniaus energija, UAB Litesko, If P&C Insurance AS, UAB Merko statyba, UAB Kauno termofikacijos elektrinė, UAB ATEA and others. At present Dr R. Simaitis is advising a large number of aggrieved AB bankas SNORAS creditors.

The law firm headed by attorney at law Dr Irmantas Norkus has three more practice groups: Corporate Transactions and Finance Practice Group led by partner Elijus Burgis, Real Estate and Construction Practice Group led by partner Aušra Mudėnaitė, and General Commercial Law Practice Group led by partner Žilvinas Kvietkus.

At the Financial Times and mergermarket European M&A Awards held on 8 December 2011 Raidla Lejins & Norcous was awarded the Legal Adviser of the Year in the Baltics.

Raidla Lejins & Norcous awarded Baltic Legal Adviser of the Year, 2011
At the annual Financial Times and mergermarket European M&A Awards held in London on 8 December 2011, Raidla Lejins & Norcous was awarded the title of Legal Adviser of the Year in the Baltics.

The Financial Times and mergermarket, an international M&A intelligence service, celebrated their fifth annual awards ceremony where they recognise excellence in corporate, private equity, banking and legal M&A services. Award winners are selected based on intelligence concerning M&A transactions in Europe as well as the opinion of an independent expert panel of leading European M&A practitioners (please click here to view the methodology details).

The title of Financial Adviser of the Year in Europe went to Morgan Stanley, an investment bank. The European Legal Adviser of the Year title was awarded to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, a major player in the international legal services market.

"We are grateful for this recognition which we view as a satisfying reward for our hard work during the last year. We are especially honoured to have been placed among this group of elite award winners, which is yet another recognition of our top place on the Baltic market that is worthy of note from the respected international authorities. At the same time, it is an incentive and an obligation for the future," said Dr Irmantas Norkus, Managing Partner of Raidla Lejins & Norcous Vilnius office.

You may find more information here.

Bloomberg: RLN Ranks among the Best Legal Advisers in Eastern Europe
According to Bloomberg’s 2011 January - December M&A Legal Advisory Rankings, law offices Raidla Lejins & Norcous were ranked 5th amongst the top legal advisors who advised on M&A transactions in the CEE region.

Raidla Lejins & Norcous is amongst Bloomberg’s top ranked 20 legal advisers. Our firm was ranked alongside the international law market leaders Allen & Overy, Linklaters LLP, White & Case LPP, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and others.

The rankings of the international business and financial news agency Bloomberg are made according to the opinions of financial and legal professionals from different sectors and M&A deal statistics.

You may find more information here.

M. Jablonskis is Included in the List of Recommended Arbitrators
On 9 December attorney at law Mindaugas Jablonskis, Managing Associate at Raidla Lejins & Norcous, was included in the List of Recommended Arbitrators of the Vilnius Court of Commercial Arbitration (VCCA). He was recommended as an IT law expert by INFOBALT Association, who is a VCCA stakeholder.

Mindaugas Jablonskis is recommended by VCCA as an arbitrator in the following areas of law: civil, international, EU, commercial, construction, company, energy, environmental, IT, intellectual property and telecommunications regulation law. Mindaugas Jablonskis is an energy law and regulated markets expert at Raidla Lejins & Norcous and heads the firm’s Energy Law Practice Group.

Included in VCCA List of Recommended Arbitrators is also Dr Rimantas Simaitis, Associated Partner, Head of the Dispute Resolution Practice Group. At present, VCCA List of Recommended Arbitrators is comprised of 95 arbitrators.

The List of Recommended Arbitrators can be viewed here.

Baltic M&A Deal Points Study 2011
Raidla Lejins & Norcous, together with a number of leading Baltic law firms compiled a thorough M&A transactions overview. The study analyses 96 M&A transactions completed during the period January 2009 – June 2011. The survey covered M&A and joint venture transactions, i.e. acquisition or merger of businesses via share or asset transactions or in any other way. There were no limitations as to deal value, nature of the parties or the target or the sales process of the transaction. However, the survey included questions regarding these features.

The survey analyses various different aspects of transactions and provides statistics by regional coverage, industry, payment terms, transaction value, timeline, governing law and many more.

The survey is available here.

RLN has contributed an overview of taxation to NASDAQ OMX annual guide
NASDAQ OMX has released its annual guide to the Baltic securities market. The overview covers the market situation, investment opportunities and development, trading statistics and companies listed on the Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn stock exchanges.

As a tradition, an overview of taxation in respective Baltic jurisdictions was prepared by Raidla Lejins & Norcous offices in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

The overview is available here.

PLC Which lawyer? 2011 Ranks RLN among Top Law Firms
The international legal directory PLC Which lawyer? recently announced its 2011 ratings of law firms. Raidla Lejins & Norcous has been recognised as a leading Lithuanian law firm in the category of dispute resolution. In addition, RLN corporate/M&A and real estate practice areas are highly recommended. The firm’s legal experts have been included in the list of recommended lawyers: Managing Partner Dr Irmantas Norkus is recommended in competition/anti-trust, corporate/M&A, and finance practice areas; Partner Elijus Burgis is recommended in competition/anti-trust and corporate/M&A; and Partner Aušra Mudėnaitė is recommended in real estate and dispute resolution.

„PLC Which lawyer?“ rankings for Lithuania:

RLN Survey: Only One Tenth of Lithuania’s Large Business Sector Has Dispute Resolution Policies in Place
In September and October this year Law Offices Raidla Lejins & Norcous and public relations company Publicum carried out a survey of nearly 100 Lithuanian companies in order to identify the prevailing trends in dispute resolution in Lithuania. According to the survey results, only one tenth of Lithuania’s large business sector has more comprehensive dispute resolution policies in place; the majority of respondents do not plan consistently communication of disputes.

The survey revealed also that 2009–2010 saw a growth in the number of disputes, along with improvement in the ethics in business dispute resolution in Lithuania. Arbitration is an increasingly favoured form of dispute resolution, and business starts to discover the benefits of mediation.

In choosing a legal consultant Lithuania’s large business sector affords highest priority to the quality of legal services.

Company executives represented the largest portion (42%), heads of legal departments a quarter (25%), and in-house lawyers more than one tenth (11%) of the total number of the respondents interviewed for the survey. The respondents mainly represent major companies: around 40% of the respondents work in companies with over 200 employees; the annual turnover in even 67% of the companies represented by the respondents is in excess of LTL 50m.

For more information about survey results please visit here.