RLN Receives Top Tier Ranking from The Legal 500 Law Directory
The independent Legal 500 directory, which is recognised in over 100 countries, announced the ratings of Lithuanian law firms, with Raidla Lejins & Norcous top ranked in corporate and M&A, banking and finance, EU and competition and TMT practice areas.

RLN had a busy 2010 advising borrowers and creditors on significant loan restructuring and refinance. Raidla Lejins & Norcous acted for UAB Vėtrūna and private investors into Vilnius Business Harbour in the restructuring of a EUR 53m loan portfolio. According to The Legal 500, managing partner Dr. Irmantas Norkus is ‘a business adviser in addition to a practical lawyer’.

BaltCap Has Acquired Shareholding in SIA Runway
BaltCap, the leading private equity and venture capital investor in the Baltic States, on 14 March 2011 announced that it has acquired 40.82% of shareholding in SIA Runway - one of the leading and fastest growing business process outsourcing providers in the Baltic States.

SIA Runway with offices in Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius and Kaunas provides CRM, IT support, accounting and other back-office services to businesses in the Nordic market.

Raidla Lejins & Norcous Riga office in cooperation with Tallinn and Vilnius offices conducted legal due diligence investigation of SIA Runway prior to its acquisition.

Who’s Who Legal Nominates Dr. Irmantas Norkus as a Leading Merger & Acquisition Lawyer
Dr. Irmantas Norkus, Managing Partner of Law Offices Raidla Lejins & Norcous, has been nominated by an international business law guide Who’s Who of Business Lawyers 2011 as a leading merger & acquisition lawyer.

This nomination is based on interviews with legal professionals in this practice area in various countries.

Who’s Who Legal is an international business law guide which ranks different business law professionals all over the world. Since 1996, Who’s Who Legal has identified over 10,000 legal practitioners in over 100 countries.

RLN Participates in the International Moot Court Competition, the First Ever to Be Held in Lithuania
Gintarė Mockutė, associate at Raidla Lejins & Norcous, who has won the selection round, will serve on the panel in the International Moot Court Competition, the first ever to be held in Lithuania.

ELSA Moot Court Competition (EMC²) is a simulated hearing recognised by the lawyers’ community worldwide, which gathers together the most brilliant students and reputed law experts from various countries all over the world. EMC² selection rounds take place in six different cities of the world in all the continents.

For the first time the national team of ELSA Lithuania has been entrusted with the task to organise the 2011 European Regional Round of EMC². Fourteen teams from twelve different European countries will arrive in Vilnius on 9–13 March to compete in order to qualify to the final round in Geneva.

Official EMC² website

Real Estate Law Expert Aušrys Šliavas Joins RLN
Attorney at law Aušrys Šliavas has joined the Real Estate and Construction Law Practice Group of Raidla Lejins & Norcous Vilnius office. Aušrys Šliavas has extensive experience in the field of real estate acquisition, transfer and lease. Aušrys Šliavas, who also specialises in company law and public law, has joined Law Offices Raida Lejins & Norcous as a Managing Associate.

Today the Real Estate and Construction Law Practice Group of Raida Lejins & Norcous Vilnius office comprises legal experts of different profile and is one of the largest among the law firms in Lithuania. Lawyers led by attorney at law Aušra Mudėnaitė provide legal advice and services to the leading real estate and construction sector companies, such as UAB Vėtrūna, UAB MG Valda, UAB Baltisches Haus, UAB Newsec/Re&Solution, Nukem Technologies GmbH, and others.

“Already last year showed the first signs of recovery in real estate transactions market, when we advised on the transfer of the controlling interest in Vilniaus verslo uostas, a major business centre, the first-of-a-kind transaction after a two year break in the market. This year we expect more assignments related to real estate development projects, and to that end we are strengthening the expertise of the group with experienced law experts in this field,” says Aušra Mudėnaitė.

Attorney at law Aušrys Šliavas, who qualified as a lawyer at Vilnius University in 1996, has experience of work at the State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance and UAB PricewaterhouseCoopers. During the past ten years Aušrys Šliavas has been specialising in real estate and public law at Law Firm Eversheds Saladžius.

RLN Advised the World’s Largest Business Travel Operator
Raidla Lejins & Norcous Vilnius office advised the world’s largest business travel operator Carlson Wagonlit Travel in the acquisition of the Baltic subsidiaries of the largest Finland-based travel operator Kaleva Travel, with which Carlson Wagonlit Travel has partnered since 1995 to serve clients in several key European markets.

With a presence in 150 countries, Carlson Wagonlit Travel is the first international business travel operator who will directly provide business travel management services in Lithuania through a wholly owned company UAB Kaleva Travel. Prior to this transaction, all international business travel operators in Lithuania were only represented.

The transaction was led by Managing Partner of RLN Vilnius office Dr. Irmantas Norkus and Associate Ingrida Ulevičiūtė. The lawyers of the firm carried out the due diligence of UAB Kaleva Travel.

RLN Hosted a Discussion on the M&A Market at the Annual Lithuanian Economy Conference
For the second consecutive year Raidla Lejins & Norcous hosted a discussion on the M&A market at the Lithuanian Economy Conference, which is a major annual event for business leaders.

This year the conference, held on 10 February at the Radisson Blue Hotel Lietuva conference centre, attracted more than three hundred attendees representing entrepreneurs and politicians.

At the conference Raidla Lejins & Norcous hosted a discussion entitled What to Expect in the M&A Market in 2011, where Managing Partner of RLN Vilnius office Dr. Irmantas Norkus delivered a presentation on the legal aspects of the M&A market. Dr. Irmantas Norkus also participated in a closing discussion between managers and experts.

The conference focused on the scenarios of macroeconomic and political changes and their impact on business, changes in the country’s economy, the M&A market situation, and global macroeconomic trends; the conference also covered the most forward-looking investment directions and other relevant topics.

RLN Seminar on Competition Law
On 2 and 4 February, Raidla Lejins & Norcous Vilnius office, in cooperation with the main Lithuanian business daily Verslo žinios, held a seminar for company managers and heads of legal departments and in-house lawyers of companies entitled New Requirements of the Competition Council: What Business Must Know to Avoid Overstepping the Line.

The seminar was conducted by Elijus Burgis, Partner of Raidla Lejins & Norcous Vilnius office, Head of Corporate Transactions Practice Group and expert in EU and Lithuanian competition law. Elijus Burgis has long-standing experience in the field of competition law in representing companies before the Competition Council and the courts of the Republic of Lithuania, conducting competition legal due diligences, and evaluating corporate business solutions and arrangements from the point of view of competition law.

You may find more information here >>

RLN Advised on the First Major Transaction of 2011 in Lithuania
Raidla Lejins & Norcous advised BaltCap on the first major transaction of 2011 in Lithuania, the acquisition of over 90 per cent of shares in UAB Kelprojektas, a Lithuanian company engaged in the design of transport infrastructure. UAB Kelprojektas is the leading player in the sector with unparalleled experience, a highly qualified engineering team and potential for further expansion in Lithuania and the neighbouring countries. The company has already made its first steps in Poland and is evaluating the possibilities of entering the market in Latvia and Belarus.

Our responsibilities included due diligence, structuring, preparation and negotiation of transaction documents, merger clearance, coordination of signing and closing. Dr Irmantas Norkus, Managing Partner, and Dr Juozas Rimas, Senior Associate, led the team.

RLN Mentors Help to Train Students of Law
For the second consecutive year, the Alumni Community of Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) has initiated an educational project Mentoring for Junior Lawyers, which is promoted by Minister of Justice R. Šimašius, one of the mentors in the previous year. The key supporter of the project is Raidla Lejins & Norcous Vilnius office whose lawyers have also become mentors for students of law.

This year, even 20 students of MRU Faculty of Law will take part in the project that will continue until June. During this half-year, the students will have the opportunity to learn from professionals by participating in their everyday activities and carrying out different assignments together with them.

You may find more information here >>