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Legal 500

TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE in Estonia: 

Edition 2012 has placed TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE Estonia in the top tier in almost all of the areas covered. Office is ranked as a 1st tier adviser in banking & finance, corporate and M&A, EU and competition, IP, IT and telecoms, real estate and construction. In dispute resolution, tax, shipping and transportation the firm is ranked as a 2nd tier adviser.

• Banking and finance is a core area at TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE, which attracts an extensive client portfolio of regional and international banks, such as Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas; it advised the latter on a £60m trade finance facility for a soft commodities merchant. Hannes Vallikivi and his team provide ‘a good service and are pleasant to work with’, and advised NASDAQ OMX on regulatory and contractual issues surrounding a foreign government’s reform of its pension system.
• Corporate and M&A: TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE provides a ‘level of service fully in accordance with our high expectations’, say clients. Its top-end clientele includes Microsoft, Michelin and ERGO’s life insurance companies, and it advised the latter on its Baltic merger. Risto Vahimets displays ‘good business judgement’ and is ‘good at zooming in to real issues’; he leads the M&A practice with Toomas Taube as head of corporate and commercial.
• EU and competition: Recent highlights at TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE include successfully defending alcoholic beverages producer Liviko and its CEO in the Supreme Court against allegations of horizontal price fixing. Other clients include Phillip Morris, Neste Oil and RSA (formerly Royal Sun Alliance). The ‘very enthusiastic’ Rene Frolov, who is ‘devoted to his clients’, steers the competition practice.
• IP, IT and telecoms: TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE's clients include Hewlett-Packard and Sony Corporation, which the firm is advising in trade mark infringement and customs interception matters. It is also representing Oracle America in an Estonian trade mark and brand name case. The ‘excellent’ Toomas Taube leads the practice.
• Real estate and construction: TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE is a regular on prominent transactions: it acted for Pro Kapital on the €105m sale of the Kristiine shopping centre to Citycon, and developer Technopolis on the €63.5m acquisition of Ülemiste City. Practice head Risto Vahimets is ‘diligent yet pragmatic’, and Rolan Jankelevitsh is ‘ready to discuss the pros and cons and not afraid of making judgement calls’.
• Dispute resolution: TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE's growing team handles insolvency and bankruptcy issues for international clients, and is advising Swedbank in several business and insurance disputes. Erki Kergandberg and Margo Lemetti are ‘highly qualified professionals able to see any case from different angles to provide the best possible solution’.
• Tax: TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE provides high-end tax advice, ranging from transactional support to litigation. Recently promoted partner Rolan Jankelevitsh heads the practice and demonstrates ‘good expertise’. The firm advised a global petroleum company in a high-value dispute concerning alleged tax evasion.
• Shipping and transport: TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE advises clients in this sector as part of its leading corporate practice led by Toomas Taube. Recent mandates include acting for Ecoval Dairy Trade in an international trade dispute, and for DSV Transport in a contract of carriage case.
  

TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE in Latvia:

TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE Latvia is a leading firm in all areas covered in 2012 edition of Legal 500, including:

• Banking and finance: The firm’s ranking in the area of Banking & finance has been raised in 2012, and, according to the publication "TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE Latvia provides concise and ‘prompt, clear and practical advice’ and Inese Hazenfusa is ‘a genuine business lawyer’ who ‘helps with the most complicated problems with amazing ease’". The firm is advising the EIB on Project Jessica (an EU funding programme) as well as Swedbank on high-value debt restructurings. Ivars Grunte and Gundars Cers are particularly recommended for complex corporate restructuring of financial institutions. The firm’s associates Andra Rubene is also praised for ‘professionalism and accuracy’;
• Corporate and M&A: The firm is advising on cross-border deals such as the Baltic restructuring of ERGO Life Insurance; and sports retail chain Viva Sport’s sale and merger into Sportland. Andra Rubene ‘sees the wider picture’, and is ‘one of the most experienced corporate and M&A experts in Latvia’. ‘Definitely recommended in terms of expertise and renown’ say clients, singling out Gundars Cers for praise, alongside Andra Rubene, who is ‘precise, punctual, diligent, and supports you in any complicated situation’;
• Dispute resolution: TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE Latvia attracts high-end instructions, which include defending a former board member of the restructured Parex bank (now Bank Citadele) in liability claims for losses caused, and representing Clear Channel Latvia in a dispute with Riga City Council concerning advertising hoardings in the capital. Practice head Agnese Hartpenga provides ‘a thought-through and effective strategy’, and managing partner Ivars Grunte is ‘a skilled negotiator, very eloquent and diplomatic’, and ‘the kind of professional who actually brings opponents together’;
• EU and competition: The firm provides state aid advice to the EIB and airBaltic, and represented MasterCard in the investigation of competition violations by 22 banks in connection with payment card interchange fees. Practice head Andra Rubene is ‘an expert is this area’, and is ‘good at putting clients in contact with necessary players, authorities and officials’. She is ‘one of the leading lawyers in Latvian competition law’;
• IP, IT and telecoms: TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE is defending Innovative System Developers Group (ISDG) in a dispute with the Latvian government concerning the supply and installation of mobile signal blocking systems in state prisons. Gundars Cers heads the team, which ‘responds promptly, precisely and to the point’. Andra Rubene has maintained her profile, praised for her ‘warm personality and precise advice’;
• Real estate and construction: Head of practice Linda Štrause is ‘an experienced and talented strategist and litigator’, and clients say ‘when a matter is in her hands, we are confident that the maximum will be achieved’. The firm is advising Graanul Invest on EU co-funded construction of a new production plant. Linda Strause and Ivars Grunte handled a considerable amount of work related to distressed assets, debt restructuring and cancelled projects, giving clients a ‘quick and professional response’;
• Shipping and transport: The firm's clients include Royal Canin Latvia, which the firm is advising in a cargo loss claim, and Transimex, which it represented in a dispute concerning freight forwarding and insurance issues. Ivars Grunte and Linda Štrause are ‘key litigators in Latvia’;
• Tax: TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE Latvia is providing cross-border tax advice to Microsoft in relation to the transfer of employees from Estonia to Latvia, and acting for Cronimet Latvia in a significant VAT claim as well as an audit. Andra Rubene has ‘a good knowledge of many industries’, and is the key tax contact.

TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE in Lithuania:

2010 edition the firm was acknowledged in the leading tiers.

• Banking and finance: The firm’s “strengths are professionalism of service, engagement, availability, and creativity’. The team was boosted by the arrival of Vilija Nausedaite, former chair of the Lithuanian Securities Commission, and two other experienced associates. Investment finance work for the EIB, debt workouts on distressed assets for SEB Bank, alongside restructuring advice for JPMorgan, were among the highlights in 2009.”
• Corporate and M&A: The firm "is praised for its ‘hard work and creativity’, and ‘extensive experience in the M&A and corporate area’. The team handled multiple shareholder disputes, plus a range of corporate disposals and acquisitions in the €10-€30m range, often with cross-border elements. Vidmantas Drizga and Marius Matonis are both recommended.
• Dispute resolution: The firm’s “litigation practice ranges from commercial debt recoveries between SME businesses, to public law cases over advertising displays, property litigation and shareholder disputes, including in the Supreme Court, where Lina Daruliene is an accomplished advocate.”
• EU and competition: “Lina Daruliene of is ‘a leading competition law expert’, whose advice is ‘very satisfactory’ and is ‘well known in the market’.
• Intellectual property: “Sutkiene, Pilkauskas & Partners represented PKN ORLEN, the owner of oil giant Mažeikiu nafta, on IP issues extending the firm’s trade mark practice into the energy sector."
• Real estate and construction: The firm has a ‘remarkable ability to find the most favourable solutions for our needs’. Donatas Zdanavièius provides ‘professional leadership, which successfully completes our real estate acquisition deals’.
• Shipping and transport:  The practice advises on multi-modal transport issues, including carriage of freight requirements, ranging from specialised biotechnology issues to industrial quantities of scrap metal.
• TMT: The clients say “its lawyers ‘understand very fast the advice we need to have. The firm advised Telefonica on a mobile telecoms start-up in Lithuania, Orbcomm, a satellite data communications company, and broadcaster Viasat, the largest regional free TV and pay TV operator.
• Tax: “In a tougher climate, the advice given by Vilius Bernatonis of Sutkiene, Pilkauskas & Partners focused on tax mitigation in various forms. Bernatonis advised Swedbank on the tax implications of restructuring distressed assets, as well as assisting Mars’ Lithuanian subsidiary on the tax treatment of employee benefits”.