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The Buzz in Greece: An Interview with George Bersis, Co-Managing Partner of PotamitisVekris Law Firm

The Buzz in Greece: An Interview with George Bersis, Co-Managing Partner of PotamitisVekris Law Firm

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With the summer kicking off another (tourism) season for Greece, PotamitisVekris Co-Managing Partner, George Bersis, shares with us how this Mediterranean country’s economic outlook is shining brighter and brighter. 

“Things are hyper in Greece” Bersis begins. “Our economy and our society, in general, are opening up for the first time with a clear view that most of the pandemic is behind. The vaccination effort is moving fast, Greece is opening up for tourists … the general sentiment is very positive.” He says that, finally, optimism is materializing.

“Despite some reasonably expected hiccups, the government, supported by the responsible and conscientious behavior of the Greek people, performed particularly well during this period” Bersis notes. “Following turbulent political times during the recent financial crisis, Greece is and shall remain for the foreseeable future politically stable,” Bersis reports, adding that the government, and all major political parties, are very pro-investment, which kicked off a lot of reforms set to further boost the economy.

The most recent major reforms, Bersis reports, are the revision of the Bankruptcy Code, the overhaul of the Labor Law framework, and a “devoted and continuing effort to bring the Greek administration into the digital era.” Moreover, the government has lowered taxes and has issued business-stimulating subsidies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. “All of this, plus the looming EU support funds that are set to come in and further boost our economy, spell a very positive outlook for Greece,” Bersis says.

And business is doing well. “Bookings for the tourist season are off the charts and for the period starting from the mid of July onwards, it looks like we’re heading into a new record-setting period,” Bersis says. “Also, investors are rushing in, now that the worst of the pandemic seems to be behind us, and the horizon is full with promising new opportunities and an uptick in transaction projects.”

Finally, Bersis says that this all means that the legal market needs to “start investing heavily in people and resources in general. With everything opening up – or already being open – I think that we all ought to be picking up additional capacity to be able to respond to the beat of business.” Reporting that their own firm grew some 10% during the pandemic – and that the market stayed quite busy despite everything – Bersis concludes with a positive projection: “We are heading into a period of strong expansion both in the economy in general and in the legal services sector in particular.”

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