The past two years have brought about tectonic shifts across all industries, business sectors, and economies. Adapting to the ever-changing concept of a “new normal” became an everyday task, and law firms were no exception. Motieka & Audzevicius Partner Rokas Jankus, iLaw Lextal Managing Partner Tomas Bagdanskis, and Sorainen Managing Partner Laimonas Skibarka share how Baltic firms have managed to hold their own in these challenging times.

The war in Ukraine has irrevocably altered the face of Europe, and legislative landscapes are no exception. iLaw Lextal Partner Jolanta Liukaityte-Stoniene, Motieka & Audzevicius Partner Rimantas Daujotas, and Fort Legal Partner Ruta Radzeviciute-Meizeraite focus on the legislative updates in Lithuania.

Starting from 1 February of 2023, the Commercial Code of Estonia changed, and a new Commercial Register Act came into force.

The legislation concerning crypto-assets has always been fragmented between different states in the EU. Having a crypto exchange license in one EU country did not mean that it would be automatically legal to operate in another EU state as well. Whereas some countries like Estonia were the pioneers of crypto legislation, many others have been lacking behind and have further exacerbated this fragmented state.

Recent amendments to the Employment Contracts Act modernized the organization of working time and on-call time. The category of an employee with independent decision-making capacity has been added.

There is a growing concern, across CEE, about a potential wave of insolvency and restructuring proceedings. Given the economic aftermath of COVID-19, coupled with the ramifications of rising inflation and interest rates, energy crisis concerns, and the war in Ukraine – the road ahead seems bumpy at best.

The corporate and M&A practice of Ilaw Lextal has been very busy working on employee option share investment schemes and overall transactional work, primarily driven by and likely to increase due to rising inflation and interest rates, according to Partner and practice Head Dziuginta Balciune.

Andersen Global has entered into a collaboration agreement for the Baltic region with Lextal Legal, adding three locations to its existing network: Lextal in Estonia, RER Lextal in Latvia, and iLaw Lextal in Lithuania.

The Lithuanian legal landscape is being transformed, with notable changes taking place in the energy, tax, corporate, and employment sectors, according to Lextal Partner Vilma Sabaliauskiene.

Entering into force on February 19, 2021, the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility aimed, according to the European Commission, “to mitigate the economic and social impact of the coronavirus pandemic and make European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient, and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the green and digital transitions.” CEE Legal Matters spoke with lawyers from Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, and Romania to learn what each country focused on, with its Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), and what difficulties lie ahead, now that these plans have been submitted to the EC.

Lextal has advised Tuul Mobility on its EUR 3.1 million bond issuance and application for trading on the Nasdaq Baltic alternative market First North.

On March 9, 2022, four leading Estonian lawyers sat down for a virtual round table moderated by CEE Legal Matters Managing Editor Radu Cotarcea to discuss the current state of the startup environment in Estonia and analyze its main drivers, the local startup ecosystem, and the regulatory environment shaping it.

On February 18, 2021, following a five-year preparation period, the Saeima – the parliament of the Republic of Latvia – adopted amendments to the country’s Advocacy Law, addressing, inter alia, the proper corporate form for law firms. Going forward, in Latvia, a law firm must either be a partnership (either general or limited) or a limited liability company. CEE Legal Matters spoke with several Latvian lawyers about the newly amended law.

I have been the managing partner of the pan-Baltic law firm Lextal – with offices in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – for six years. During this time the market has changed considerably.

Contributed by RER Lextal.

Contributed by ILAW Lextal.

Similarly to the rest of the world, the major factor affecting every aspect of life is COVID-19, however, despite the crisis, things are going rather well in Estonia, according to Lextal Partner Kristi Sild.

The real estate market in all three Baltic States is closely related and, although the legal systems vary a bit, buyers face the same or similar issues. Although important details concerning the purchase of real estate are brought forth in the sale contract drawn up by a notary (in Estonia and Lithuania) or attorney at law (in Latvia), in practice various nuances still tend to be left unattended.