Overview
The increasing trend to regard Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia as one business market is impacting on two levels. Multinational companies are consolidating their Baltic enterprises into one, generating a trickle of corporate work for lawyers in 2010. And law firms have stepped up their efforts to go pan-Baltic, with a handful of leading firms moving on from the alliance relationships formed in recent years towards full-blown mergers, at least in as far as local laws permit. The creation of one brand name and harmonised practice groups are considered essential for law firms wanting to increase international visibility and attract cross-border deals.
The latest firm to make the move is the former Grunte & Cers, which united with Estonia’s Tark & Co and Sutkiene Pilkauskas & Partners of Lithuania in 2010 to form Tark Grunte Sutkiene. Meanwhile, the LAWIN group of firms announced the formation of a single management board across the Baltics, with Latvian-based Filip Klavins of LAWIN elected as inaugural pan-Baltic managing partner.
The more candid of managing partners admit that legal work not only changed in substance but dropped off significantly during 2009/10. Key to survival has been the ability to tap into the restructuring market, while dispute resolution provided substantial work to many firms during these challenging times.