The Legal 500

Lawin cemented its dominant position by recruiting leading litigator Andrius Smaliukas and his team from Varul. The firm is representing ORLEN, the Baltic’s largest petroleum company, in a €11m dispute with former employees regarding patent rights to new inventions. TEO LT, DNB Bank and Siemens are also clients. Department head Vilija Vaitkute Pavan ‘gives practical, commercial advice rather than academic analysis’.

Baltic Legal Solutions Lithuania’s ‘high-calibre’ team has an extensive caseload that includes representing Baltic retailer Rimi Group in a construction dispute, and acting for the National Health Insurance Fund in several litigations regarding public procurement. Practice head Valentinas Mikelenas has 20 years’ experience.

‘First-class’, Law Firm Bernotas & Dominas Glimstedt has ‘excellent lawyers and real business acumen’. Gediminas Dominas is a leading arbitrator and also represented Putoksnis UAB in ICC arbitration opposite the UK’s Simmons & Simmons LLP. Kestutis Jaskutelis is ‘excellent at handling demanding clients’.

Attorneys at Law Borenius’ highly praised disputes practice is defending Hungary’s Gedeon Richter in a Baltic-wide patent infringement case brought by Bayer Schering Pharma. Practice head Žygimantas Pacevicius is ‘particularly good at negotiation and court representation’, and has ‘self-confidence and a fine-drawn sense of humour’.

Motieka & Audzevicius continues to rise in stature, attracting an array of top-end cases. It is acting for one of the main shareholders of Lietuvos Dujos in its dispute with the government over gas sector reforms. Practice head Ramunas Audzevicius is ‘a true leader in business conflicts’, ‘creative’ and ‘results-oriented’.

Raidla Lejins & Norcous is handling numerous high-value disputes such as representing construction company Merko in a LTL17m arbitration, and If P&C Insurance in a long-running case concerning the collapse of a building in Vilnius Old Town. Practice head Rimantas Simaitis is an ‘an excellent specialist in litigation and mediation processes’.

Sorainen is ‘definitely one of the top firms in Lithuania’, and fields a large team led by leading litigator Renata Beržanskiene. It is handling a Supreme Court case for a major energy provider and successfully represented food and textile wholesaler Imlitex in a complex arbitration against a leading dairy company. SEB and If P&C Insurance are also clients.

Lina Daruliene heads Tark Grunte Sutkiene’s ‘results-driven’ practice, which successfully represented Philip Morris Baltic in the Supreme Court to defend allegations of prohibited advertising, and defended Klaipedos nafta, one of the largest oil terminals in the Baltics, in a significant public procurement dispute.

bnt Heemann Klauberg Krauklis APB’s recent instructions include a win for a well-known drinks manufacturer and a number of disputes for Whizz Air Hungary. Clients praise Frank Heemann for his ‘professional handling of cases’, and Yvonne Goldammer for her ‘ability to solve problems at an international level’.

Balciunas & Grajauskas has a strong reputation for banking and finance litigation, and other mandates include representing a major construction company in a dispute. Practice head Gintaras Balciunas has ‘a high level of professionalism and understanding of customer needs’, and is sitting as arbitrator in a €80m dispute concerning railway infrastructure.

Eversheds Saladžius handles cases for clients such as Statoil, Volvo and DNB Bank. It has ‘a very good knowledge of the energy business and local procurement law’ and is acting for Lithuanian tour operator Baltic Clipper in litigation against the Parliament Office regarding public procurement.

Juridicon Law Firm is acting for leading news website Delfi in a libel case brought by a Lithuanian newspaper following articles obtained from Wikileaks. Andžej Caikovski leads the practice.

Nordia Baublys & Partners’ highly regarded team represented Kaunas City Municipality in construction disputes relating to Kaunas Zalgiris Arena, which finally opened summer 2011. It is also handling an ECJ tax case for transport company Lietuvos Geležinkeliai. Kestutis Švirinas leads much of the work.

Triniti has notable disputes capability, particularly in its core areas of IP and real estate. The firm ‘always focuses on value creation and cuts right to the chase without wasting time or money’. Practice head Adomas Kuncius advised DB International in a public procurement-related claim against Lithuanian Railways.

Contentious work is a core area for Vadapalas, Vaitekunas and Partners Eurolex, which handles a large volume of debt recovery, damage compensation and competition matters. It represented a transport company in a successful damages claim against state officials.

Varul is regrouping after losing Andrius Smaliukas and his team to Lawin. Paulius Docka now heads the disputes practice, and Marius Devyžis is representing Lithuanian Film Studios in a significant Supreme Court case. Other clients include a major bank and Šakiai District Municipality.