Lithuania > Legal market overview
Lithuania has showed some positive economic signs recently, thanks to the early implementation of austerity measures, but investors still fear another downturn and this slowed the pace of M&A, capital markets and large asset deals, meaning that law firms are fighting for fewer mandates. The legal market has also been affected by continued downward pressure on fees. One likely avenue for upcoming transactional work is that a number of upcoming private equity funds are expected to make exits from key Lithuanian companies.
On the litigation side, the nationalisation and subsequent bankruptcy of commercial bank Snoras brought a significant amount of contentious work, with the most complex cases being handled by leading banking and finance firms Bernotas & Dominas Glimstedt, Eversheds Saladžius, Lawin, Raidla Lejins & Norcous, and Sorainen.
Lithuania recently adopted the EU Third Energy Package and is keen to diversify its energy sources, which has prompted major projects to keep law firms busy. The Visaginas nuclear plant is one such development, although a recent referendum rejected the site’s construction plans, leaving a question mark over its future.
Lawin is the market’s largest firm and specialises in various legal disciplines. Its closest competitors are Raidla Lejins & Norcous, Sorainen and Tark Grunte Sutkiene.