The Legal 500

Within Banking and finance, RAIDLA LEJINS & NORCOUS is a first tier firm,

Raidla Lejins & Norcous had a busy 2010 advising substantial borrowers and creditors on significant loan restructuring or refinance. It acted for new client Vetruna and private investors as shareholders of the owners of Vilnius Business Harbour, in the restructuring of a €53m loan portfolio. The ERBD is a major client. Managing partner Irmantas Norkus heads the practice and is ‘a business adviser in addition to a practical lawyer’.

Within Corporate and M&A, RAIDLA LEJINS & NORCOUS is a first tier firm,

Raidla Lejins & Norcous’ links to Nordic Scandinavia via the Raidla brand appeals to multinational clients from this region; for example pharmaceutical and medical supply company Mediq, which the firm advised on the Lithuanian aspects of its €85m acquisition of Oriola-KD Healthcare Trade Business. It also acted for Neste Oil in its acquisition of Alexela Oil, operator of petrol stations in Lithuania. The service is ‘excellent’ and the team, led by Irmantas Norkus, ‘is very client-orientated and solves problems very quickly’.

Within Dispute resolution, RAIDLA LEJINS & NORCOUS is a second tier firm,

A regular in high-level arbitration is Raidla Lejins & Norcous. The firm is advising on a number of matters for foreign entities, including an international arbitration at the LCIA concerning the oil industry. Specialists from across the firm, such as real estate head Aušra Mudenaite, lead on appropriate matters under the guidance of disputes head Rimantas Simaitis. Simaitis ‘is excellent in resolving disputes’ and ‘able to deal with the most complex problems’.

Within EU and competition, RAIDLA LEJINS & NORCOUS is a first tier firm,

Raidla Lejins & Norcous excels in this field, the result of the strong leadership and experience of the ‘deep thinking’ Irmantas Norkus and Elijus Burgis, who has ‘really deep knowledge’ and ‘a very practical approach’. Active clients include Lithuanian Railways, the local operations of Bayer and Lukoil, and security company G4S, advising the latter in an investigation by the Competition Authority into alleged anticompetitive vertical arrangements with banks.

Within Intellectual property, RAIDLA LEJINS & NORCOUS is a second tier firm,

Raidla Lejins & Norcous advises a steady stream of leading domestic and international brands, including pharmaceuticals. It is acting for UAB Liuks, a Lithuanian pharma, in the Supreme Court concerning invalidation of trade marks. This well-resourced team is led by the versatile Žilvinas Kvietkus, who demonstrates ‘good understanding and clear expression’.

Within Legal market overview,

Lithuania is the largest of the three Baltic states, and its legal market is competitive. The race to offer seamless pan-Baltic capability continued in 2010, when prominent firm Sutkiene Pilkauskas & Partners joined forces with Estonia’s Tark & Co and Grunte Cers of Latvia to form Tark Grunte Sutkiene, in as close to a full merger as local laws permit. Lawin, which has long dominated the Lithuanian market, launched a single management board with colleagues in Latvia and Estonia in a further step towards full integration; but its grip on the domestic market is loosening, with two other pan-Baltic operations, Raidla Lejins & Norcous and Sorainen, joining the top tier of rankings in an increasing number of practice areas.

Within Real estate and construction, RAIDLA LEJINS & NORCOUS is a second tier firm,

The ‘very strong’ Aušra Mudenaite at Raidla Lejins & Norcous is a leading practitioner in this arena, steering a sizable team of senior associates that was augmented in 2009 with several hires, including Olga Petroševiciene from Lawin. The firm acted for Nukem Technologies, a service provider in the nuclear industry, as main contractor in two construction projects at Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. Clients include Swedbank and Homburg Group.

Within TMT, RAIDLA LEJINS & NORCOUS is a first tier firm,

Another leader in the TMT field is Raidla Lejins & Norcous, which has cultivated a large client base of IT, pharmaceutical and telecom companies, as well as media bodies: these include mobile operator Bite, which the firm advised on the spin-off of its businesses, and regular advice to IT companies ERB and Atea Baltic. The practice is led by Žilvinas Kvietkus and provides ‘fast response times and strong know-how’.

Within Tax, RAIDLA LEJINS & NORCOUS is a second tier firm,

Žilvinas Kvietkus leads the practice at Raidla Lejins & Norcous, where tax clients rate his ‘perfect background and legal knowledge’. Kvietkus is leading advice to the Lithuanian Association of Ethical Pharmaceutical Companies on the pricing of products and related tax issues. Other clients include a major international oil company.