Bernitsas

bernitsaslaw.com

White Collar Crime

Panayotis Bernitsas

Managing Partner Panayotis is the Managing Partner of the Firm and a leading legal practitioner, with an active, broad-based commercial practice incorporating more than 35 years of experience in transactional, advisory and litigation work. Panayotis is an authority in EU, competition and antitrust law and has represented clients in prominent cartel cases before the Hellenic Competition Commission. He is a senior litigator, with vast experience in all types of dispute resolution, and represents clients in complex, high stake civil and administrative actions before the high courts and arbitration boards. He has also acted as arbitrator at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Panayotis is an expert in concession projects and privatisations, with an unsurpassed track record of playing a key role in many of the pioneering, ground breaking transactions to have taken place in Greece. He advises extensively on major renewable and conventional energy and infrastructure projects and investments in energy property development companies. His real estate practice is focused on large scale developments and real property asset portfolio investments. Within the framework of his private practice, Panayotis has acted on a number of occasions as advisor to the Government on European Union, State Aids and Privatisation issues. He also advises companies and individuals on complex tax structuring and wealth planning matters and has acted extensively in high stakes tax controversies. Panayotis has been widely published in legal journals, books and other publications in his areas of expertise and is a participant in the annual Forum on International Wealth Disputes. He held the position of Associate Professor in International Economic Law, Law of International Business Transactions, European Community Law at the University of Thrace from 1983-2007.

Christos Paraskevopoulos

Partner Christos is a leading litigator with an expertise in contractual, commercial, fraud and white collar crime disputes. Christos has been with the Firm since 2000 and is experienced in advising on criminal and civil proceedings and investigations involving bribery, corruption and fraud, as well as assessing and managing the risk of failure to comply with the legislative and regulatory framework. He also advises companies across a range of industries on asset freezing, corporate misconduct, directors' and officers' liability and intra-company disputes. He is an expert in contractual and commercial agreement disputes, including commercial agency and distribution cases, advising clients on issues arising from termination of contractual relationships and representing them in negotiations, at court and in settlement proceedings. He has substantial experience in defamation claims and succession disputes, representing high net worth individuals in pursuing their rights under estates. He regularly represents clients in debt recovery and enforcement, with a specialisation in the area of hospital supply agreements, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards. Christos is experienced in medical liability and intellectual property disputes and is active in ADR, representing clients in the context of commercial arbitration proceedings and mediation.

Evangelos Mamalakis

Counsel Evangelos is a counsel at the Firm which he joined in 2017. His practice is focused on disputes arising from a range of commercial and financial contracts and relationships. Evangelos has considerable experience in advising corporations in disputes arising in all areas of corporate law, including agency, distribution, franchise, joint venture and commercial lease agreement disputes, medical liability as well as litigation arising from mergers and acquisitions. He also advises clients from the financial services sector in disputes relating to financial instruments, bancassurance agreements, directors’ liability, shareholders’ rights and lending activities. Evangelos advises companies on labour and benefits related litigation, as well as on Intellectual Property disputes including trademark infringement, licensing, design, copyright and passing off disputes. He also has experience in medical liability disputes, pre-litigation due diligence and defamation actions. He is an expert in litigation involving conflict of laws and complex jurisdictional issues.

Chryssa Andresaki

Associate Chryssa advises on civil and commercial disputes and acts in litigation, arbitration, debt recovery and enforcement proceedings arising from corporate transactions, commercial agreements and contractual relationships. Chryssa also drafts and advises on commercial agreements and contractual matters.

Ioanna Stamou

Senior Associate Ioanna is a senior associate with the Firm and a member of the Litigation, Arbitration & Dispute Resolution team. She advises on civil and commercial litigation and domestic and international arbitration, with a focus on corporate, financial, insolvency and tort disputes, as well as enforcement and debt recovery proceedings. Ioanna is experienced in representing clients before the Greek courts, as well as in arbitration proceedings in relation to disputes arising from complex cross border transactions and a variety of corporate and financial disputes.

Pelina Leontiadou

Senior Associate Pelina is a senior associate with the Firm which she joined in 2007. Her practice is focused on litigation, in particular in the areas of employment, insurance and commercial law, and providing end-to-end legal advice to corporates in commercial law and corporate governance. Pelina has substantial experience representing clients in disputes arising from employment issues, commercial relationships, fraud and white collar crime, minority and majority shareholder disputes, medical liability and debt recovery. She also advises insurance companies on disputes relating to regulatory enforcement, contracts and claims and relationships with intermediaries. Pelina advises companies on an ongoing basis on a broad spectrum of issues related to the everyday running of a company. Her expertise lies in advising on group and company internal restructurings, the drafting and negotiation of commercial agreements, including distribution and lease agreements, corporate governance and the employment and dismissal of all levels of personnel. Pelina is a Certified Mediation Advocate.

Fotini Karra

Senior Associate Fotini is a senior associate with the Firm which she joined in 2018. She has extensive experience in the full range of civil and commercial disputes and arbitrations. Fotini’s practice is focused on advising and representing clients in litigation and arbitrations arising from corporate and commercial transactions, PPP and concession agreements, real estate development projects, mergers & acquisitions and shareholder, joint venture and distribution agreements. She also acts in competition disputes and advises on medical liability disputes and the infringement of intellectual property and data privacy rights. Fotini represents clients in enforcement and debt recovery proceedings and participates in pre-litigation due diligence reports. She is a Certified Mediation Advocate.

Elia Kotsoni

Of Counsel Elia is a seasoned litigator with a focus on white-collar crime, financial and corporate criminal law and extensive experience at the intersection of criminal, civil and regulatory matters. Elia advises Greek and international clients across sectors including banking and financial services, healthcare, shipping, transport and consumer goods, on matters involving corporate misconduct, fraud, breach of trust, bribery and corruption, money laundering, internal investigations, tax and customs offences and directors’ and officers’ liability. She represents corporates, financial institutions, individuals and executives in criminal and civil proceedings before the Courts, investigative and regulatory authorities. Prior to joining the Firm, she was engaged as external counsel to a major general hospital where she regularly advised on financial disputes. She served as in-house counsel to a large private hospital, a banking institution and investment group advising on civil, corporate and criminal law and litigation. Elia has contributed to legislative policy as a member of expert drafting committees of the Ministry of Justice on the alignment of Greek criminal law with EU instruments, including reforms related to the

Deals

- €442m Moral Damages Litigation We represent a leading pharmaceuticals company against landmark moral damages claims by the Greek State and EOPYY.
- BEC Cyber-Attack Response and Cross-Border Recovery We are advising a client following a targeted business e‑mail compromise that led a bank, acting on spoofed instructions from a compromised account, to execute three transfers to fraudulent accounts. Our support covers civil and criminal strategy, a criminal complaint in Greece, and FIU information requests in Greece and other jurisdictions to trace funds and enable freezes.
- Internal Misconduct Investigation and Greek Criminal Law Advice We are advising an international financial institution on alleged employee misconduct leading to guarantee letters benefiting a related entity. We are providing Greek criminal law advice on potential offences (abuse of trust, secrecy breaches, unlawful access to information systems/data).

Team Services

White Collar & Corporate Crime
Our team represents companies and credit institutions in investigations and criminal and civil proceedings, and assesses potential liabilities of executives and employees for fraud, corruption, bribery and negligence. A significant part of our practice involves risk assessment and management. We also handle claims relating to breach of fiduciary duty and have unparalleled experience in setting out the defence options available to deal with the enforcement of sanctions imposed by government or regulatory authorities.