Mr Dionysis Flambouras > Karatzas & Partners > Athens, Greece > Lawyer Profile

‘Combining legal knowledge with financial insights and deep comprehension of the banking sector’, Karatzas & Partners excels in providing ‘innovative financial solutions’ to creditors and debtors across a broad swathe of financing transactions, running the gamut from project and energy finance and corporate finance matters, through to capital markets mandates and highly structured deals. Stretching back to the firm’s pioneering work for the Greek government in relation to its debt exchange programme, a good deal of this work relates to innovative “first-of-its-kind” mandates, with more recent examples including work for the systemic Greek banks in relation to de-risking their exposure to NPLs through complex transactions on the secondary market. Another strength is the firm’s collaborative approach to work in the space, often drawing upon experts from other core practice areas, as well as its early adoption of sophisticated legal technologies, including the use of AI in due diligence. Praised for her ‘professionalism and in-depth knowledge of finance’ gleaned through her work in private practice as well as through her previous prestigious role as a consultant to the European Investment Bank (EIB), Christina Faitakis is pivotal to much of the team’s high-profile work in the space, including on large securitisations and bond loans, as well as a considerable volume of real estate and energy project finance transactions. The ‘business-oriented’ Nikos Fragos  also excels in ‘providing solutions to complex legal issues’, encompassing debt capital markets work, NPL mandates and special situations financing. Alexandra Kondyli stands out for advising on capital markets mandates, including conventional bond and green bond issuances. Managing partner Catherine Karatzas heads the team, which also recently welcomed the vastly experienced Dionysis Flambouras, who joined the firm from Bernitsas Law in September 2023.

Leveraging the skills of a number of ‘highly specialized and skilled attorneys with expertise in restructuring and insolvency’, and also leaning into complementary practice areas including M&A, banking and tax, Karatzas & Partners has the critical mass and skill to handle a significant range and volume of high-quality mandates. The firm has strong lender ties, as well as also handling work for funds as bondholders. Team head Vassiliki Salaka  has a multi-faceted approach that is particularly well-suited to restructuring and including workouts relating to NPL portfolios. Dionysis Flambouras joined the firm in September 2023 from Bernitsas Law.