Sorainen > Vilnius, Lithuania > Firm Profile

Sorainen > The Legal 500 Rankings

Lithuania > Banking, finance and capital markets Tier 1

In headline work, Sorainen advised Ignitis Group on its €450m public offering, making it the largest-ever IPO in the Baltics. The deal illustrates the practice’s strong background in capital markets and Pan-Baltic instructions, but the team is also highly skilled in financing transactions and investment fund structures. Moreover, the group has also focused on growing areas such as fintech, green financing and cryptocurrency. Another area of focus is insurance law, where co-head Tomas Kontautas is a particular individual of note. Former banker Augustas Klezys also leads the team. Clients also single out senior associate Agnė Sovaitė, who specialises in finance and insurance.

Lithuania > Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 1

Sorainen’s forte is in handling large cross-border transactions, with a recent workload including pan-Batlic instructions as well as matters also involving the US and other EU countries. M&A specialist Sergej Butov oversees the team and has a particular interest in the energy and life sciences sectors. Fellow M&A expert and managing partner Laimonas Skibarka is another key name and focuses predominantly on the TMT sector. As well as M&A transactions, the team is also notably adept in private equity and venture capital, where Mantas Petkevičius is a key name of note. The team is also highly skilled in corporate governance work, largely owing to the expertise of Algirdas Pekšys. Senior associate Mindaugas Dominykas Baniulis, who has a particular interest in the TMT sector, is another key figure. Evaldas Dūdonis was promoted to the partnership in January 2022.

Lithuania > Dispute resolution Tier 1

Sorainen has been involved in some high-stakes cases in the Lithuanian market, most notably acting for local businessman Mindaugas Marcinkevičius in a number of cases concerning the VP Group, one of the country’s largest companies. The team’s workload has generally involved commercial arbitration, criminal investigations, procurement and insolvency. Kęstutis Švirinas is particularly known for his expertise in fraud and white-collar criminal law disputes. He heads the team alongside Laurynas Lukošiūnas, an expert in public procurement and EU law. Kazimieras Karpickis was promoted to the partnership in January 2022.

Lithuania > Employment Tier 1

Sorainen excels in both contentious and non-contentious employment matters, and the recent caseloads include assisting with restructuring, mass dismissals and stock option plans. Joint practice head Algirdas Pekšys handles employment and corporate matters and as such is well placed to advise on the employment aspects of corporate transactions. Counsel Agnietė Venckienė also leads the team and similarly advises on corporate transactions, sensitive HR issues and setting up operations in Lithuania.

Lithuania > EU and competition Tier 1

With expertise in both contentious and non-contentious matters, Sorainen counts major names in the Lithuanian market such as Fortum and Bite as its key clients. Daivis Švirinas excels in price-fixing and bribery investigations as well as handling competition-aspects of transactions and commercial agreements. Švirinas and Monika Mališauskaitė-Vaupšienė jointly lead the team.

Lithuania > Fintech Tier 1

Sorainen is heavily involved in the fintech market, with it advising a number of well-established players, and also assisting emerging entities through its collaboration Startup Wise Guys, an accelerator programme for local start-ups. The team is led by Tomas Kontautas and Augustas Klezys, with Kontautas predominantly focusing on regulatory compliance and Klezys focusing on licensing work. Other key names include counsel Lina Ragainytė-Mezenė, who has expertise in consumer lending. Another name to note is senior associate Auksė Trapnauskaitė, who recently joined from the Bank of Lithuania and specialises in anti-money laundering.

Lithuania > Projects and energy Tier 1

Sorainen is prominent in projects spanning a number of areas, such as energy, utilities, infrastructure, telecoms and transport. The team’s work in the energy sector has included advising on major wind and solar energy projects. On the transport side, it has notably been involved in the Rail Baltica project. The practice is led by corporate partner Sergej Butov and Asta Augutytė-Rapkevičienė, whose background is in real estate and construction.

Lithuania > Real estate and construction Tier 1

Sorainen advises on major transactions, with additional expertise in areas such as territorial planning, tenancy issues, facility management and environmental law. Aušra Mudėnaitė covers all aspects of real estate and construction, with unique strengths in advising on heritage or protected areas. She co-heads the team with Kęstutis Adamonis, who assists clients with real estate investments and tenancy matters. Asta Augutytė-Rapkevičienė stands out for his expertise in energy and environmental law. Simonas Skukauskas was promoted to the partnership in early 2022.

Lithuania > Shipping and transport Tier 1

Sorainen has a well-established presence in the rail, aviation and automotive sectors. Its work covers matters concerning electric vehicles, state aid, aircraft leasing and infrastructure development contracts. Daivis Švirinas advises on competition and regulatory matters, with expertise in EU law and public procurement. He co-heads the practice with senior associate Vaiva Mašidlauskienė, who specialises in commercial contracts and trade law matters.

Lithuania > Tax Tier 1

Sorainen’s workload includes advice to clients on tax structuring and pricing agreements, as well as handling issues with tax authorities. Tax specialist Saulė Dagilytė leads the team and is particularly strong in tax structuring cornering major transactions and financings. Recently-promoted partner Indrė Ščeponienė  is a key name for the firm’s disputes work and is also highly skilled in advising on non-contentious matters with the tax administrator. Senior associate Rasa Mikutienė is another name to note.

Lithuania > TMT Tier 1

Sorainen is highly experienced in advising on private equity and venture capital transactions within the technology space. The team is also well versed in transactions concerning the telecoms, media and entertainment sectors. Managing partner Laimonas Skibarka specialises in corporate transactions within the TMT sphere. He co-heads the practice with counsels Stasys Drazdauskas, who focuses on IT and data protection, and Jonas Kiauleikis, who specialises in corporate and finance transactions relating to TMT.

Lithuania > Intellectual property Tier 2

Sorainen’s IP team attracts mandates from household name clients such as Google and Spotify, and it has a well-established reputation advising on all aspects of trade mark, patent and copyright law. In addition to being sought after for IP advice, Daivis Švirinas is able to assist with life sciences and competition issues. Stasys Drazdauskas has expertise in digital copyright and domain name issues.