Mr Tomas Kontautas  > Sorainen > Vilnius, Lithuania > Lawyer Profile

Mr Tomas Kontautas 

+370 68 732 239 tomas.kontautas@sorainen.com View profile

Work Department

Finance & Insurance

Position

Partner and Head of the Finance & Insurance in Lithuania. Although my passion is insurance law, over the years I have also developed a strong banking regulatory profile while dealing with complex regulatory matters of traditional financial market players and the fintech industry. The regulatory world is dynamic, always related to the bigger picture – transactions, competition law, disputes, government relations. I am happy to navigate clients through all these fields.

Career

Creating the regulatory environment. My professional career began at the financial regulator, where I had a chance to contribute to development of the regulatory environment in Lithuania and the EU. While working in the legal business I have continued to be in the midst of major regulatory initiatives, including the draft Insurance Law, the draft Financial Collateral Law implementing the ISDA Model Netting Act, and assisting the Ministry of Finance during Lithuania’s EU presidency, where I was the expert on the Ministry of Finance ECOFIN team.

Standout regional projects. Our clients have entrusted us with the most serious projects in the region, such as the merger of Nordea and DNB, the merger of Baltic Securities Depositories and financing a LNG terminal. Notable major insurance M&A deals deserve a separate mention, such as PZU’s acquisition of RSA Baltic business, the cross border mergers of If, Seesam, Ergo and Aon Baltic entities, and acquisitions by Vienna Insurance Group and Gjensidige. I have also taken on work with the most serious insurance claims, ranging from D&O (directors and officers) liability claims to air crashes.

Long-time academic. I have been lecturing at Vilnius University since 2002, taking a three year break from 2017 to 2020 when starting in the position of country managing partner at Sorainen. I truly enjoy the academic life – discussions with students, scientific research (my book on Insurance Contract Law was the first on the subject in Lithuania) and projects with foreign universities. When teaching I aim to develop not only the legal knowledge of the younger generation but also other professional skills needed to provide the best solutions for clients.

Languages

Lithuanian, English, Russian

Memberships

• Lithuanian Bar Association
• International Bar Association
• Vilnius Court of Commercial Arbitration
• Member of the Financial markets commission of Lithuanian Business Confederation

Education

• University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain (visiting scholar)
• University of Sassari, Italy (visiting scholar)
• Yeditepe University, Turkey (visiting scholar)
• University of Palermo, Italy (visiting scholar)
• Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, Switzerland (visiting scholar)
• Vilnius University, Lithuania (Dr of Social Sciences, Law)
• Hamburg University, Germany, and Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands (European Master in Law and Economics)
• Vilnius University, Lithuania (MA in Law)