Well-regarded for its ‘strong market knowledge and excellent connections’, Eversheds Sutherland Bitans' team is able to advise on multi-jurisdictional refinancing, the range of IPOs, and bond issuances. Industry sectors the group's workload spans includes financial services, energy, infrastructure, and transport. Māris Vainovskis heads the group and has experience in handling regulatory and compliance matters, as well as capital market transactions. Kārlis Jēkabs Īvāns excels in structured finance and sustainable finance, Sabīne Vilka is a financial regulatory expert. Justīne Ignatavičute departed from the group in August 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Accolades
Client satisfaction: NPS ®
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘The team is highly competent in this field. They have strong market knowledge and excellent connections with the relevant local counterparties, making them a reliable and valuable partner.’
- ‘Mainly been working with Kārlis Jēkabs Īvāns and Māris Vainovskis, and both of them are very diligent, efficient and proactive. They think quickly and come up with solutions.’
- ‘Client-oriented approach, a broad knowledge base, and a very attentive attitude towards matters.’
- ‘Strong sense of responsibility, speed, accuracy, and knowledge.’
- People. Our team has complete ownership of our project. If they think they need extra resources to better resolve the issues, they never hesitated.
Key clients
- LHV Bank
- Aigars Kesenfelds and AS ALPPES Capital
- IPAS “Indexo”
- Food Union Group: Rīgas piena kombināts, Valmieras piens, Premia FFL, Food Union Management
- AS “Virši-A”
- AS Longo Group
- Grenardi Group AS
- International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA)
- AS DelfinGroup
- AS Kalve Coffee
- AS “Eco Baltia”
- Mapon, AS
Work highlights
Advised LHV Bank and co-arrangers in the Baltics and Germany on the landmark IPO of Eleving Group, the largest ever in the Baltic States.
Advised Food Union Group on the €125M multi-jurisdictional refinancing of its 2017 loan, coordinating legal efforts across Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Estonia in the complex Project Freeze transaction.
Advised entrepreneur Aigars Kesenfelds and AS ALPPES Capital on securing European Central Bank and Bank of Latvia approvals for acquiring a qualifying holding in INDEXO, a strategic investment in a leading Latvian financial services group.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Practice head
Māris Vainovskis
Other key lawyers
Kārlis Jēkabs Īvāns; Sabīne Vilka