Rokas Law Firm

The firm:  Rokas was established in early 1977 and has since grown to be the first Greek law firm that is active in ten European countries and holds the vision of providing world-class solutions in the region to a worldwide clientele through its international network. We value our international perspective as our critical advantage regarding the business-oriented approach and the quality of services offered to clients who plan to expand, run and develop their business in an increasingly globalised market economy.

 Areas of practice: Rokas is a full-service firm and specialises in several market sectors with an advisory and litigation/ADR practice. Rokas’ clients include corporations active in finance, insurance, banking, energy, telecommunications, technology, construction, real estate, hotel and leisure; also, businesses in the aluminium, steel and gas sectors, pharmaceuticals, tobacco and courier companies, state institutions and regulators.

The firm has acted as project leader and has participated in consortia in law and regulation drafting projects in several market sectors of central and SE Europe, and of the former USSR states. The projects concerned the strengthening, modernisation and regulation of the insurance, energy and environment, and telecommunications sectors, the supporting of public administration and justice reforms.

Rokas is the leading Greek firm in insurance and reinsurance law. The firm’s partners are widely recognised as academics and as litigation and regulation practitioners in insurance law in Greece and in the regions where Rokas expands. Having published landmark textbooks and articles on the subject in Greece and in other countries, they often participate in law drafting committees.

Rokas is also a top choice for complex litigation and arbitration, as well as non contentious work, in all aspects of commercial law, including energy, e-communications, infrastructure practice, and in M&A deals including privatisations, such as the recently completed unbundling of the Greek electricity transmission system operator.

Indicative work highlights of the firm include:
M&A / privatisations / corporate and commercial: (4 partners; 6 associates)

• Cross-border merger by absorption of Greek commercial company by a Luxembourg international company;
• Advising on corporate and contractual issues, for an extremely prominent hotel and resort complex on the Athens Riviera;
• Advice to a Greek systemic bank on corporate governance issues and potential conflicts of interest arising from multiple appointments of the senior manager within the bank’s group;
• Advising clients from various market sectors, including shipping, insurance, pharmaceuticals, on the GDPR; acting as DPO;
• Advice on the provision of cross-border electronic communications services in Greece mainly with respect to automobiles;
• Licensing and launching of an e-scooter sharing system in Athens;
• Advising on equity and cash-based plans for Greek employees of large multinational companies of the financial and industrial sector;
• Legal assessment of the contemplated post-Brexit operational schemes for a number of UK-based companies active in regulated market sectors;
• Acted for sellers in the electricity supplier’s NRG shares sale to the Motor Oil group;
• Represented the electricity incumbent in the divestiture of the power grid company via the sale of shares to China’s SGID and to a state owned SPV and indirect listing of the rest of stock;
• Acquisition of a prestigious hotel and residential complex in the center of Sofia, Bulgaria and hotel management agreements;
• Divestiture of a Greek systemic bank’s subsidiary in North Macedonia;
• Advising and representing clients on several business law and regulatory issues, including the update to the reformed law on societes anonymes, company transformations, commercial agency and distribution, business transactions, et.al.;
• World Bank Subnational Project “Registering Property, Starting Business and Enforcement of Contracts” it launched for six cities in Greece, including the review of the Questionnaires, the organisation and monitoring of the expert teams in each city, providing response instructions, receiving feedback from the expert teams, and cooperating with World Bank.

Energy: (2 partners; 3 associates)

• Support to a foreign investor in acquisition and subsequent development of a developing 12 solar PV plants of total 284 MW, project which has been characterised as a project of Strategic Interest;
• Support to a foreign investor in a green-field development of above 250 MW PV plant in Greece;
• Advising the client regarding the EFET and ISDA agreements; support regarding the compliance for its participation in the wholesale electricity and gas markets, as well as energy derivatives markets, particularly those arising from EMIR, REMIT and other;
• Providing legal support, review and comments to the Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) with the German company of the framework agreement and sample individual agreement for the project Kozani, a cluster of photovoltaic power plants with a total licensed capacity above 200 MW;
• Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund: development of an underwater gas storage tank located in South Kavala – the first of its kind in Greece;
• Support to a foreign investor in licensing and development of 6 SPVs for production of electricity from wind;
• Representation of the major Greek natural gas supplier in a dispute against the Greek Natural Gas TSO regarding to charges for booked gas transmission capacities;
• Representation of major Greek energy-intensive industrial client in a dispute against the Greek electricity TSO regarding charges imposed to auto-producers with high efficiency cogeneration of heat and power (CHP);
• Advice regarding the acquisition of 5 SPVs containing 10 PV projects for small PV with the total capacity of 5 MWs.

Dispute resolution and ADR:  (4 partners; 10 associates)

• Representing the incumbent gas distribution company in two ad hoc international arbitrations against a Greek insurer for claims originating from non consumption of agreed gas quantities by incumbent’s clients (electricity producers);
• Representing the French, Greek and Italian Guarantee Funds against the Motor Insurance Bureau of the UK, in the first ever international arbitration between Motor Insurance Bureaus, in a dispute related to the insolvency of a Gibraltar insurer;
• Advised a leading hotel resort in a complex construction dispute involving ICC arbitration in London, against a leading Greek construction company;
• Complex litigation and arbitration cases, for an extremely prominent hotel and resort complex on the Athens Riviera;
• Representing Generali and QBE in a series of claims litigation originating from the closure of the main Greek Motorway connecting Athens and Thessaloniki owing to rock fall;
• Representing the Greek subsidiary of the world leading cement producer in a unique dispute before the Administrative Supreme Court, involving the recovery of state aid;
• Representing one of the world’s leading batteries’ manufacturer in the largest ever casualty claim in Greece;
• Representing the leading Greek oil refinery in a large casualty claim involving a cutting-edge Flexicocking technology;
• Representing several insurers in claims against the Hellenic Republic due to unlawful conduct of the police during the December 2008 riots;
• Representing a world leader in pipe manufacturing in a jurisdiction and product liability dispute over an irrigation project in the island of Crete;
• Representing one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, a major biodiagnostics company and a major factoring institution in claims against public hospitals for unpaid invoices from supplies of pharmaceuticals and other products.
  

Insurance: (5 partners; 5 associates)

• The firm maintains a recognised leading practice in insurance, reinsurance and insurance mediation law. It supports Greek and international clients including regulators of Eastern Europe countries in all related aspects including establishment, licensing and run-off, M&As and portfolio transfers, passporting of services, regulatory and compliance issues and provides consultancy for a number of important global players of the insurance sector.

Pharmaceuticals and diagnostics:  (3 partners; 3 associates)

• Representing a number of globally leading pharmaceutical companies and diagnostics company against the HR in litigation over clawback disputes and over the collection of public hospitals debt;
• Provision of day-to-day legal support to major pharmaceutical companies with regard to various regulatory issues;
• Preparation and review of clinical trial agreements for various arrangers.

Employment: (1 partner; 2 associates)

• Representation of a major commercial company as employer and as insurer concerning the calculation of the pension benefit (lump-sum) that is provided to its employees who exit for full or early retirement;
• Representation of AGET Herakles, the Greek subsidiary of Lafarge Holcim, on a collective redundancy dispute before the Supreme Administrative Court and the European Court of Justice that led to the amendment of the collective redundancies legislation in Greece;
• Provision of ongoing advisory support to one of the world leading pharmaceutical companies on employment-law matters, as well as in relation to a restructuring plan project;
• Provision of legal assistance to a leading Korean electronics manufacturer concerning all aspects of individual labour law;
• Representation of a major insurance company before Court on a pilot case concerning the existence or not of obligation on the part of the employer, deriving from a Group insurance contract, for the payment of a lump sum benefit to its employees during their exit, in view of the fact that the relevant reserves are not sufficient.