Ellex

Managing Partner Dr. iur. Ants Nõmper is one of the most widely recognised Intellectual Property, IT and Medical Law experts in Estonia whose work is closely linked to the word ‘innovation’. Ants has led a number of innovative cases, including the first patent dispute in Estonia, the first dispute over the responsibility of a media channel over commentaries in Estonia, the first Estonian pharmaceutical advertisement dispute in the European Court of Justice and receiving the first preliminary ruling for a generic pharmaceutical company in Estonia. He is also one of the authors of the textbooks ‘Medical Law’ and ‘Information and Law’ — the first in their related fields to be published in Estonia. Ants is also a member of the .ee and .eu Domain Disputes Committee.

Dmitri Rozenblat

Counsel Dmitri Rozenblat is a counsel specialising in tax law who advises clients in all tax law issues, including tax disputes and international taxation. In addition, Dmitri has extensive experience in advising clients on M&A transactions and corporate restructuring as well as on the resolution of everyday corporate and contractual law matters. Dmitri has been appointed as a member of the Advisory Commission on cross-border tax disputes.

Ermo Kosk

Partner Ermo Kosk is a partner and one of the most recognised new generation transaction attorneys in Estonia. He advises clients on acquisitions and takeovers, complex financing and real estate transactions as well as everyday business issues. His experience in transactions covers different industries, from classical M&A transactions of manufacturing and service companies to sophisticated IT, start-up and fintech capital raising. Ermo has advised hundreds of deals both in Estonia and abroad, on purchase as well as sales, from the perspective of strategic buyers and financial and private equity investors. He has extensive experience in cross-border M&A transactions in various European countries as well as North America, Asia and South America. Several transactions advised by Ermo have received pan-Baltic or international recognition (including the Baltic M&A transaction of the year 2015). In the area of financing, he focuses on syndicated loans, mezzanine-type financing, LMA-based lending and various types of debt instruments (including subordinated, guaranteed and unsecured bonds). Ermo has experience in advising major real estate transactions from the buyer’s and seller’s side, primarily commercial real estate transactions (shopping malls, logistics parks and commercial buildings), as well as advising developers and financiers on housing development. He also advises real estate managers and owners on everyday real estate development, administration and management. He has been highly recognised internationally (Legal500, IFLR1000, Chambers Europe and Chambers Global) in all his areas of work (M&A, banking and real estate). Ermo has been involved as a legal advisor in the work of managing bodies (including at supervisory and management board level).

Gerda Liik

Counsel Gerda Liik is a counsel at Ellex with more than 10 years of experience in M&A and corporate advisory. Gerda has represented clients in some of the largest and most high-profile M&A transactions in Estonia in recent years. She has advised on a broad range of cross-border acquisitions and divestitures in many different industry sectors (TMT, utilities, insurance, construction, pharmaceuticals, food, manufacturing, services, etc.), acting for strategic and private equity investors. She also regularly advises clients on corporate restructurings, corporate governance and other corporate matters.

Gerli Kivisoo

Partner Gerli Kivisoo is a partner specialising in commercial law, mergers, and acquisitions and capital markets. She is a leading expert on the public offer and listing transactions of Estonian securities, both in Estonia and overseas. She has advised more than half the companies listed on the Nasdaq Tallinn Stock Exchange, but also a Latvian cosmetics company and its admission to trading in the multilateral trading facility First North. Gerli previously worked at LAWIN (currently Cobalt) where she was an associate partner and head of the Capital Markets Practice Group.

Hanna Pahk

Senior Associate Hanna Pahk is a senior associate who specialises in employment law and company law. Hanna’s experience includes advising clients in employment and company law matters and taking part in large-scale cases of business law and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). She has advised clients on employment matters and topics related to everyday company management, management agreements, establishment, mergers, demergers and the close-down of companies. She is also an experienced advisor in cross-border transactions, secondments of top management to Estonia and abroad, special agreements with key employees, issues related to the transfer of enterprise, unifying the codes of conduct worldwide, employment disputes, and occupational health and safety matters. Before joining Ellex in Estonia, Hanna was practising as an attorney-at-law in the corporate and M&A practice group at Sorainen law firm where she was also the regional head of the employment workstream.

Helen Ratso

Senior Associate Helen Ratso is a senior associate specialising in banking & finance. Helen has extensive work experience in advising clients in various financing transactions, including bond issues and developing and implementing security structures. She has also advised clients in acquiring financial sector activity licences and in various security markets, lending, banking and insurance-related matters, including preparation of product terms and conditions, cross-border transactions and disputes. Helen’s particular interest lies in investment funds and asset management – she is experienced in advising fund managers on day-to-day matters and in transactions, and on the implementation of the AIFMD. In her masters thesis, Helen focused on portfolio managers’ legal duties. Before joining Ellex in Estonia, Helen practised in the banking and finance and insurance teams of the law firm Sorainen. She holds an MA degree in law from the University of Tartu and has also studied as an exchange student at Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense.

Kevin Gerretz

Banking & Finance, EU, Competition

Mari Must

Counsel Mari Must is a counsel and European trademark & design attorney specialising in intellectual property, trademarks and patent litigation. She is also one of the few members of the Estonian Bar Association who simultaneously has the competence of a European trademark & design attorney to represent clients in intellectual property registration. As a leading expert in the field, Mari has participated in the drafting of the Estonian Trade Marks Act and has been involved in a number of patent disputes in Estonia. In addition, she has spoken at various conferences on various aspects of intellectual property (registration, disputes, transactions, advertising) and is also a member of the Estonian Domain Disputes Committee.

Marko Kairjak

Partner Marko Kairjak, PhD., LL.M is a partner and financial regulatory and criminal compliance expert. He has extensive experience in criminal defence, internal investigations and compliance assessments having been involved in all the major and largest white-collar cases in Estonia in recent history. Marko Kairjak has also advised numerous financing transactions and regulatory matters within the alternative financing and fintech sector. He has been involved in setting up most of the regions’ crowdfunding platforms, and has also advised fintech companies in landmark financing transactions and provided regulatory and compliance support during licensing and post-licensing. Marko Kairjak is the author of many academic books and articles and has been involved in university teaching since 2007. He has been a visiting scholar at various European universities and is considered the main academic expert on criminal compliance and AML.

Martin Mäesalu

Partner Martin Mäesalu is a partner and heads the Estonian practice group for competition and state aid law. As a top specialist he has a wide range of experience in handling competition law and state aid related matters both nationally and on the EU level. This applies to issues that arise in day-to-day activities, transactions as well as in disputes. His experience includes advising clients in different sectors, including financial services, energy, trade, and IT. In addition to competition and state aid related expertise, Martin also has extensive experience in advising companies on financial and banking regulatory issues. He is one of the few attorneys in Estonia with international work experience in both law and business management. Martin has worked for an international strategy consultancy advising various technology companies, but has also worked for an international technology company advising their international restructuring activities.

Merlin Liis-Toomela

Senior Associate Merlin Liis-Toomela is a senior associate who specialises in data protection and intellectual property rights law. She is an internationally recognised expert in the field of data protection and holds the European Data Protection Professional Certificate CIPP/E issued by the Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). Merlin is also a member of the Intellectual Property and IT Law Committee of the Estonian Bar Association, thereby actively contributing to issues related to IT legislation and practice, i.e. analysing existing legislation and practice as well as drafting and advising on proposed amendments. Having worked in an international law firm before joining Ellex, he has a combined 10 years of experience advising clients in data protection law, IP & ICT and civil litigation.

Rutt Värk

Counsel Rutt Värk is a counsel specialising in mergers and acquisitions and business law. Rutt has more than 10 years of international experience in advising on M&A transactions and project management in various fields, as well as advising on various real estate deals. She has advised on number of important transactions in recent years (including the Hobby Hall deal, the Tradehouse deal, and the Milrem deal).

Toomas Kasesalu

Counsel Toomas Kasesalu is a counsel with experience working for Swedbank (1998–2012) and is widely regarded as one of the most experienced and pragmatic banking lawyers in Estonia. Toomas has vast experience in legal matters pertaining to financing and an unparalleled understanding of transaction issues from the lender’s side.

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