Stavropoulos & Partners

The firm: Stavropoulos & Partners Law Office is a Greek law firm which was established in Athens in 1991. Since its formation, the firm’s practice has included legal counsel, advice and litigation in a wide range of Greek and European Union business and tax law matters. Throughout its 29 years in the Greek legal market, the firm has developed a widely recognised expertise and gained an excellent reputation, ranked within high tiers in the fields of taxation, European Union and competition, corporate and M&As, as well as dispute resolution.

The firm is privileged to serve on a constant basis companies which are considered as ‘blue chip’ internationally, but also has vested continuous interests and activities in Greece, handling complex and important work that requires a high level of expertise and consistency.

The lawyers of the firm have done contemporary undergraduate and postgraduate studies and are assisted by secretarial and clerical staff supported by modern infrastructure. The main target is to successfully meet the increasing demands of clientele while maintaining a high degree of dynamism, flexibility and close personal contact with each case.

Areas of practice: The firm’s main areas of practice include: tax and tax litigation, customs and excise, EU and competition, corporate, commercial and M&A, finance, banking and capital markets, data protection and privacy, real estate and construction, environment, intellectual and industrial property, labour and employment, litigation and dispute resolution.

Tax and tax litigation, customs and excise: The firm has a solid presence in the area of tax law and is considered one of the most prominent players in this area. The practice handles numerous tax cases in direct and indirect taxation, regularly represents clients in tax audits and provides counsel to clients in all areas of taxation law, including income tax, VAT, double taxation treaties, transfer pricing and excise duties. It regularly advises on strategic planning and transactional issues and deals with transfer pricing defense files. Some of the firm’s latest achievements include representing a large number of multinational companies, as well as high net-worth individuals, in major tax litigation involving inter alia issues relating to EU tax law and double taxation treaties, VAT refund, transfer pricing, stamp duty, municipality tax and income tax assessments. Ioannis Stavropoulos, founding and managing partner of the firm, is a leading tax lawyer with an impressive track record, awarded with the “The Legal 500 Hall of Fame” distinction. He has dealt with several tax cases and has an impressive track record for successfully representing clients in courts, including the European Court of Justice, the Greek administrative courts and the Council of State, as well as in tax authorities and administrative committees on all kinds of tax law issues. A number of his cases constitute leading jurisprudence published in legal and tax journals, while he has been classified by international publications as a highly recommended tax expert for Greece. He has published a number of articles on tax matters while he is a regular speaker in many authoritative conferences and seminars.

EU and competition: Our competition practice covers a broad range of subject matters, encompassing agreements and concerted practices, market dominance and merger control issues. Our lawyers regularly review commercial policies, rebate schemes and other commercial practices especially by companies with market power in accordance with the restrictions applying to unilateral practices as well as in the context of vertical and horizontal relationships. We assist our clients in designating and implementing internal compliance programs and training sessions for their personnel. We regularly represent market leaders in investigation cases before the competition authority and offer both contentious and non-contentious competition law service. Our firm has defended prominent companies before the competition authorities and administrative courts in major cases in the food and beverage sector.

Commercial, corporate and M&A: The firm is acting as principal legal adviser of several corporate clients engaged in various sectors, such as food and beverage, chemicals, waste recycling, real estate, consumer products and retail business, supporting them on a broad spectrum of corporate and commercial issues. We frequently assist with the formation of corporate structures and address all types of corporate governance and compliance issues, including providing legal support with all corporate events and reviewing the firm’s corporate clients’ internal policies and regulations to ensure respect of corporate social responsibility and compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards and national or international norms. We further regularly advise on commercial transactions and agreements, including joint venture agreements, sale and purchase of businesses, distribution and agency agreements, loan and bond agreements, as well as contracts for services, supply contracts, IT contracts, construction contracts, management contracts and general terms of contract. We also provide guidance on the application of consumer protection law and cover matters pertaining to product liability and unfair commercial practices. Our lawyers are adept in providing advice on all aspects of buying and selling companies and businesses including negotiating and drafting of share purchase, joint venture and shareholders agreements, conducting legal due diligence and advising on stock exchange law aspects of mergers and acquisitions projects. We have been involved in a number of high-value projects and corporate reorganizations often with a cross-border element covering a variety of sectors, including one of the biggest spin-off restructuring projects in the food and beverage industry, the acquisition of several Greek companies operating in the mining and concrete sectors by one of the leading cement multinational industries and a joint venture between a French multinational and a leading Greek company in the cosmetics sector.

Litigation and dispute resolution: Our firm has substantial experience in arbitration work, acting as counsel in both domestic and international arbitral proceedings and often representing key clients in relevant mandates. Our team has acted for major corporations involved in a variety of industries such as consumer, retail, IT, entertainment and construction on a wide range of high-value arbitration cases in front of key arbitral centers including the ICC and the American Arbitration Association. We have an excellent reputation for disputes concerning damages claims in various contexts, including breach of contract and termination of agency and distribution agreements. We are regularly litigating before civil courts in several cases concerning company, commercial and civil law issues and representing clients in significant cross-border commercial disputes while the firm is increasingly active in high-profile construction disputes with a heavy focus on the luxury hotel business. Senior partner Evanthia Tsiri has handled successfully several major domestic and international arbitration cases as well as civil litigation cases with key strengths in corporate/commercial and construction-related disputes and has earned a strong reputation in this field.