Cobalt

Aivar Taro is a Partner at COBALT and Head of the fields of Real Estate, Construction and Energy.

Akvilė Bosaitė

Akvilė Bosaitė is a Partner and Co-Head of the Banking and Finance Practice Group. She has specialised in banking, finance, investment funds, project financing, restructuring of financing, securities and M&A for over fourteen years. Akvilė Bosaitė is a recommended expert in finance law by international law firm directories.

Andrejs Lielkalns

Andrejs Lielkalns is a Specialist Counsel at COBALT Latvia. He is is one of the best know Latvian experts in the area of Banking & Finance and Capital Markets. He counts amongst his clients many local and international financial institutions, governmental institutions and companies. Andrejs experience includes advising on Latvian and EU regulatory matters, sale and purchase of banks, other financial institutions and financial institution assets, stock exchange listings (de-listings), financial services, financial transactions, derivatives transactions, payment services, payment cards and e-money matters, credit institution insolvency, EU Structural funds, cross-border finance and lending, as well as on numerous project finance, alternative financing, restructuring and refinancing arrangements.

Anna Kosar has been an Estonian patent attorney in the field of trade marks, industrial designs, and geographical indications since 2012. She has been the official representative of the European Union Intellectual Property Office in the field of trade marks and industrial designs since 2015. Anna has extensive knowledge in the field of intellectual property as well as data protection. Before joining COBALT, she worked as a patent attorney at Koitel Patent & Trademark Agency, and then as a legal counsel at a firm practicing commercial law. Anna has been engaged in legal protection related to copyright, registration of trade marks and industrial designs, and related procedures (renewals of the term of legal protection, transfers, pledges, licensing, etc.). She has also represented clients before the Estonian Industrial Property Board of Appeal, in court proceedings, before the Domain Disputes Committee, and at the European Union Intellectual Property Office in relation to trade mark disputes. In addition, she has represented clients in connection with seizure of suspected goods by the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. In terms of data protection, Anna has been counselling clients in various business sectors since 2017. She has also acted as a data protection officer for some clients. She has also, for example, represented clients before the Estonian Data Protection Inspectorate and the Finnish Data Protection Ombudsman.

Annika Peetsalu

Annika Peetsalu is one of the most experienced professionals in the fields of restructuring, insolvency and arbitration in Estonia. She has advised companies who are undergoing reorganization and creditors in different complex insolvency proceedings in recovering their claims. Annika further advises companies in complicated economic disputes in national courts and both in national and international arbitration courts. Annika’s work in advising distressed companies has helped to turn around businesses of national importance and save jobs. Her work has influenced the legal practice in the field of insolvency law, helping to interpret the law and trigger amendments in the legislation. In addition, Annika has experience working in the position of Head of Legal at an international fintech company, advising mainly some of the group’s foreign subsidiaries.

Artūras Kojala

Artūras Kojala is a Partner in the Real Estate and Infrastructure Department. Mr Kojala has advised major local and international companies.

Artūrs Valderšteins

Artūrs Valderšteins is a Senior Associate at COBALT Latvia. He works in the Public Law and Public procurement practice groups and specializes in Energy Law. Artūrs has gained experience in matters relating to Administrative and Constitutional Law issues, and has assisted in large scale public procurement and energy projects.

Aurelija Balčiūnė

Aurelija Balčiūnė is a Specialist Counsel at the Banking and Finance Practice Group. During her legal practice, Aurelija has counselled international and local banks and companies on various regulatory and compliance matters, participated in the most renown market deals and M&A transactions, acquisition of large-scale debt portfolios and structured financing transactions.

Aušrys Šliavas

Aušrys Šliavas is a Specialist Counsel and has been involved in numerous complex assignments requiring creative and unconventional solutions.

Dace Silava-Tomsone

Dace Silava–Tomsone is the Managing Partner of COBALT Latvia and one of the best known and widely recognized Real Estate and Construction, M&A and Competition experts in the country. During more than 20 years of practice she has advised many governmental institutions, local and international companies on major real estate and investment projects, transactions, as well as in intricate cartel, dominance and merger control cases. Dace is regularly involved in work of professional organizations and legislative development acting as a member of working groups of various NGOs. Dace is appointed a Co-Chair of the Project Execution Subcommittee of the International Construction Projects Committee of the IBA for the period of 2024-2025.

Dalia Foigt-Norvaišienė

Dr Dalia Foigt-Norvaišienė is a Specialist Councel at the Employment Law Practice Group at COBALT Lithuania. She has assisted numerous local and international clients upon choosing the best solution for establishing a business in Lithuania and upon setting up and operating these businesses including but not limited to employment matters.

Deividas Soloveičik

Dr Deividas Soloveičik is a Partner and Head of Public Procurement practice at COBALT Lithuania. He represents clients before national courts at all instances and arbitral institutions in civil and administrative cases, provides legal advice to Lithuanian and foreign private clients and contracting authorities, including the Commission of the European Union, on the legal aspects of public procurement and pre-commercial procurement.

Diāna Zepa is a Senior Associate at COBALT Latvia. She has profound experience in most challenging corporate law matters and M&A projects. She has advised clients in complex local and cross-border corporate reorganization and restructuring projects, share issues in private and public companies, as well as on compliance with regulatory requirements involved in company formation, changes of holding structures across multiple jurisdictions etc. Diāna has also led teams in multiple due diligence assignments on companies across various industry sectors, ranging from retail and manufacturing to transportation, energy, IT, life science and healthcare businesses, and is supporting clients in M&A and PE/VC transactions.

Edgars Pastars is a Partner and Head of the Financial Regulatory and Compliance Practice. He is an ACAMS Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and Certified Global Sanctions Specialist (CGSS), and among the most highly respected public law experts and the co-author of several key books on constitutional law. Edgars has extensive constitutional litigation experience. He is regularly called upon by the Constitutional Court to provide expert opinion on relevant procedural matters. Moreover, he has acted for a range of clients in administrative proceedings, the Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministry of Transport among them. He has been among the drafters of numerous laws, regulations and legislative amendments (in the area of construction, banking, finances, real estate, employment, anti-money laundering and the responsibility of state officials), being the one to initiate new and non-customary solutions (e.g. regulation of companies important for national security, adjustment of the UK JMLIT regulation to Latvia). Edgars has worked extensively on matters closely related to banking and finances, by advising on legal, compliance (Moneyval evaluation), risk management, capital market (covered bonds, securitization, pension funds), consumer crediting and payments (including PSD2 implementation) and has represented Latvia’s financial sector at the European Banking Federation and Europol working groups. He has continuously participated in legislative drafting work groups at the Ministry of Justice for civil procedure law amendments, commercial law amendments and improved insolvency regulation.

Edgars Lodziņš is a Partner and Head of the Banking and Finance practice group at COBALT Latvia. He has more than 20 years of professional experience in banking and finance, capital markets and M&A field. During his practice Edgars has successfully advised some of the most significant financing, capital markets and M&A transactions in the region (both Latvian and cross-border) and has earned an excellent reputation for being one of the top specialists in the field. His clients include major international and local credit and financial institutions, private equity and venture capital funds and investors. Edgars is also a member of the Legal Committee of Latvian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.

Eglė Stražnickienė

Eglė Stražnickienė is a Senior Associate practising in the Employment Law Practice Group. Eglė advises local and international clients on non-competition of employees, protection of confidential information, transfer of employees and other labour law questions, and provides assistance to clients in large-scale projects and international transactions.

Egon Talur is a Partner at COBALT Estonia heading our Tax and IP-IT teams.

Elijus Burgis is a Partner and Head of the firm’s Corporate Transactions Department. During the years of his practice Mr Burgis has been an adviser in a number of the largest M&A transactions and financing projects in Lithuania and has also advised clients on various matters related to corporate, banking and finance, securities and competition law.

Elīna Ločmele

Elīna Ločmele is a Senior Associate at COBALT Latvia. She is an expert in Tax, Corporate and Restructuring matters. She is an experienced member of COBALT team and has been involved in numerous complex tax, M&A and restructuring matters, as well as advised clients on lotteries and gambling regulation. Elīna has perfected her skills on a secondment with the law office in Helsinki.

Elo Tamm is a Partner and the Head of EU and Competition practice in COBALT Estonia, heading Healthcare practice and co-heading the Energy.

Eva Suduiko is a Partner and Co-Head in the Banking and Finance Practice Group. She has specialised in banking, finance, capital markets and M&A for over twelve years. During her legal practice, Eva Suduiko has advised clients in a number of M&A transactions, international financing and security arrangements. She constantly advises both local and foreign clients on various regulatory matters, including cross-border provision of services, issue of securities and other capital and financial markets related projects.

Gatis Flinters is a Partner and Head of the Corporate & Commercial Law practice group at COBALT Latvia. He advises on M&A transactions and is recognized for his particular expertise in energy and insolvency law. He brings over 15 years of field experience and has a proven record of success in large-scale investment and reconstruction projects while advising local and also foreign companies. Gatis is an active member of the Professional Association for European Restructuring and Insolvency Practitioners (INSOL Europe) and the honorary advisor to the British Ambassador in Latvia on legal issues.

Ģirts Lejiņš is a Senior Advisor at COBALT Latvia. His main practice areas are Corporate Advisory and Commercial Law, Banking and Project Finance, Privatization and Dispute Resolution. During more than 20 years in practice he has represented numerous clients ranging from the Government to international banks and multinational enterprises in complex corporate advisory and commercial law related matters and significant capital market cases. He is widely recognized expert in these areas and in the dispute resolution matters. He has successfully represented clients in a number of complex international arbitration proceedings.

Greete-Kristiine Kuru

Greete mainly advises on venture capital investments, other financing transactions as well as fund formation matters and mergers and acquisitions. She has advised several international and local venture capital funds on investing in promising startups in Europe, the USA, and elsewhere. Greete-Kristiine is experienced in all types and at every stage of venture capital transactions, from an angel, seed, and other early-stage investments, through late-stage investments and mergers and acquisitions. She also advises on various corporate matters, investor-startup relations and provides general counseling for startups.

Guntars Zīle is a Partner and Head of M&A practice group at COBALT Latvia. He has more than 20 years of experience in transactional work and has represented numerous local, as well as multinational companies and PE funds (like Marguerite, East Capital, BaltCap, Stora Enso, AXA Private Equity, Carlsberg, MISC Berhad, etc) in large scale M&A transactions. Guntars also advises on product and service liability and safety matters and performs regulatory work for manufacturers of the pharmaceuticals and healthcare service providers.

Heili is specialized in company and employment law. She is an experienced expert in both fields. Heili advises companies in all aspects of managing employment relations, including choice of contract type, immigration matters of foreign employees, use of temporary agency staff, preparation of employment contracts, issues relating to bonus systems, relations with trade unions, occupational health and safety matters, supervisory proceedings of the Labor Inspectorate, community-scale involvement of employees and termination of employment. Heili also prepares service agreements for members of managing bodies and advises companies in different corporate proceedings such as holding meetings, adopting resolutions, mergers, divisions, and reorganizations. In addition to the above, Heili also advises companies engaging in retail, life sciences, and medicines in compliance issues. Heili assists clients in preparing standard terms and advises clients in issues relating to consumer protection, producer liability, and advertising.

Heleri Tammiste

Heleri Tammiste is one of the most experienced Senior Associates in M&A practice group in COBALT Estonia, focusing on advising complex M&A and private equity transactions. Heleri has been involved as project manager and coordinator in a significant part of the high-profile M&A transactions advised by COBALT, including establishment of the pan-Baltic Luminor banking group by DNB and Nordea, and subsequent sale of majority stake in Luminor to consortium led by Blackstone. Heleri is a long-time member of Estonian Bar Association’s Business Law Committee (comprising a selected group of highly skilled practicing attorneys), where she contributes to legislative processes impacting Estonian Business Law. She is also one of the very few members of the Estonian Bar Association holding a degree from Harvard Law School. In 2022 Heleri was elected to the Board of Harvard Law School Association of Europe.

Indriķis Liepa is a Partner and Head of IP, IT and Regulatory practice group at COBALT Latvia. He is among the leading practitioners in pharmacy law. He has a vast track record of over 15 years in consulting the leading local and foreign financial, food production, IT and other companies. Indriķis has substantial skills base in arranging major local M&A deals and significant investment projects. Indriķis has extensive knowledge on pharmacy law and is rendering both – daily legal support to numerous pharmacy undertakings and has also advised on major pharmaceutical industry headline deals.

Irmantas Norkus

Dr Irmantas Norkus is the Managing Partner of COBALT Lithuania. During his career Dr Norkus has led numerous landmark cross-border and domestic transactions and projects and has handled some of the most complex antitrust matters of recent times. He has represented a broad range of high-profile corporate clients, investment funds, issuers, financial institutions and institutional investors.

Ivo Maskalāns is a Senior Associate at COBALT Latvia. He advises clients on competition law and employment law issues and represents them before the National Competition Authority, State Labour Inspectorate and the courts. Likewise, he advises clients on compliance issues and represents them during negotiations with the authorities and trade unions. Ivo has represented clients in various significant cases when the decisions of the Latvian Competition Council where challenged. Furthermore, he represents clients in cases dealing with discrimination of employees, dismissals and transfer of undertakings. Ivo is a regular speaker at conferences and his articles are frequently published in legal media. His areas of specialization include specific industries (for example, supermarket chains and pharmacy). Before joining COBALT Ivo worked with another law firm and served as the Deputy Head of the Legal Department of the Competition Council of the Republic of Latvia.

Managing Partner Jaanus Mody heads the Dispute Resolution and Insolvency practice areas at COBALT Estonia.

Jesse Kivisaari

Jesse is experienced in M&A and private equity transactions and also advises companies in corporate law matters. He is focused on cross-border business activities, especially on projects related to Finland as his native language is Finnish. Jesse’s knowledge of cross-border legal aspects and multiple cultures enable him to provide services for Finnish companies with respect to the Baltics and vice versa.

Jovita Valatkaitė

Jovita Valatkaitė has over 9 years’ experience of legal practice in the fields of Employment and Corporate law. Apart from advising on general employment law matters, Jovita provides advice on non-competition of employees, protection of confidential information as well as the EU social security system. She also has extensive experience in migration matters, including residence permits, work permits, secondments and transfers of employees.

Julija Beldeninovienė

Julija Beldeninovienė is a Managing Associate, Attorney-at-Law having over 12 years of experience in IP, IT, Pharmaceutical law and related litigation. She counsels clients through various types of IP-related contract negotiations, including settlement agreements, licenses, IP assignment and other agreements. Her practice also involves pre-litigation strategy and all aspects of litigation and dispute resolution relating to patents, SPCs, trademarks, copyrights, designs, and confidential information. Julija has acted in numerous cases related to IP and unfair competition, including the first pharmaceutical patent invalidation and patent enforcement disputes in Lithuania.

Dr Juozas Rimas is a Partner and the Head of the Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Practice Group at COBALT Lithuania.Dr Rimas has led over 30 M&A projects where he was in charge of structuring, due diligence, negotiations and general project management, as well as over 10 projects of corporate restructuring (including business transfer, merger and spin-off procedures).

Juras Žymančius

Juras Žymančius is a Senior Associate, practising in the IP & IT and Regulatory Practice Group and working with data protection.

Justinas Šileika

Justinas Šileika is a Managing Associate at COBALT Lithuania. He specialises in the fields of EU & Competition and Corporate Law. In his legal practice he has consulted numerous local and international clients on a wide range of legal issues.

Juta Meimere is a Senior Associate at COBALT Latvia. She is an expert in construction and real estate matters. She has a wide experience in issues related to cadastral registrations and building rights. Prior to joining COBALT Juta worked with the State Land Service of Latvia, most recently in a position of the Head of Legal at Riga regional division, as well as for one of the largest banks in Latvia.

Kaarel has extensive experience in the public sector, including long experience in the Ministry of Finance, where he held various positions in the Financial Markets Department and later on as the Head of the Legal Department. There he was tasked with drafting some major legislative acts for the Estonian financial sector, including the first Estonian covered bond act and transposing PSD2 into the Estonian payment institutions and e-money institutions act. Prior to joining COBALT, Kaarel worked for an international law firm.

Kadri Michelson

Kadri Michelson is mainly specialised in dispute resolution. She represents clients in civil and administrative proceedings and has over fifteen years of experience in leading law firms in the field. Kadri has successfully represented distinguished clients in the fields of contract law, non-contractual law, property law and administrative procedure both in extrajudicial negotiations as well as in court proceedings. Kadri has specialised on, among other things, various administrative disputes related to state subsidies and disputes related to the publication of incorrect data and values. She also has vast experience in the field of joint property division, representing clients in large and legally complex property division disputes. In addition, she is a well-known expert in high-level labour disputes, including cases involving breaches of confidentiality and non-compete obligations. Clients highly value her concreteness and punctuality with respect to representation in court proceedings

Karina Paatsi is a Partner at COBALT Estonia and Head of the fields of Employment and Corporate Law.

Karli advises and represents clients mainly in indirect taxes and tax proceedings. He has extensive experience advising clients on tax matters related to value added tax, excise duties and customs duties. In addition to counselling the clients on indirect tax matters, Karli is also valued as a skilful representative in tax proceedings and litigations. He and his litigation team recently achieved a significant Supreme Court ruling, overturning the previously established practice of value added tax deductions in court proceedings and reshaping jurisprudence on property taxation. As a well-known and recommended representative in tax audit proceedings, he is continuously involved in several significant tax audit proceedings in Estonia. Karli’s experience also includes advising in corporate law matters and he takes the lead in advising clients on legal matters related to the gaming industry. His commercial and corporate law competence allows him to provide tax-efficient solutions for restructuring companies. His area of research is the imposition of value added tax on electronic commerce and digitally supplied services. In addition to advising clients, Karli gives lectures in business and tax law.

Kristel Raidla-Talur

Kristel Raidla-Talur is a Partner and Co-Chair of the Banking & Finance practice group at COBALT Estonia.

Kristīne Patmalniece

Kristīne Patmalniece is a Specialist Counsel at COBALT Latvia. She is an expert in employment, compliance and regulatory matters. She regularly advises clients operating in regulated industries such as food, health care, pharmaceuticals and telecommunications. Kristine has extensive experience in advising on novel employment law issues. She also represents clients before courts in employment disputes and other civil cases.

Lauris Liepa is the Managing Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution Practice Group of COBALT Latvia. He is recognized to be a noted practitioner in litigation, constitutional law, banking and finances and M&A. Lauris has a strong track record of significant landmark cases brought before the courts of the Republic of Latvia, the Court of Justice of the European Union and also the European Court of Human Rights and in recent years he has coordinated major M&A and foreign investment deals. In the course of his legal practice extending over 20 years, Lauris has advised major local and international corporate clients and state institutions, including the Cabinet of Ministers and the Parliament. Lauris Liepa is also the author of numerous benchmark legal publications; gives lectures at the Faculty of Law, University of Latvia and the Riga Graduate School of Law and is a member of various NGOs and associations. He takes an active involvement in the Latvian Venture Capital Association, is a member of the Supervisory Committee of NASDAQ OMX Riga and since 2011 is also a member of the supervisory board of the Arbitration Court of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Līga Fjodorova is a Specialist Counsel and Head of Patents, Trademarks and Designs at COBALT Latvia. She specializes in the field of intellectual property law, commercial law, dispute resolution. Līga is a Latvian Trademark Attorney and European Trademark Attorney. Līga represents clients before the Latvian Patent Office, EUIPO. As a leading Latvian expert in intellectual property, she represents client’s interests in complex trademark, patent and copyright disputes. Līga's litigation experience and expertise in trademark law ensure effective representation of the Client's position in litigations.

Liina Linsi has extensive experience in litigation and is an internationally recognised real estate expert with over 35 years of experience in the field. Liina has represented clients in civil and administrative disputes as well as in arbitration. Her client portfolio includes leading regional and international construction companies. Liina is a member of the supervisory board of several leading local construction and real estate companies.

Linda is Head of Data Protection, IT and Media at COBALT Latvia. She is an expert in Intellectual property and IT, and a leading expert on media and privacy rights as well as on data protection issues. She has accumulated extensive experience by representing clients in proceedings about invoking false information, defamation and compensation for non-material damage. She provides legal assistance to local and foreign clients on data protection issues. Linda holds seminars and delivers speeches at conferences related to journalistic and mass media rights, especially protection of journalists’ information sources. Linda has also participated in international research by preparing reviews on the data protection situation in Latvia, e.g., Data Protection: Laws of the world and Data Protection & Privacy – Jurisdictional Comparisons, as well as representing Latvia in global summits on European data protection – Annual European Data Protection Intensive.

Maija Tipaine is a Senior Associate at COBALT Latvia. She is a certified mediator, an expert in litigation, arbitration and medicine law matters. She has represented clients before national courts and arbitral tribunals in numerous civil cases involving corporate, contract, insurance, construction, bankruptcy, intellectual property and other matters, as well as in administrative disputes. Maija also serves as an arbitrator and is an ad hoc lecturer at Riga Graduate School of Law reading the course on Resolution of International Business Disputes.

Manvydas Borusas

Manvydas Borusas is a Senior Associate of EU and Competition Practice Group. He has extensive experience in consulting local and internation companies on various competition law matters and also representing such companies in civil and administrative cases.

Marina Kotkas is a Partner and co-chair of the Banking & Finance practice group at COBALT Estonia.

Marius Inta is a Partner and Head of the Commercial Disputes Practice Group at COBALT Lithuania. He has over 17 years’ experience in Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management and focuses his practice on insurance disputes, represents clients in litigation matters involving compensation of damages, competition law and intellectual property law violations. Marius is a litigation lawyer with a long track record of acting for clients in courts of general jurisdiction and administrative courts and alternative dispute resolution (negotiation, arbitration, mediation).

Mart has advised clients in all areas of competition law, including merger control, dominance, and prohibited cooperation issues. In the field of state aid, Mart has advised clients on various complex state aid issues, including various proceedings with administrative bodies and the European Commission. In addition, Mart is focused on energy and information technology sectors. Mart’s work in advising clients has contributed to the creation of significant players in the Estonian market and the clarification of key state aid principles.

Martin Simovart

Martin is a Partner at COBALT Estonia, the Head of the Pan-Baltic M&A practice group and the Head of Global Relations at COBALT.

Mārtiņš Tarlaps

Mārtiņš Tarlaps is a Senior Associate at COBALT Latvia. He is an expert in the fields of M&A, Energy Law, State Aid, Anti-Money Laundering and PPP. Mārtiņš has significant experience in all legal issues concerning energy markets, including renewable energy matters, and actively participates in various projects by NGOs, including the RES-E Working Groups of the Foreign Investors Council in Latvia and the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Martynas Bielskis

Martynas Bielskis is an Associate in the Tax Practice Group at COBALT Lithuania. He has experience working in a specialized tax consulting firm and in the tax department of an international audit company.

Milda Markevičiūtė

Dr Milda Markevičiūtė is Associate Partner and chairs the Administrative and Business Disputes Practice Group at COBALT Lithuania. Dr Milda Markevičiūtė has experience both handling high-profile disputes that require an integrated and unconventional approach to dispute resolution and dealing with sophisticated shareholder, energy sector, construction, and administrative disputes.

Mindaugas Bliuvas

Mindaugas Bliuvas is a Partner and Head of the Prevention and Criminal Law Practice Group at COBALT Lithuania. M. Bliuvas has experience in the fields of criminal, criminal procedure, administrative and penitentiary law as well as prevention and AML. The lawyer has been successfully representing and defending the interests of clients in resonant cases as well as in complex cases with international elements.

Monika Koolmeister

Monika is a Partner and Head of Financial Regulatory Practice Group at COBALT Estonia

Attorney at Law Nerijus Jurkus is a Managing Associate at COBALT Lithuania, practicing law within the Environment, Transport and Regulatory Practice Group. Nerijus brings over 20 years of practical experience to provide profound legal advice. Nerijus Jurkus has successfully represented transport and logistics companies in a diverse array of complex civil and administrative disputes, provided counsel on tax, customs, and customs procedures.

Ott has extensive experience in Estonian and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, advising private equity transactions and investors and companies in fundraising. In addition, Ott has focused on advising start-ups and technology companies. Ott has extensive experience in corporate law matters and shareholder relations. Ott regularly advises on important purchase and sale transactions and investments in companies, including the sale of shares and assets, financial and strategic investments, and restructuring. Ott has led several long-term projects and complex international transactions involving teams from different jurisdictions. His work has led several projects to a successful closing.

Paulius Markovas

Dr Paulius Markovas is a Partner with more than 25 years of experience. Paulius consults and advises clients developing renewable energy projects. Represents clients’ interests in disputes related to the development of renewable energy, in state and local government institutions, supervises regulatory and problematic aspects of project development.

Peeter Kutman, a Partner at COBALT Estonia, heads the Mergers and Acquisitions team.

Rasa Zaščiurinskaitė

Rasa Zaščiurinskaitė is a Partner and Head of the Competition Practice Group at COBALT Lithuania. For over 16 years, she has concentrated her practice in competition law and has substantial experience in Energy, Pharmacy, Aviation and other regulated areas of law. She has also gained valuable knowledge of EU competition law through attendance of numerous international and national conferences. Rasa also delivers presentations at local and international EU law conferences and has been contributing articles on EU competition law to various publications.

Rasa Mikutienė

Rasa Mikutiene is a Specialist Counsel at COBALT Lithuania. She specialises in tax law and has over ten years of experience in consulting clients on a wide range of direct and indirect tax matters. Rasa‘s main area of competence is value added tax, including the taxation of real estate transactions, finance and insurance products, cross-border supply chains and many others.

Rauno Ligi stands out with his extensive experience in different supervision and court proceedings. Rauno has successfully defended clients in diverse misdemeanor and criminal proceedings concerning, for example, alleged bribery, fraud, embezzlement, corruption, and other economic crimes. He advises clients on an everyday basis on various legal issues, from money laundering to competition offences, in order to avoid initiating and/or continuing proceedings against clients. With his extensive experience in advising clients on internal investigations, initiating criminal proceedings, and submitting claims against the perpetrator, he also trains clients on how to prevent abuses and how to act in different proceedings. Rauno has successfully represented clients in a wide variety of competition law disputes. He has represented clients in Competition Authority proceedings, and in filing claims in civil and administrative courts. He has been involved in several precedent-setting cases involving abuse of a dominant position. He has also wide experience in defending and representing clients in different supervision and criminal proceedings regarding cartels. Rauno has extensive experience in advising clients on issues of EU law as he has also practiced law in the General Court of the European Union.

Renata Vasiliauskienė

Renata Vasiliauskienė is a Senior Associate in IP & IT and Regulatory Law practice group in COBALT and has over 12 years of legal experience. Her main expertise areas include regulatory compliance (including electronic communications and cybersecurity), data protection and consumer protection (including OMNIBUS and content management pursuant to DSA).

Rimantas Simaitis

Professor Dr Rimantas Simaitis is Partner and Head of the Dispute Resolution Department. Professor Dr Simaitis holds a Doctor’s degree of Social Sciences (Law) from Vilnius University, Lithuania. He is an Associated Professor at Vilnius University faculty of Law, recommended arbitrator at Vilnius Court of Commercial Arbitration and has been designated to the ICSID Panel of Conciliators by the Lithuanian Government. He has been, and remains, an active member and/or head of various working groups formed by the Ministry of Justice, the Judicial Council and the Parliament of Lithuania, and the Council of Europe.

Rokas Daugėla is a partner and Head of the Tax Practice Group. Rokas is specialising in the area of Tax, where he has over 10 years of experience in advising local and international clients on Lithuanian and cross-border taxation and transfer pricing issues. Rokas holds an LLM in International Tax Law and has gained valuable experience in International tax at a leading Dutch law firm Loyens & Loeff. Rokas is recommended as a leading tax practitioneer in Lithuania by Tax Directors Handbook and the Legal 500.

Sabīne Vuškāne

Sabīne Vuškāne is Head of Tax Advisory at COBALT Latvia. She has more than 17 years of experience in tax planning and evaluating tax risks in Latvian and cross-border transactions and supply chains, especially in VAT matters, for a client base including the region’s largest companies and high net worth individuals. Sabine assists in tax planning, audits, reviews and transactional matters. Prior to joining COBALT Sabīne worked for one of the largest legal offices in Latvia, a professional services firm and at the Ministry of Finance. Sabīne has been actively involved in the development of the Latvian tax system and has drafted several major amendments to the tax laws. Along with being a frequent speaker on taxation in Latvia, she is co-author of the Latvian Tax Handbook and has authored a VAT handbook for Latvia and various publications for IBFD on VAT matters.

Sandija Novicka

Sandija Novicka is a Partner and Head of the Tax Law practice group at COBALT Latvia. She is an expert in Tax, State Aid, Public Procurement and Insurance matters. Sandija has acted as a lead advisor in large number of complex taxation matters, in particular advising on tax planning and representing clients in tax litigation. Due to her profound knowledge of broader legal framework Sandija is able to offer the most efficient solutions both in transactional and litigation assignments. Sandija has lectured at the Latvian Judicial Training Center, Latvian School of Public Administration and Riga Graduate School of Law on taxation, EU law and state aid topics and has written extensively on those subjects.

Sandra Sillaots

Sandra is specialised in construction and planning law, as well as in matters pertaining to environmental and energy law. She advises clients on comprehensive, thematic and detailed plan procedures and disputes regarding the building and operating permits. Before joining COBALT’s team, Sandra has also worked in the public sector.

Sergejs Rudāns is a Specialist Counsel at COBALT Latvia. While working at COBALT he has collaborated with real estate market participants ranging from developers, banks, builders and building managers to purchasers of apartments and tenants of premises, thus accumulating wide experience in the field. Sergejs has represented clients in courts of all levels and several cases headed by him have influenced case law. He has represented clients in such difficult proceedings as recovery of compensation from a board member, contesting transactions concluded by an insolvent company, invalidating a decision adopted at a shareholders’ meeting. He also deals with general civil and commercial law issues.

Simona Oliškevičiūtė-Cicėnienė

Simona Oliškevičiūtė-Cicėnienė is a Partner and Head of Real Estate and Infrastructure Department at COBALT Lithuania. She has over 18 years of experience in advising various market leading international and local companies, as well as Lithuanian Government and its institutions on sophisticated mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, as well as private equity transactions in real estate, energy, infrastructure, finance and other industries. Simona is a co-author of Legal Aspects of Doing Business in Europe/Lithuania, Corporate Governance Guide and Business Value Management Guide.

Simona Liuimienė

Simona Liuimienė is a Managing Associate, specializing in all aspects of competition law, including state aid, commercial relationships between retailers and suppliers, regulated competition as well as litigation. Her experience of 15 years includes working at the Lithuanian Competition Council, the European Commission, as well as international consulting company and international law firm.

Toms Šulmanis is a Partner and Head of the Employment & Immigration practice group in COBALT Latvia. Toms has more than 15 years of experience in the fields of M&A, Corporate/Commercial, Real Estate and Employment, including representation of clients in acquisition and sale of trade centers, commercial and residential developments, advice on all aspects of construction process, drafting and negotiating of commercial leases. Toms has also represented clients in complex corporate and employment matters, like restructuring of operations, redundancies, dealing with trade unions.

Tõnu Kolts specializes in tax law, equity compensation plans, and company restructuring. Internationally recognized as a tax expert, Tõnu possesses extensive experience advising both domestic and international clients. He has played a pivotal role in advising on several recent major transactions in Estonia from a tax perspective. Tõnu’s comprehensive background in tax law allows him to provide clients with tax-efficient solutions for company restructuring. In addition to his tax expertise, Tõnu brings substantial knowledge and experience in equity compensation plans, offering clients tailored solutions that meet the diverse needs of businesses navigating the complex landscape of employee incentives. Whether you are looking to create a stock option plan or seeking to implement global equity compensation strategies, Tõnu is dedicated to delivering results that align with your unique business objectives. Prior to joining the COBALT team, Tõnu worked as a tax advisor for one of the BIG4 audit firms in Estonia.

Uģis Zeltiņš is a Partner and Head of the Competition practice group at COBALT Latvia. He has extensive experience acting as a lead advisor in EU & Competition, State Aid and Public Procurement matters. Prior to joining COBALT Uģis was an advisor on European Law with the Constitutional Court of Latvia and currently he is in charge of constitutional law aspects of civil and administrative disputes handled by the office. Uģis has taught competition, EU and international law to undergraduates and has lectured on competition and state aid to judges.

Vaidas Mackonis

Vaidas Mackonis is a Partner and Head of the Transport law practice group at COBALT Lithuania. Vaidas has a longstanding track record in the transport sector and representative experience in real estate and construction, environmental and infrastructure and dispute resolution areas. Vaidas constantly advises clients on sustainability and the implementation of renewable energy programs in companies and actively encourages them to implement environmentally friendly innovations and socially progressive management.

Viive Kaur is mainly advising clients in intellectual property matters. Viive advised the establishing of an organisation for a new collective representation system for authors in Estonia, participated in drafting the Copyright Act in an expert group of the Ministry of Culture and has participated in several European Union intellectual property projects. She also has extensive experience in representing clients in court disputes involving various private law fields, including in disputes pertaining to intellectual property and family law. Viive has also successfully advised and represented clients with respect to false claims and inaccuracies published in the media in which she has managed to reach out-of-court settlements.

Vydmantas Grigoravičius

Vydmantas Grigoravičius is an Partner with more than 16 years of experience in the Private and Public Real Estate Management and Leasing, Privatization, Construction law and Disputes Resolution. Mr Grigoravičius advises and represents clients in areas of real estate, state and municipal property management, its use and disposal and also privatization law.

Vytautas Vosylius

Vytautas Vosylius is a Senior Associate in the Banking and Finance Practice Group. Vytautas specializes in the field of banking and finance, private and venture capital and financial services regulatory. He consults Lithuanian and international clients in financing and security transactions as well as regarding financial services regulatory compliance matters, such as regulation of consumer credit, funds, management companies and payment services, implementation of requirements of prevention of money laundering and others.

Žilvinas Kvietkus

Žilvinas Kvietkus is a Partner at COBALT Lithuania and Head of Corporate Transactions Department.During more than 20 years legal practice Žilvinas Kvietkus has advised on a wide range of pharmaceutical work and possesses extensive experience in the Lithuanian and EU pharmaceutical sector. Mr Kvietkus has acted for numerous clients in many significant cases related to copyrights, trademarks and patents, in addition he has provided extensive counselling in M&A transactions involving pharmaceutical, telecoms and other regulated sectors. Other specialisations include labour and commercial laws.

Žygimantas Pacevičius

Žygimantas Pacevičius is a Partner in the firm’s Dispute Resolution team. Mr Pacevičius is actively involved in disputes in insurance and finance, management liability, insolvency, and the media. During 20 years of his legal practice, Žygimantas Pacevičius has advised and represented clients in many disputes related to various areas of law.