TGS Baltic

Anu Kirss advises clients mainly in the field of employment and corporate law and data protection, but also has long-term experience in advising clients in the energy field. Anu has more than 15 years of experience in advising international and local clients on both individual and collective employment relations. She has considerable experience in drafting and terminating management contracts, protecting business secrets and in issues related to non-competition, as well as in employment law issues regarding mergers, acquisitions and the restructuring of companies. She has also successfully represented clients in employment disputes. Since 2017, Anu is a member of the Employment Law Committee of the Estonian Bar Association. Anu has gained considerable experience in the field of privacy law and personal data protection while advising clients in dealing with employees. She has been engaged in advising clients and thorough preparations for meeting the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation, conducted several data protection compliance audits, and given training and seminars on personal data protection. Anu has extensive experience in the energy sector for over ten years, having advised and represented clients, both on energy market issues and on issues related to the construction and bearing of the network. She has advised and represented electricity, gas and heat companies in price coordination procedures and in disputes with the Estonian Competition Authority and local municipalities. She has also assisted and represented clients regarding subscription, network and energy sales contracts as well as disputes. Anu has successfully represented clients in disputes concerning the network operator service area and in network bearing disputes with landowners. She has advised several clients on the construction of cogeneration plants and wind farms, including conducting several legal analyses on issues related to the renewable energy support system. During the last years, she has assisted several international gas companies regarding the commencement of activities in Estonia.

Chirag Mody specialises in dispute resolution with a focus on civil and administrative court proceedings, bankruptcy law, cross-border disputes and arbitration. Chirag has extensive experience in advising clients in the resolution of various contractual, construction, planning, bankruptcy, trademark, insurance, energy, libel and public procurement proceedings. He has represented clients in major national and cross-border arbitration disputes. Over the years, Chirag has also advised in projects related to the electricity and natural gas fields.

Dmitri Teplõhh has extensive experience in the field of criminal law. Dmitri gained notable experience in resolving white-collar crime and disputes while working at the Northern District Prosecutor’s Office where he supervised criminal proceedings as a District Prosecutor and was a public prosecutor in criminal cases related to taxes. Dmitri advises clients on value added tax and customs matters and in criminal and misdemeanour proceedings related to white-collar crimes.

Elina Varendi is a member of the firm’s banking and finance and IT law practice groups focusing mainly on alternative financing methods, start-up financing, and advising fintech companies. As a member of the banking and finance team, she has advised multiple clients in financing matters, mostly involving bond issue or loan financing transactions in Estonia and other Baltic states. She has also advised a client in being admitted to a multilateral trading facility. In addition, she has considerable experience in assisting both local and international clients with licensing proceedings before the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority in obtaining and accessing activity licences, credit institutions, payment service providers, lenders and loan intermediators. Elina Varendi also has experience with alternative fund management structures, having advised an Estonian real estate development on setting up an alternative fund management structure, advising crowdfunding companies on regulatory matters and setting up a cash-box alternative fund management structure for pre-financing crowdfunding projects. Among her main areas of expertise are international anti-money laundering rules and the implementation of the fourth anti-money laundering directive to the Estonian legislation, which was also the topic of her master thesis. In addition to banking and financial law, Elina Varendi has broad knowledge in IT-law and data protection, having assisted clients in concluding privacy policies, cookie policies, terms and conditions for websites and in other regulatory matters. She has also advised clients in software licensing. She has participated in the IT-law programme at the University of Tartu while obtaining her masters degree.

Attorney-at-Law Erki Fels has successfully participated in several public procurement disputes that have gained media attention and helped shape case-law. Erki’s extensive experience in public procurement disputes covers the fields of construction works, public transport, IT, media, healthcare and energy. Due to his practical experience he frequently trains others and engages in academic work. He is a visiting lecturer at University of Tartu where he teaches public procurement and supervises and reviews master’s theses. At the request of Ministry of the Finance, Erki compiled an analysis on the pre-conditions for paying average salaries in public procurement procedures. He is one of the co-authors of the commented version of Public Procurement Act – a book published in 2019.

Helmut Pikmets has extensive practical experience in day-to-day tax advisory as well as advising corporate acquisitions, restructurings and reorganisations as well as property and investment transactions, for example, he has advised Orlen Estonia, Swedbank, Fortum, Unibet, Luminor (formerly Nordea Bank), Turkish Airlines, Michelin and Tallink Group. Helmut Pikmets has been involved in numerous high-profile tax disputes, many of which have led to landmark decisions in the Supreme Court of Estonia. The most significant ones being a tax dispute related to Sylvester, which was the largest tax dispute in the Baltics concerning the taxation of the transfer of shares, and a case in the Supreme Court dealing with constitutionality of fuel retailers’ tax bonds. Helmut Pikmets has long-time experience in representing clients in criminal proceedings related to tax crimes (most recently in a court case concerning fictitious invoicing in Tartu, including approximately 90 witnesses) and representing taxpayers in the European Court of Human Rights.

Attorney-at-Law Indrek Kukk is Head of Public and Regulatory Law at PwC Legal Estonia. Indrek advises clients mainly on issues relating to the public sector and public law and the regulated fields of economic activity, including issues pertaining to the environment, natural resources, energy, telecommunications, transportation, but also supervision and state liability. Indrek has substantial experience in litigation. Indrek has represented clients in many complex civil and administrative cases, which include several precedent-setting disputes in the fields of financial, tax, environmental and procurement law.

Indrek Ergma heads the Employment Practice Group in Estonia. Indrek’s main focus is on corporate restructuring and the regulation of relationships between shareholders and partners. Indrek also has extensive experience in counselling in the field of market regulations. Indrek has carried out various complex international corporate law projects. He has also participated in dozens of restructurings as an adviser, which have included both international restructurings and restructurings in Estonia. Indrek has extensive experience in the regulation of relationships between shareholders. In addition, Indrek has advised clients on share and asset-related transactions (M&A). Indrek has been an adviser in several complex corporate law disputes.

Indrek develops litigation strategy and often represents clients in commercial, business, and administrative law disputes. Indrek has successfully represented clients in three cases in constitutional review proceedings, leading to the abolition of unconstitutional legal provisions that were harmful to his clients’ interests. Indrek has successfully represented credit institutions, insurance companies, and other businesses in landmark cases of considerable value. Indrek also advises and defends clients in disputes related to economic and malfeasance crimes.

Ingeri Luik-Tamme is one of the few Estonian lawyers specialising in healthcare and pharmaceuticals for more than 15 years. Her long-term and broad experience in these areas enables her to provide advice in the establishment of healthcare providers and medical service design to legal training for medical staff. As the healthcare sector encounters extensive processing of sensitive personal data, data protection is one of the other areas that Ingeri focuses on daily. Ingeri has focused on healthcare sector projects advising clients in drafting terms and conditions, reorganising and funding healthcare services, bringing innovative medical services to market, and other related issues. She also has extensive experience in representing healthcare providers in extrajudicial negotiations and litigation regarding patient compensation claims. In the field of pharmaceuticals, her work includes collaborative projects between pharmaceutical companies and research institutions for the development of advanced pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical clinical trials, as well as daily advice for several international pharmaceutical companies in various legal matters, including applications for permits, pharmaceutical advertising, marketing and pricing policies. Her most recent work in the pharmaceuticals sector has focused on due diligence for pharmacies, the establishment of an online pharmacy and the development of cross-border pharmacy services. In the field of data protection, she has advised clients in international cooperation projects that involve extensive processing of personal data, including transfer of personal data outside EU and EEA. Ingeri has also led a comprehensive GDPR compliance audit and development of internal and external data protection documentation for several well-known companies. She has represented clients at the Data Protection Inspectorate in dealing with appeals and complaints. Ingeri has published numerous articles on medical law and held seminars in Estonia and abroad to workers in various healthcare sectors, as well as to judges. Her training activities cover both public and healthcare provider internal staff-training regarding the quality of medical care and healthcare services; patient safety and the rights, obligations and responsibilities of doctors and healthcare providers; and data protection.

Ingeri-Helena Kakko is an associate at PwC Legal Estonia specialising in real estate and commercial matters.

Jana advises clients not only in Estonian and English languages, but also in Russian. She has represented clients in several complex and highly publicised disputes. For example, Jana represented the NGO Estonian Green Movement in the legal dispute with the city of Tallinn concerning the construction of Reidi road and the environmental impact assessment related to it as well as advised the city of Tartu in the national designated spatial plan proceeding initiated for the construction of a wood refining plant. Jana has also diverse experience in civil litigation, having represented clients in contractual disputes and, for example, in cases concerning insurance or bankruptcy proceedings. In addition, Jana has extensive experience in the field of contract law. She has advised clients in entering into large-scale construction and design agreements, lease agreements and other agreements related to construction and real estate. Jana has also participated in several real estate-related M&A transactions as a project team member.

Kadri Kallas has extensive experience in the areas of commercial and corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital. She has advised strategic investors, private equity funds and companies included in their portfolios, as well as venture capital investors and growth companies on strategic investments, joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions and demergers, and provided general business advice. She has also worked for the London office of an international US-based law firm.

Karin Marosov is the Managing Partner of PwC Legal Estonia. She also heads the teams of real estate, construction law and transactions.

Kedli Anvelt is an attorney-at-law with extensive experience in the field of dispute resolution. Kedli advises and represents clients in civil disputes, incl. bankruptcy and reorganisation proceedings, financial disputes and criminal proceedings related to economic offences, incl. proceedings of bankruptcy offences. Kedli has considerable practical experience in comprehensive and evidentially complex and precedent-setting court actions, which makes her a valued representative in even the most complex court cases. Kedli is also the firm’s specialist in insolvency law. She advises clients in all matters related to insolvency, incl. cross-border issues. She has years of experience in advising and representing trustees in bankruptcy and creditors in various insolvency matters, incl. initiation of proceedings, solving issues arising during the conducting of bankruptcy proceedings, ascertaining possibilities for filing claims and court actions (incl. concerning recognition of claims, recovery of property to bankruptcy estate and exclusion of property from bankruptcy estate). In addition, Kedli has wide experience in providing consultation on refinancing and restructuring. Kedli also participates in the work of the bodies of bankruptcy proceedings. She is head of the bankruptcy committee in the first-ever and precedent-setting bankruptcy proceeding of a management company GA Fund Management (bankrupt) in Estonia, which has led to the reviewing and amendment of the Estonian Investment Funds Act with regard to the provisions concerning the liquidation of venture capital funds. Kedli also has experience in preparing legal opinions in very complex issues concerning insolvency law regarding which there is no explicit regulation in legal acts, and in cases concerning insolvency law and other fields of law where a conflict between several different fields of law and their principles has arisen. In addition, Kedli advises clients in the field of capital markets, primarily on the subject of banking, provision of investment services and insurance. She has also conducted trainings on insolvency law and published articles. Kedli is a member of INSOL Europe.

Kirill is Head of Financial Transactions and Capital Markets at Advokaadibüroo PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal in Estonia.

Partner Kirsti Pent heads the Banking & Finance practice group. Kirsti has long-term experience specialising in advising various financial institutions on regulatory matters (incl obtaining licenses from the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority, answering questions about daily activities as well as during remote and on-site inspections), as well as drafting standard contracts and advising on financing transactions.

Leonid Tolstov advises clients on various matters, such as transactions, mergers, divisions and liquidation of companies, and the liability of members of management bodies. He is a strong litigator and has represented clients in various corporate disputes concerning management liability, disputes between shareholders, contractual and consequential claims, non-contractual liability, legal remedies arising from law, property claims, etc. Leonid has also represented clients in complex landmark disputes in all court instances, including the Supreme Court. He is also a good intermediary and negotiator and is able to reach a compromise satisfying all parties even in the most complex disputes. He is a regular lecturer of non-contractual obligation matters in the University of Tartu and has published articles both in local and foreign publications, including in scientific journals. His PhD thesis was “Tort Liability of the Director to Company’s Creditors”. Leonid Tolstov is a Member of the Supervisory Board of Estiko, one of the leading real estate developers in Estonia.

Mari Anne Rohtla is a specialist who has advised international and local businesses of different sizes on various regulatory topics and, thus, you may contact Mari Anne with issues concerning various sector-specific regulations. Mari Anne is especially focused on advising businesses operating in the food sector. As a result, Mari Anne has assisted businesses in commencing operations, communicating with supervisory authorities and in issues related to the handling, processing, and advertising of foodstuffs. Mari Anne is also competent in advising enterprises operating in other business fields on topics concerning consumer protection and product safety, also advertising of products and services. For example, Mari Anne has prepared legal opinions regarding planned tobacco, alcohol, finance and cosmetics ads and assisted international and local clients in complying with the requirements of product safety and labelling, but also in issues concerning waste handling. In addition, Mari Anne advises businesses operating in the gambling sector. Mari Anne has participated in many international projects concerning analyses preceding the development of new products, commencement of activities in Estonia and has participated in several transactions related to the field. Mari Anne has considerable experience in employment law as well. Mari Anne has often advised clients on issues concerning the contractualisation of employment relationships and carrying out collective lay-offs. Mari Anne has also successfully represented clients of various profiles both in court and in entering into extrajudicial agreements.

Maria has advised various financial institutions, incl. management companies, payment institutions, investment firms, and creditors. Maria has the experience of working in a BIG 4 law firm. While working previously for the Financial Supervision Authority, Maria was engaged in issuing and revoking activity licences but also drafting precepts for financial institutions. Her duties also included drafting various decisions to grant or refuse authorisations related to prudential supervision. Maria also has experience in proceedings concerning the suitability of managers and owners and the acquisition of qualifying holdings.

Martin Tamme has extensive experience in real estate, planning and construction matters, from planning and financing complex procurement and development projects to complicated cases and disputes that encompass many different fields of law. His best-known cases involve construction of the Estonian War of Independence Victory Column in Tallinn; organisation of the compulsory demolition of a building carried out by an administrative authority for the first time in Estonian practice; preparation of a large-scale legal audit for the state-owned company Eesti Energia which analysed management board liability issues relating to the management exceeding the originally approved budget for Enefit280 shale oil plant; and advising creditors of GILD Arbitrage on restructuring of debts and exercising supervision over management and realisation of assets. Martin has long-term and extensive experience in advising railway operators and providing consultation in disputes over railway infrastructure charge both to transport operators and infrastructure operators. He is also experienced in insolvency matters, having advised both creditors and bankruptcy trustees, bankruptcy committees and companies seeking reorganisation protection. Martin has been a leader in the development of best practice guidelines for court proceedings at Harju County Court in joint round tables for judges, lawyers and prosecutors and in its implementation since January 2017 in Harju County Court, Estonia's largest first instance court. As Chairman of the Ethics and Methodology Committee of the Estonian Bar Association, Martin is responsible for the internal rules and instructions of the Bar Association. Martin was the work group leader and co-author for the preparation and publication of the commented edition of the Estonian Bar Association's Code of Conduct in 2018.

Martti Peetsalu has unique experience in shipping law as he has litigated several cases to the Supreme Court which have shaped the legal practice in Estonia (especially in ship arrest issues). His work and cases have considerably helped Estonia to gain reputation among creditors and financing banks to consider Estonia as a country with an efficient legal system and developed court practice in maritime law. Martti has extensive experience in all the relevant sectors of the transport industry. He has acted in cases involving the liability of road carriers and freight forwarders, dealt with i.a. forced sales of the vessels, collisions, refinancing, cargo claims and advised clients in issues related to the carriage of goods and passengers by air. Over the years, Martti has gained unique experience in rail carriage and railway infrastructure charges. He has successfully represented the clients in several Supreme Court cases on shareholders’ disputes that have substantially shaped the case law, i.a. division of companies, non-monetary contributions, pre-emption rights, recovery of dividends, board member’s liabilities and the transfer of shares. Martti has supplemented his knowledge at Dabelstein & Passehl (Arnecke Sibeth Dabelstein), a law firm specialising in the transport industry sector. He is a member of the national revision committee on national defence law and co-author of the analyses on court procedures in a state of emergency.

Mirko Kikkamägi has extensive international experience. He specialises in mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, banking and finance, private equity and venture capital. In addition to working at another leading Baltic law firm and as in-house legal counsel at Swedbank, the largest bank in Estonia, Mirko also has experience working in the Frankfurt office of Clifford Chance, a leading multinational law firm. During his time at Clifford Chance, he was part of an English law team, where he specialized in financing transactions in Central and Eastern Europe and Southeastern Europe, including Turkey. More specifically, Mirko has experience with investment-grade transactions, leveraged finance transactions, real estate finance transactions, export finance transactions and developing markets transactions.

Olger has advised credit institutions, fintech and crowdfunding companies, insurers and payment service providers. He has assisted in the restructuring, including cross-border mergers, of several financial sector companies. Olger has also advised ICT companies in various legal matters, such as copyright and intellectual property issues. Through his work experience at SEB Bank, first as a credit lawyer, later in a managerial role, he has extensive practical knowledge of a wide variety of credit and collateral contracts, as well as complex financing deals.

Paul Varul has advised a wide range of Estonian and international clients on all aspects of private law. He has extensive knowledge and experience in the field of contract law and insolvency law. Paul Varul is renowned for his competence in dispute resolution, having represented clients in several high-profile actions, including international arbitration in Stockholm, London and Washington. Paul Varul has also served as an arbitrator for the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce and for the Arbitration Court of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He has also acted as an expert witness in several international arbitration proceedings in Stockholm, London, Washington and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. Paul Varul is a renowned expert in insolvency law. He has been one of the main authors of the Estonian Bankruptcy Act, is the Chairman of the Insolvency Law Expert Commission at the Ministry of Justice, is a member of the International Insolvency Institute and INSOL Europe and has been involved in many bankruptcy proceedings as a representative of both debtors and creditors. Paul Varul is also a recognized expert in contract law, being one of the authors the model law of central importance in the EU, the Common Frame of Reference (Definitions, Principles and Model Rules of European Private Law). As the Chairman of the Expert Commission of new private law development, Paul Varul has been involved in drafting all the major private law legal acts in Estonia, such as the Law of Property Act, General Part of the Civil Code Act, Family Law Act, Law of Succession Act, Law of Obligations Act, Commercial Code, Bankruptcy Act, Reorganisation Act and Electronic Communications Act. He is also one of the compilers and authors of the quoted articles of the Civil Code General Act, the Law of Property Act and the Law of Obligations Act.

Peeter Viirsalu specialises on insolvency, construction and real estate. In the field of insolvency, he primarily represents and advises bankruptcy trustees and creditors in initiating bankruptcy proceedings, participates in the work of bankruptcy committees and represents clients in bankruptcy disputes. He also advises clients on all areas of intellectual property, including copyright, trademark, licensing, industrial design and domain name usage. He is an experienced litigator having represented and advised clients in several public interest civil law disputes that have shaped the Estonian legal landscape. He also has extensive experience in construction, commercial and contract law disputes. Peeter has been involved in conducting several high-profile and complex legal audits; for instance, a large-scale legal audit for the SOE Eesti Energia, analysing the liabilities of the management board with regard to the Enefit280 shale oil plant; a legal and construction analysis for the Supervisory Board of the SOE Port of Tallinn regarding the lawfulness of the management board’s actions regarding the construction of berth No 17 at the Muuga container terminal, and a legal audit of the City of Tallinn on matters that are under investigation in the criminal case against the former mayor of Tallinn. Peeter Viirsalu is the National Correspondent for INSOL Europe (Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals), the European Insolvency Regulation Case Register for Estonia. He has published articles on bankruptcy and reorganisation and given insolvency seminars to various companies, including Swedbank, Nordea Pank, SEB Pank, Enterprise Estonia and KredEx. He has been a lecturer at the University of Tartu since 2010.

Attorney-at-Law Priit Lätt is a Partner at PwC Legal Eesti responsible for the fields of IP/IT, tax disputes and public procurement at PwC Legal in Estonia. Priit is a renowned specialist in IP, IT (including the internet of things and cryptocurrencies), tax and public procurement law, representing and advising Estonian and international companies and public institutions. Priit also has significant experience in representing clients in disputes which have created precedents at the Supreme Court, including the constitutional review chamber. Among other things, Priit has represented a client in Estonia’s biggest software dispute and in Estonia’s first bitcoin-related legal regulation lawsuit. Priit also successfully represented a client in a trademark dispute, in which the Supreme Court declared several important provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, and Government Regulations that established limits to legal expenses in civil disputes, as invalid and unconstitutional. Priit participated as the only attorney in a public and private sector work group, which for the first time in Estonia developed a recommended standard contract for the public procurement of software development. Priit has given many presentations at seminars and conferences, and has published articles on several legal issues. He is also a lecturer in the IT law training program at the University of Tartu on the subject of IT contracts.  

Sander Kärson, Managing Partner and a Co-Head of the M&A practice, is involved in most of the firm’s transactional work, while his special focus is on IT and pharmaceuticals. In addition to transactional work, he often advises both local and foreign investors regarding their cross-border operations. Sander is a member of the Ministry of Justice’s corporate law audit committee that has been set up to review all legislation regulating the corporate/commercial field. Also, he co-authored the suretyship and guarantee sections’ commentaries on the General Part of the Law of Obligations Act. He teaches contract law, company law and M&A at the University of Tartu, the main legal education provider in Estonia.

Sergei Jegorov primarily advises clients regarding corporate taxation, including the evaluation of tax risks and corporate restructurings. His day-to-day work relates to value-added tax, excise and income tax issues, including the international aspects of taxation. He has significant experience in representing clients in disputes with tax inspectors. Sergei Jegorov has participated in a number of proceedings of public interest against companies and their directors and also in tax disputes on the constitutionality of fuel sellers’ tax bonds.

Silvia has represented and assisted clients in several voluminous civil matters, including in proceedings concerning the recognition and entry into force of foreign judgments, arbitration proceedings and also enforcement proceedings. Silvia has advised clients on various disputes and issues related to intellectual property and the IT sector. She is also experienced in the field of insolvency, including in proceedings for the release from obligations and reorganisation proceedings of debtors. In 2017, Silvia defended her Master's degree (cum laude) at the University of Tartu, where she studied copyright problems associated with music sampling for the first time in Estonia. As a guest lecturer, Silvia has teached intellectual property law to master’s degree students of Estonian Business School’s and Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre’s joint curriculum for cultural management. Silvia’s debut poetry book Siht/koht won the Betti Alver Literary Award in 2016.

Siret Saks is one of the leading migration law experts in Estonia who has participated in the resolution of more than 200 cases related with the employment of foreign workers, having a strong contact network with state authorities for quick and operational resolution of issues related to foreign recruitment. She has advised both major investors who have moved to Estonia and undertakings and highly qualified specialists who have entered the country on other grounds. She has advised clients on matters related to labour law upon resolution of disputes, but also by assisting undertakings to mitigate risks and minimize risks related to the personnel of organizations. She has extensive experience in representing in disputes arising from employment relationships and solving such disputes. Siret has experience in preparing employment and management contracts, confidentiality and non-competition agreements and in related dispute resolution, but also in advising enterprises on labour law issues (preparation of employment contracts and rules of work organisation). Siret has wide experience in matters arising in relation to civil service and civil and administrative proceedings and she advises and represents clients out of court and in courts. She has carried out trainings for cooperation partners on matters related to both foreign recruitment (Pay Day 2019) and labour law.

Triinu Järviste is an experienced competition law specialist who has advised and represented clients in all fields of competition law. She has long-term experience in representing clients in criminal proceedings related to anti-competitive activities, proceedings concerning distortion of competition in the Estonian Competition Authority and in courts, both in merger control proceedings and in proceedings for claims arising out of competition law in civil courts. In addition, Triinu Järviste has extensive experience in assisting companies in bringing their daily economic activity into conformity with the requirements of competition law. Triinu Järviste is especially knowledgeable in matters in the field of state aid, having advised many grantors and recipients of state aid and represented them in state aid proceedings in the European Commission and in national courts. Her track record involves helping several public enities with regard to state aid audits and compliance. Throughout her career Triinu Järviste has been advising numerous undertakings active in regulatory sectors such as electricity, gas, post, water management, electronic communications and transport. Her experience in regulatory sectors includes advising and representing clients in matters related to price regulation, the support system for renewable energy, network issues as well as litigation. Triinu Järviste is also a member of the Competition Law Committee of the Estonian Bar Association and she is a lecturer on competition law offences at the University of Tartu.

Vitali Šipilov has considerable experience in advising on issues related to public law and administrative law, as well as representing clients in civil disputes. He has represented both private companies and public authorities in complex administrative disputes relating to construction, real estate, tax, energy and the environment. Among other projects, Vitali has represented Hiiu County Government in disputes over spatial plans for the construction of one of the largest off-shore wind farms in Europe (Hiiumaa Offshore Wind Farm). In addition, he has provided legal assistance in various civil law disputes and has prepared construction, sales and lease contracts. Among other projects, he has participated in the successful representation of Swedbank in a cross-border bankruptcy dispute and related litigation in Russia concerning the ownership of precious metals valued at 19.5 million dollars. Vitali Šipilov has been an intern in several state institutions and has worked at the Office of the Chancellor of Justice for several years, thereby obtaining thorough knowledge of constitutional and fundamental rights as well as how the public sector operates. He has drafted analyses and advised on complex constitutional matters that demanded a multifaceted approach, including appealing to the European Court of Human Rights. Vitali has also advised entrepreneurs in proceedings in the Estonian parliament and other public authorities. One of his most important projects has been representing 23 local governments in the Supreme Court in administrative reform disputes where he disputed the constitutionality of both the legal act itself and its implementation in the form of forced mergers of municipalities. In addition, Vitali recently analysed constitutionality of the pension reform for the Estonian Ministry of Finance. Since 2020, Vitali Šipilov is a member of the fundamental rights committee of the Estonian Bar Association.