Janis Karklins Law Firm

Janis Karklins, Managing Partner of the Janis Karklins Law Firm, which serves numerous international and state-owned companies, emphasizes that, in changing circumstances, a modern law firm must be capable of providing economically sound and well-considered advice to every client seeking assistance from attorneys. Janis Karklins Law Firm values each client's individual needs. At our law firm, every client receives personalized solutions that go beyond legal expertise, integrating a deep understanding of their specific business requirements.   What do you see as the main points that differentiate Janis Karklins Law Firm from your competitors? Our law firm is renowned in Latvia for solving legal issues with a deep level of analysis, which is reflected in the exceptional expertise of our team. We pride ourselves on being a firm with the highest number of doctoral graduates in law – our team includes seven professors from the Faculty of Law at the University of Latvia, specializing in various areas of law. This allows us to have a comprehensive view of the legal landscape and provide well-rounded, thoughtful advice to our clients. Our main specialization is business law and civil law, offering full-cycle legal assistance, from consultations and providing legal opinions to representation of clients in all levels of state courts, the Constitutional Court, local and international arbitrations. In recent years, our focus has increasingly shifted towards international commercial arbitration, including representation of the clients under the rules of various major arbitral institutions, such as the Stockholm Arbitration Institute (SCC), the German Arbitration Institute (DIS), the Swiss Arbitration Centre (SAC). Our client base in the private sector covers nearly all business areas, including trade, manufacturing, construction, energy, and transportation. This extensive reach allows us to provide tailor-made legal advice from multiple perspectives, perfectly suited to the needs of business development. In the Latvian market, we are particularly recognized for our well-founded analyses on various complex legal issues. Many state institutions seek expert legal insights from our law firm. Our team understands the importance of an educated and lawful environment. As such, we actively share our knowledge, not only with the new generation of lawyers but also by participating in working groups for the development of draft laws, advisory councils of state institutions, and by leading training sessions for Latvian judges and notaries on current legal matters.   Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that? For several years, we have been deeply involved in both local and international M&A transactions. However, our firm’s goal is to further expand this area in the coming years, including by strengthening our team with new colleagues - attorneys-at-law that specialize in this field. Given the growing demand for client representation in international commercial arbitration, we anticipate significant growth in this area over the next years. We are well positioned to expand our presence in this area by leveraging our academic and professional expertise, as well as our extensive experience in various areas of litigation.   What's the main change you've made in the firm that will benefit clients? We have strengthened the qualifications of our team by selecting professionals who have proven themselves to be skilled and responsible experts. This is further evidenced by the fact that we are the only law firm in Latvia employing such a significant number of faculty members from the University of Latvia and legal scholars holding doctoral degrees. Working in the academic field allows our attorneys to stay at the forefront of the latest jurisprudential trends and to maintain peak professional standards. Our attorneys continuously develop their knowledge by speaking at international conferences, contributing to the development of legislative proposals, and providing legal opinions to state institutions on a range of legal issues.   Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them? Undoubtedly, one example of this is our recent collaboration with IT specialists, where we developed our own IT software that benefits our clients. This innovation allows our clients to receive faster service pricing and a more personalized approach to service listings. Our custom-developed software enables us to tailor our services to meet clients’ needs, thereby achieving cost-efficiency from the client’s perspective. We have also transitioned to process digitalization in our daily operations, which not only ensures greater process efficiency (speed) but also contributes to environmental sustainability.   Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business? Numerous examples illustrate this. One of the most recent is our law firm’s support in resolving various legal issues related to the European-scale railway development project, Rail Baltica. Our client, Rail Baltica, is implementing a project that will connect the Baltic States with Western European railway networks. The execution of such a project is a significant legal challenge, and we are proud to be part of it. Additionally, we have provided legal support to the Republic of Latvia in the purchase of modern passenger trains, advising the passenger transport company ViVi, including on optimal solutions for collaboration with the train supplier, ŠKODA. We are pleased that we can continue to serve as trusted advisors in the implementation of Rail Baltica and ViVi’s activities in Latvia. We are also proud to have recently completed an M&A transaction in which our client, a leading fuel station operator in Latvia, acquired another fuel station network, becoming the largest operator in the country. Another notable achievement was our recent victory in an arbitration case under the rules of Stockholm Arbitration Institute (SCC), where our client recovered several million euros in a complex construction dispute. It was very inspiring that our firm assumed the role of the lead counsel in cooperation with talented lawyers from Swedish law firm Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton AB.   Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms - where do you see the firm in three years’ time? Our law firm is well known for providing clients with advice not only from a legal standpoint but also from a business perspective. Often, it is more beneficial for a client to avoid litigation and find an alternative solution that provides more value in the long term. Our primary goal is to address every client’s issue based on their business interests, rather than pursuing greater profit for the law firm by unnecessarily dragging the client in prolonged disputes with opponents. While this is not always possible, considering that much depends on the stance of the opposing party, we have always believed in resolution of the dispute without litigation as the best service we can offer to our clients. In three years, we see ourselves as a law firm firmly established among the top leading law firms in Latvia. We aim to be more active in the international field and become one of the trademarks of legal quality. And our ultimate goal remains the same – to have even more satisfied clients with the work that we do!