Team size: Eight 

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?  

An innovation, which at the time was burdensome and uncommon, and which later on proved to be almost lifesaving, was the digitalisation of the archives and files of the legal department a few months before the Covid-19 outbreak. Our entire legal archive is in a digital library, always giving all members of the team full access to all files remotely. This proved to be instrumental in the effective functioning of the legal team during the pandemic when we could move to completely digital workflows without interruptions supporting the group since day one of the obligatory quarantine. Following the end of the pandemic, the digitalisation and remote access to our files enabled the seamless continuation of teleworking of the members of the team, making hybrid working model possible. We are now seamlessly combining physical presence in the offices and teleworking, with an aim to ensure flexibility and work-life balance while maintaining high level of response and support to the entire group. At the same time, it has greatly improved the environmental footprint of the legal department by minimising printouts and physical files. 

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in? 

Last summer we concluded the latest new built project of the group covering the contractual building agreement, financing, delivery and activation of the three new Aero catamarans built in Norway. This summer, our legal team worked together with external legal advisers specialising in competition law towards the successful clearance by the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC) of the merger of Attica Holdings SA with ANEK SA as the first ever “failing firm” case in the HCC history. 

In parallel our legal team ran the acquisition of a new Ro/Ro vessel which we registered in Belgium and subsequently chartered out to her previous owners in order to service trades in Europe and Turkey. 

At the same time, we managed to be the preferred bidders and thus successfully acquire a high-speed vessel of non-EU flag through a public auction in Spain. The team has also been working on the removal of the vessel from Spain and its registration with the Greek flag. 

Further to the above, our legal department has continued to work on various transactions for the hotel branch of our group, acquiring holding companies, real estate properties and we also concluded the successful merger through absorption of three hotel holding companies of our group. 

The team has also concluded the financial instruments and loans enabling the financing of all investment activities of the group while it continues to effectively and timely support individual directorates and top management in the everyday core business. 

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this?   

Working with external lawyers who align with our company’s values is paramount. When considering cooperation, the mutual respect of the same values, ethos, principles and understanding of what is important is what drives the choice for counsel. In my personal experience, it is very easy to find knowledgeable and effective professionals; what makes the difference is the alignment of their soft skills and sensitivities with your own, and it is exactly that quality which makes external lawyers the right partner of any in house lawyer.