Baltic, Law and Regulations, Legislation, Markets and Companies, Mergers and take-overs

"Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have become home markets to an increasing number of businesses. Therefore, it is vital to be able to offer quality legal services across all the Baltic States," said Paul Varul, the founding partner of the Estonian office.

Robert Juodka, the Managing Partner of the Lithuanian office, commented that law is predominantly national but the clients' businesses are not: "We are creating a strong pan-Baltic partnership with a regional quality mark".

Gints Vilgerts, the Managing Partner of the Latvian office, said: "We are proud of our partners in Estonia and Lithuania. This merger is a really great move and it is only the beginning of building a top class Baltic law firm."

Varul Vilgerts Smaliukas will have offices in Tallinn, Tartu, Riga, and Vilnius, and is going to employ approximately 60 lawyers, informs LETA.

Paul Varul was one of the leading business law firms in Estonia since 1994 with offices in Tallinn and Tartu. The firm is well-known and highly ranked by international legal directories for its mergers and acquisitions work and strong dispute resolution practice, the statement says.

The law firm Vilgerts was established in 2008 by Gints Vilgerts to focus on providing top quality legal services to local and international corporations. The firm was soon joined by two new partners, Debora Pavila and Julija Jerneva from Sorainen and so the firm gained competition law specialists.

Vilgerts has since been acknowledged to be among the leading experts in Latvia in most business law areas by international legal directories.

Smaliukas, Juodka, Beniusis & Partners was formed in Lithuania in 2007 as a full service business law firm through the union of smaller practices and experienced partners from larger firms. Focusing on the provision of innovative legal services to clients from the local and international business communities, the firm has been involved in many complex legal cases and deals. The team of highly professional practitioners includes lawyers and attorneys who specialise in a broad range of legal fields and are also active in the academic world. The firm was always considered by its clients and by international legal directories to be a reliable partner in the Lithuanian legal market.