On May 21, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Ellex Valiunas had successfully represented Western Baltija Shipbuilding in its appeal of a public procurement award to a consortium of Finnish companies to provide a specialized vessel for the Lithuanian Armed Forces to eliminate pollution incidents and carry out rescue operations in the Baltic Sea. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Andrius Digrys, General Legal Counsel at Western Baltija Shipbuilding, to learn more about the deal.

According to Dinc Sanver, General Counsel & Local Compliance Officer Turkey & MEA at Teva, the pandemic has accelerated a digital evolution of the legal function, giving rise to a whole new set of challenges.

On June 22, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Motieka & Audzevicius had advised Elektroniniu Pinigu Bite on obtaining an electronic money institution license. According to the firm, Elektroniniu Pinigu Bite “serves related companies – mutual lending and crowdfunding platforms FinBee, FinBee for Business, and their customers.” CEE In-House Matters spoke with Darius Noreika, CFA and CEO at Finbee, to learn more about the matter.

On April 13, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that the Vilnius office of Walless had advised the founders of the Alwark Group on the sale of 66% of their shares in the company to the KJK Fund III. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Gediminas Simkus, Member of the Board of the Alwark Group, to learn more about the sale.

On April 19, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii had advised Coca-Cola HBC Romania on its acquisition of 50% of the share capital in the Stockday b2b e-commerce platform from Heineken Romania. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Raluca Alexandru, Legal Manager at Coca-Cola HBC Romania, to learn more about the deal.

On May 12, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Bird & Bird Warsaw had advised Polish Enterprise Fund VI, a private equity fund managed by Enterprise Investors, on the sale of companies from the Wento Group to international energy concern Equinor. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Michal Rusiecki, Managing Partner at Enterprise Investors, to learn more about the sale. 

On April 22, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that TGS Baltic had advised the Evernord Real Estate Fund III, managed by Vilnius-based investment firm Evernord Asset Management, on its acquisition of a 65% stake in Riga's Novira Plaza business center. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Arnas Vedeckis, CFO and Member of the Board at Evernord, to learn more about the deal.

On April 28, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that ACT Legal Romania had advised Founders Bridge on a EUR 600,000 financing round led by Sparking Capital. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Liviu Munteanu, Partner at Founders Bridge, to learn more about the deal.

On May 17, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Asters had advised Ukraine Power Resources on the construction of the first phase of the Dnistrovska wind park. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Peter A. Gish, CEO at Ukraine Power Resources, to learn more about the deal.

On March 24, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov had advised the founders of tech start-up MYX AD on EUR 350,000 invested into the company by a group led by New Vision 3 Fund KD. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Yordan Zarev, Partner at New Vision 3 Fund, to learn more about the matter.

On January 18, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Cobalt had advised Practica Capital on its investment in Lithuanian start-up Biomatter Designs – part of the latter's EUR 500,000 investment round. CEEIHM spoke with Donatas Keras, Co-Founding Partner at Practica Capital to learn more about the matter.

On March 26, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Motieka & Audzevicius, working with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, had advised Lithuanian start-up Turing College on its relocation to the United States in order to participate in Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Benas Sidlauskas, Co-founder & CBDO at Turing College, to learn more about the matter.

Adam Brzezinski, President of the Management Board and Assistant General Counsel Global Employment and EU Privacy at MoneyGram Poland, recently announced that he will be representing MoneyGram International in an amateur motorcycle racing league. CEEIHM spoke with Brzezinski to learn about his plans.

From educating youth about the rule of law to promoting gender equality, Alina Dumitrascu, Head of Network Technology, Development and Commercial Operation Legal Assistance at Enel Global Infrastructure and Networks in Rome, Italy, is certainly making the most of her time past her nine to five life. CEEIHM spoke with her to learn a bit more about some of the projects she is involved in.

Waldemar Koper, Legal Director at Kompania Piwowarska, was one of the co-founders of the Polish Corporate Lawyers Association in 2009 and is currently serving as its President. CEEIHM spoke to Koper to learn more about the association and its activities over the last decade.

Marta Ziolkowska-Nasinska, Regional Legal Counsel at Ferrero, offers insights into her company’s Diversity & Inclusion project.

Aybars Yagiz, Legal Counsel at GAMA Enerji, Turkey, and Board Member at the GAMA group of companies, shares his thoughts about the soft skills senior in-house legal counsel should possess.

Artem Afanasiev, Vice President Legal Affairs and GR at Ozon in Moscow, Russia, explains how his legal team uses digitalization to cater to the in-house legal needs of his fast-growing company.