Commercial law, the merger and acquisition of enterprises
The Firm lawyers advise clients on various issues of commercial law, helping new merchants and start-up enterprises to start businesses, and ensure the daily transactions of existing enterprises. We are a reliable partner in ensuring the legal side of the business and take care of the client’s planned or initiated transactions, as well as offering alternatives. Recently, have become particularly relevant the issues of responsibility of board members, resolving disputes between participants and anti-raider activities. As part of legal assistance, we develop all types of contracts, reorganize and liquidate merchants and their branches, execute transactions related to the acquisition, separation or merger of commercial companies, prepare and legalize decisions and other documents of the board and authorities, represent interests at meetings , conducting due diligence, negotiating with the opposing party, banks and others.
Dispute resolution
For more than 30 years of activity, the Firm successfully resolved countless lawsuits in favour of clients, thanks to which our lawyers gained the trust of local and international enterprises and individuals. Our lawyers have experience in resolving disputes in civil proceedings, in arbitration courts, in administrative proceedings, as well as experience in defending rights in proceedings before the Constitutional Courts and the European Court of Human Rights. Although there is a perception that litigation is usually a long and costly affair, there are many strategies and tactics that allow by procedural means to provide the client with the fastest possible result, to promote an amicable settlement or other favourable solution. When giving advice and representing our clients in litigation, we always take into account the practical aspect and business interests. The Firm also includes experienced arbitrators and a former judge.
Real estate and environment
We offer assistance in solving various issues related to real estate and collateral transactions. We have experience in transactions related to the purchase and sale of real estate, in establishing, changing or redeeming real rights, such as servitudes, in dividing or combining property or joint ownership, in matters of management, hiring and renting of real estate, as well as in processes of development and construction of it. The Firm lawyers are powerful and knowledgeable in matters of environmental law, including issuing or challenging permits for polluting activities and other aspects related to the environment.
Banking and financial law
We advise credit institutions, investment and insurance companies, intermediaries, as well as non-bank lenders. Our lawyers help investors, lenders and borrowers in financial transactions with credit institutions, as well as provide advice on fund-raising and preparation of transaction documents. We have extensive experience in representing clients in the supervisory bodies of banking and non-bank lenders and in the courts. The Firm helped grow and develop several Fin-Tech enterprises that should be able to find innovative legal solutions in a weakly regulated area. Particularly relevant are legal issues of AML or the fulfilment of various requirements to prevent the legalization of proceeds of criminal activity.
Employment law and Immigration
The Firm lawyers advise enterprises and workers on the preparation of employment documentation, labour disputes, as well as on various issues related to employment, for example, temporary work, leasing of labour, direction and destination, attracting foreign labour, which also includes immigration and tax aspects. We represent clients in courts, trade unions and controlling bodies, including pre-coordinating of employment patterns. Recently, particularly relevant became the rules prohibiting competition, poach of employees and soliciting of customers. Also, actual is development of employee motivation systems, such as options and employee promotions, as well as collective agreements, the development of which our lawyers offer clients using their knowledge and know-how.
One of the areas of specialization of the Firm is immigration law. We render our clients assistance in matters related to establishing the status of a person, obtaining a temporary residence permit or refusing it, obtaining refugee status or asylum-seeker status, and other issues of entry and employment.
Criminal law
The Firm lawyers inherited unique knowledge, methods of work and an approach to defending clients of Sergey Davidson, who was one of the most recognized authorities in the field of criminal law. Our team include a former judge and former investigators who have become lawyers and provide defence in criminal proceedings, provide legal assistance to victims at the stage of pre-trial investigation, as well as in all judicial instances. In the practice of our lawyers, there have been extremely difficult litigations including even scandalous, and they have experience in ensuring client protection in particularly adverse circumstances, with the achievement of full or partial justification. Recently, there have been especially many topical cases in the area of preventing the legalization of proceeds of criminal activity, as well as in the processes initiated by the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (CPCB) and the Financial Police. We advise clients on issues of crime prevention and protection of businesses from the above-mentioned type of offences.
Administrative law
Clients appreciate our knowledge and legal assistance rendered in administrative cases, including challenging the decisions of the State Audit Office, the State Revenue Service, and local government building departments, as well as legal assistance in administrative offense cases. We advise on the mutual rights and obligations of individuals and institutions or local governments, the consequences arising from them and the best solutions for the client in the relevant situation. Our lawyers also have experience of representation in the Constitutional Court.
Taxes
In the volatile tax system of Latvia doing business and investing is a challenge for any entrepreneur; the inspections carried out by the tax administration and its decisions that give rise to tax consequences also is not something unusual. However, the checks of the controlling bodies not always are carried out within the framework of the authorized powers. Therefore, it is better to entrust control over the correctness of the procedure to a professional. Our Firm lawyers represent clients during an audit and other types of checks, appeal and challenge decisions of the State Revenue Service and the Customs Department, resolve tax disputes in court, and advice on tax-related issues. Our lawyers won several significant court cases involving value added tax transactions, personal income tax and evidence of savings, customs and excise cases, and also regularly spoke at tax conferences with lectures on court practice in tax matters. In cooperation with the best tax advisors, we also provide our clients with tax planning and tax risk management, preparation of transfer documentation and compliance procedures, registration in the register of taxpayers and preparation of declarations, as well as any kind of tax advice.
Competition law and EU law
Violations of competition law in practice occur much more frequently than entrepreneurs themselves represent, therefore, primarily we suggest that they first assess and improve their internal procedures, employee training, procurement communications and communications with partners in the aspect of competition law. The Firm lawyers have experience in matters of EU law and competition law, including one of our lawyers won the case against the Competition Council in the field of trade in new vehicles. We offer development and audit of internal procedures and guidelines, training of employees, evaluation of contracts to reduce the risk of potential vertical and horizontal agreements (cartels). We also provide immediate legal support during inspections conducted by the Competition Council on the merchant’s territory, prepare and evaluate reports on merger, render legal assistance in cases of malicious use of a dominant position.
Energy
Our lawyers advised on various energy projects related to the environment and infrastructure. Specialization and many years of practical experience of our lawyers in providing legal assistance include such areas as hydrocarbon exploration and production, including close involvement in the Baltic Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production Association and in the working group of the Ministry of Economy on power generation from renewable energy sources and cogeneration, production of thermal energy, the system and the application of the component of mandatory procurement. The experience of our lawyers is also the representation of 26 applicants in the Constitutional Court in the litigation of non-compliance of the Law on the subsidized electricity tax with the constitution, representation of our clients in the European Commission, in ministries and other institutions.
Intellectual property law
Nowadays, with the growth of the digital environment and the importance of the brand, the need to protect intellectual property rights is becoming increasingly important. Our Firm provides legal assistance in both industrial property and copyright issues, helping to protect patents, trademarks, design samples, trade secrets, copyrights and associated rights. Our attorneys have gained experience in the preparation of various agreements on confidentiality, franchising, transfer of intellectual property, advising the media and entertainment industry, as well as on patent registration and disputed copyright issues. Our lawyers regularly and successfully represent clients in disputes over intellectual property issues, including copyright and database protection.
Family law and inheritance
Issues of divorce, child custody, the access rights, division of the property acquired during marriage are some of the most emotionally difficult, but they are also very difficult in legal terms. Our lawyers have extensive experience in solving the legal nuances of family law. They also have excellent psychological abilities of conviction, which is of particular importance in cases and litigation of this kind, since judicial decisions can be largely subjective. We provide legal assistance in matters related to marriage, property and non-property relations of spouses, protection of the rights of children, means of support for children, paternity, custody and guardianship, legal protection against violence.
A similar experience allows the Firm to provide professional assistance also in the field of inheritance law, in the preparation and execution of wills, inheritance by law and by contract. Our lawyers have considerable experience in large hereditary litigations, challenging wills and transactions concluded before death, reclaiming an integral share and real division of property.
Insurance law
We represent insurers, insurance brokers, as well as policyholders and individuals upon whom a recourse is taken, in commercial companies, institutions and courts. Our lawyers give advice on issues related to the payment of insurance compensation and recourse claims, individual insurance disputes, prepare contracts and insurance rules, provide legal assistance in connection with other related issues, , for example, consumer rights protection, protection of individuals' data, requirements of control authorities.
Sports law
Lawyers of the Law firm have unique knowledge and experience in the field of sports law. We offer: representation of federations, sports clubs and other sports organizations and players; preparation of professional development contracts and services to support athletes' careers; advice on the work of athletes, judges and staff, as well as advertising and sponsorship; development and improvement of acts, regulating activities and relationships of sports organizations; resolution of individual disputes.
Insolvency
Firm lawyers provide legal assistance on issues related to the commencement and conduct of the insolvency process of legal entities and individuals. We offer legal debt restructuring, reorganization of enterprises and representation of creditors and debtors, including preparation of documents for the court and creditors' meetings, preparation of applications for challenging transactions during the insolvency process, preparation of documents of the legal protection process and extrajudicial legal protection process.