The Aivar Pilv Law Office, together with the Latvian law firm Fogels, Vitols & Paipa and the Lithuanian law firm Balciunas & Grajauskas, has announced the foundation of Leadell, a new pan-Baltic law firm alliance.
According to a statement released by the new Leadell alliance, “all three law firms will continue providing services in the Baltic market under the new brand Leadell, at the same time keeping the distinctive reference to the historical name of the offices – in Estonia the firm will continue under the new name of Leadell Pilv, in as Latvia Leadell Fogels, Vitols & Paipa, and in Lithuania as Leadell Balciunas & Grajauskas.
According to that same statement, the "first part of the name Leadell is the word ‘lead' that symbolizes leading clients in legal issues. The second part of the name is the abbreviation ELL that represents Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The name of the alliance incorporates an abbreviation of the Baltic States, thus underlining that the alliance is providing legal services for local and global clients in this region, based on local experience and competence."
"In recent years, legal services market in the Baltics has become increasingly competitive in terms of the number of practicing lawyers as well as new offices," commented Aivar Pilv, Founder and Managing Partner of Leadell Pilv. "At the same time, need for cross-border legal services has increased among international and local clients. The Baltic States are usually viewed as one market, thus the capacity to provide high-quality services concurrently in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is essential. Considering the changes in the market and our long-term fruitful cooperation with colleagues from Latvia and Lithuania, founding legal alliance Leadell was a logical and appropriate step for us.”
All three firms are members of the TAGLaw global alliance. Karlis Vitols, Managing Partner of Leadell Fogels, Vitols & Paipa, explained that "through membership in an international alliance of law firms TAGLaw, Leadell is able to provide flexible, top of the class legal services at European level and form a cross-border team of highly experienced legal advisors in a matter of hours, if needed."
Marius Grajauskas, Managing Partner of Leadell Balciunas & Grajauskas, explained that "Balciunas & Grajauskas, Fogels, Vitols & Paipa and Aivar Pilv Law Office formed a close cooperation already in 2012. We have been discussing the idea of establishing one united brand ... to maximize the existing pan-Baltic cooperation for some time. We are very pleased that by launching Leadell we will be able to bring additional value to our clients based on the skills and experiences of the three firms.”
The Aivar Pilv Law Office was founded in Tallinn in 1993 and three years later opened its second office in Tartu. The office now employs 25 specialists, including 16 lawyers and legal advisors. Fogels, Vitols & Paipa was founded in Riga in 2005 and currently employs 10 specialists, including 8 lawyers and legal advisors. Balciunas & Grajauskas was founded in Vilnius in 2009 by merger of two law firms – Balciunas & Partners and Grajauskas & Partners. The firm now employs 23 specialists, including 20 lawyers and legal advisors.
Leadell forms the latest in a recent series of tie-ups and shifting alliances in the Baltics in the past year — a phenomenon first summarized in the CEE Legal Matters magazine in June 2015. Most recently, Tark Grunte Sutkiene's merger with Varul’s Estonia office (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on April 14, 2016), effectively terminated Varul's own pan-Baltic alliance, and led to its Lithuanian and Latvian offices joining up with Primus and BDO Legal, respectively.
