Press Release

The merger of Latvian law firms Klavins Ellex and GLIMSTEDT & Partners has led to the establishment of the largest law firm in Latvia. The new firm comprises the complete teams of both firms and will operate under the name Klavins Ellex. This will help us provide clients with the additional competence, efficiency and professional expertise stemming from the special strengths of each law firm. As of February 1, the Baltic team of Ellex in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia will have 278 staff. This merger is part of the continuous effort by Ellex to consolidate its leading positions in the Baltic legal market.

Founded 25 years ago, Klavins Ellex has developed as the most seasoned legal adviser to foreign investors in Latvia. During the 15 years of its operation, GLIMSTEDT has become a law firm boasting exceptional experience in corporate law and financing matters for Latvian companies.

“The main objective of the merger is to provide additional benefits to our clients. They are: the combined expertise of two strong legal teams, which complement each other and will now be available as a single team; also a higher capacity for effectively managing large-scale and sophisticated processes. Consolidation of law firms is one of the key trends in our industry on a global scale,” Filips Klavins, Managing Partner of Klavins Ellex comments on the merger.

“Both of us – Ellex and Glimstedt – are renowned for strong specialisation in a number of areas of law. By combining our expertise in each of these areas, we considerably extend the “geography” of our services. Consolidation by both of our law firms will ensure more professional lawyers and a wider scope of services for the industry in general,” Peteris Dalderis, Managing Partner of GLIMSTEDT, explains.

Through the merger Klavins Ellex will considerably strengthen several specialised practices, where all of the leading lawyers of both firms will now share and complement their experience. The key areas of expertise for the firm are:

• Corporate law, mergers and acquisitions (M&A),
• Banking and finance,
• Dispute resolution,
• EU and competition law,
• Restructuring,
• Real estate and construction,
• Labour law,
• Commercial law and compliance,
• Tax matters,
• Intellectual property and technologies.


In Latvia the newly merged law firm Klavins Ellex will comprise 60 staff (47 legal professionals and 13 administrative professionals). In the Lithuanian office – Valiunas Ellex – 165 staff, of which 95 are legal professionals, and in the Estonian office – Raidla Ellex – 53 staff, 40 of which are legal professionals.

Klavins Ellex is one of the most experienced law firms in Latvia. The law firm was founded in 1992 under the name Klavins & Slaidins. Klavins Ellex is the exclusive Latvian member of World Services Group, the globally recognized resource for professionals and their clients to receive the highest quality, value and service from legal, investment banking and accounting services. In late 2016 the Ellex circle of Baltic Law Firms was awarded the prestigious MergerMarket European award as the law firm of the year 2016 in the M&A segment for the Baltic States.

For more than 15 years, the law firm GLIMSTEDT & partners has provided legal counsel to local and international clients in Latvia (the law firm was founded in 2001). The law firm’s expertise ranges from providing advice in business regulatory matters to representing clients in finance and merger and restructuring transactions, real estate and construction, among other matters. GLIMSTEDT has successfully represented its clients in complicated litigation and arbitration proceedings.


*The merger is scheduled to occur as of 1st February 2017 in line with legal provisions governing the bar by obtaining, among other, a relevant approval from the Latvian Council of Sworn Advocates.