OREANDA-NEWS. April 15, 2014. SORAINEN won the “Baltic Law Firm of the Year” award at the International Financial Law Review (IFLR) European Awards 2014. These awards first and foremost recognise innovation in the legal sector.

So winning this fifth award in the last six years confirms that SORAINEN is continuously advising on the most cutting-edge deals in the Baltic region.

Reimo Hammerberg, regional head of the SORAINEN Banking & Finance Team, comments: “During 2013 we advised our clients on many transactions of strategic significance in the Baltics. These often required innovative solutions – sometimes introducing amendments to laws or changes to the established practices of regulators and supervisors, or even paving the way for new practices. We are proud to receive this award as recognition for our hard work and grateful to our clients for trusting us with mandates of such importance.”

This time recognition came particularly for advising:

the Lithuanian Ministry of Finance on Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) presidency matters during Lithuania’s European Union Presidency – the first time a Baltic country has held the presidency position. Lithuania’ s ECOFIN presidency is seen as one of the most productive in recent years leading to significant progress in financial services regulatory initiatives such as the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation, the Omnibus II Directive and the Regulation on Central Securities Depositories.

GE Money Bank, part of General Electric Group, on the highly complex and tightly-scheduled sale of its banking and financial markets business to the Citadele Bank group.

Lithuanian commercial bank Siauliu Bankas on its acquisition of the assets and liabilities of Ukio Bankas (a “good bank”) with a total transaction value of EUR 782 million, the largest deal in the region in the last seven years. The transaction helped to stabilise the situation in the Lithuanian financial sector.

Hupoteeklaen, a leader in the Estonian non-banking mortgage loan market, on a EUR 4 million secured bond issue with a precedent-setting structure – this was the first Estonian bond secured by a basket of mortgages.

Eesti Gaas, Estonia’s main natural gas wholesaler and retailer, on a group corporate restructuring project involving approx EUR 60 million – as a result the gas transmission network and transmission services are separate from distribution services, the distribution network and sale of natural gas.

SORAINEN has previously won the “Baltic Law Firm of the Year” award in 2013, 2012, 2010 and 2009. SORAINEN stands out as one of the very few law firms in Europe which has received the national award for three consecutive years. The IFLR Europe Awards recognise the best law firms in each European jurisdiction. They particularly reward cross-border activity in the following domains: finance and capital markets, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions. Factors influencing IFLR's choice include recommendations by clients, innovation and transaction complexity. IFLR, part of the Euromoney Legal Media Group and published for over 20 years, is the world's leading publication for in-house counsel and practitioners in the financial markets.