Katrīne Pļaviņa-Mika
Senior Associate
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About me
I have striven to fight injustice since I was a child. That led me to practice public law and to assist individual businesses, government bodies and SOEs to improve governance and handle nuisance suits. For more than a decade, I have focused on international law, EU law and regulatory and public procurement laws, which now enable me to assist clients in disputes and help prevent them arising through lobbying in a global context.
Professional highlights
Disputes with the government. One of my first jobs was assisting a judge at the Administrative Regional Court. Now I use that know-how to highlight the best procedural arguments and make sure cases is managed efficiently on all sides. Clients praise my ability to quickly grasp highly technical matters and efficiently handled complex cases, where politics, economics and the law meet. These cases range from arguing that a tariff on an energy utility under EU law would not prevent a fair profit being made , to challenging a GDPR fine, to discussing the constitutional powers of ministers, to ordering judges to get vaccinated. The Latvian Constitutional Court invited me to serve as an expert witness in two GDPR cases.
Preventing unjust laws. Most disputes can be averted through lobbying for fair regulation in advance. I help clients to drive change and build relationships with government bodies relevant to their industries. Since 2016, I have led and represented the Public Procurement Committee at the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This has enabled me to contribute to improving the public procurement system in Latvia and to advise clients on how to adjust their business practices to future challenges.
Global context. Improving governance and convincing courts and decision-makers is only possible in a global context. I worked as an associate with Sidley Austin law firm in Brussels, studied world trade and investment law at Georgetown Law in Washington D.C. and contributed to the European Commission as a representative on the Stakeholder Expert Group on Public Procurement. I do my best to ensure every client has access to the best global tools and practices available to help them succeed.
Academic background
Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, Latvia (Mini-MBA, Strategic Management Programme)
Georgetown University, USA (LLM in International Economic and Business Law, with distinction)
University of Latvia (LLB, LLM)
I am a member of
Latvian Bar Association
International Association of Privacy Professionals
Stakeholder Expert Group on Public Procurement at the European Commission