About me

Having started with Sorainen in 1997 as a trainee, I have been privileged to help develop a five-lawyer team into a distinguished law firm operating in four countries. This has provided the opportunity to work in many fields of law. However, my main focus has always been M&A and private equity transactions, and more recently also the startup and technology sectors. My passion lies with negotiations, where I have constantly educated myself abroad and in teaching negotiations for the Estonian Bar Association and with Sorainen. I head the startup team in Estonia and I also co-head the startup sector group on a regional level.

Professional highlights

M&A and fundraising experience. I have advised M&A and private equity transactions for over twenty years and during more than ten years also complex fundraising rounds of the local startup companies. In addition to legal degrees, I obtained an Executive MBA in Mergers and Acquisitions at Vienna University of Technology. It has been a privilege to earn clients’ trust to the extent that I rank top of the Mergermarket CEE legal advisers league table by the number of transactions advised in the region.

Developing the M&A market. The leading Baltic M&A law firms have been compiling the biennial Baltic M&A Deal Points Study since 1999 ‒ a collaborative effort that I have been privileged to lead. I also served as a board member of the Estonian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association and have participated in its task force to draft and develop model documents for startup companies and venture capital investment in Estonia. With the Sorainen M&A team, venture capital associations and local business media, we also organise the annual Baltic M&A and Private Equity Forum and the Baltic M&A Awards.

Building the firm. I spent two years in Minsk helping to manage and integrate our Belarus office. After that, I was co-managing partner of the firm and the Estonian country managing partner for 10 years. I have also helped to build up the Sorainen quality management system, where I continue to contribute as a supporting partner.

Contributing to society. Our core purpose is to increase the prosperity of the region and I am passionate about contributing to the development of the local startup ecosystem. I am a founder and trustee at the Gastronomy Awards Society of Estonia (the Silverspoon gastronomy awards) and a member of the supervisory board of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (ERSO). I was also the president of the Estonian Rollerskating Federation in 2014-2019.

Academic background

  • Vienna University of Technology, Austria (Executive MBA in M&A)
  • American University Washington College of Law, USA (visiting scholar)
  • Central European University, Budapest, Hungary (LLM in International Business Law)
  • University of Tartu, Estonia (BA in Law, officially equivalent to MA)

I am a member of

  • Estonian Bar Association
  • International Bar Association
  • Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (member of supervisory board)

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