Sorainen has been named “National Law Firm of the Year: Baltics” at the prestigious IFLR Europe Awards 2026 in London, recognising work on transactions that set new precedents in the region – from first-of-their-kind renewable financing structures to complex digital asset licensing and multi-country M&A.
Presented annually by the International Financial Law Review (IFLR), the award recognises law firms behind the most significant, innovative and cross-border transactions and legal developments across Europe. This marks the record tenth time Sorainen has received the distinction.
Commenting on the award, Managing Partner Eva Berlaus, notes:
“The award is particularly meaningful as it recognises innovation and highlights novel projects that are rarely straightforward. Often involving new business models, evolving regulation, or transactions not previously seen in our markets, such matters call for creative thinking and close cross-border collaboration. Our integrated team brings together this collective knowledge to deliver practical solutions that help shape industries and markets across the region.”
The IFLR award particularly highlights the strength of Sorainen’s Finance & Insurance, Corporate Advisory, and M&A and Private Equity teams, whose close cooperation enables clients to execute sophisticated transactions across multiple jurisdictions. Our partners Piret Jesse (M&A) and Augustas Klezys (Finance & Insurance) were also nominated in the Lawyer of the Year Baltics category.
Augustas Klezys, Head of Sorainen’s regional Finance & Insurance team, comments:
“The matters recognised by IFLR this year ranged from pioneering fintech and digital asset licensing projects to major cross-border transactions and strategic financial sector investments. Delivering these projects requires not only legal excellence, but also the ability to combine expertise across finance, regulatory, M&A, competition and other practice areas. This breadth reflects the increasing complexity of clients’ ambitions and the evolving landscape in which they operate, where legal advice must keep pace with both innovation and regulation“
Among the standout matters in 2025 that contributed to the firm’s recognition were:
- Sunly secured EUR 85 million and EUR 62 million in European Investment Bank‑backed and multi‑lender financing for renewable energy projects across the Baltics. This included the EIB’s first fully merchant renewable energy loan in the region.
- Nuvei Liquidity, part of the global Nuvei Group, obtaining both a MiCAR crypto‑asset service provider licence and a payment institution licence in Lithuania, as well as BlockBen making history as the first MiCA-licensed company in Latvia, The projects involved navigating one of Europe’s newest and most rapidly evolving regulatory frameworks, creating a structure reconciling crypto‑asset regulation, payment services rules and stablecoin‑related requirements under a single business model.
- PKO Bank Polski, Poland’s largest bank, establishing a representative office in Lithuania – only the second such office of an EU‑licensed bank in the country, requiring innovative solutions in an area with limited local precedent.
- Salling Group acquiring Rimi Baltic in a EUR 1.3 billion transaction, one of the most significant strategic acquisitions in the Baltic retail sector in recent years, reshaping the competitive landscape across the region.
- Gjensidige Forsikring ASA selling its Baltic insurance business to ERGO International AG, alongside the divestment of a specialised insurance portfolio to If P&C Insurance AS, involving complex regulatory approvals, competition law remedies and coordinated implementation across all three Baltic states.
- Södra Skogsägarna ekonomisk förening divesting its forest holding companies in Latvia and Estonia in a EUR 720 million transaction—the largest forest property portfolio divestment in the Baltic region to date.
Together, these matters and other notable projects demonstrate Sorainen’s ability to combine deep sector expertise, innovative legal thinking and seamless cross-border collaboration to support clients undertaking strategically important projects throughout the Baltic region.
The award was accepted on behalf of Sorainen by partners Ramona Miglāne and Toomas Prangli at the IFLR Europe Awards ceremony.
About the IFLR Europe Awards
The IFLR Europe Awards celebrate the most legally innovative cross-border transactions and dealmaking across the continent. The awards are regarded as one of the legal market’s leading benchmarks for innovation, complexity and impact in transactional work.