Competition law protects business and economic progress by making sure that new practices do not restrict competition. But businesses tend to be unprepared for the strict nature of competition-law enforcement. Motieka & Audzevičius’ team is always expanding its knowledge of business development and management, allowing us to ensure that our clients’ innovations comply with applicable legal requirements, and helping them find the ideal balance between progress and prudence.
We help both domestic and international clients implement projects of strategic importance to the Lithuanian, EU, and CIS markets, while advising them on complex matters of competition law and contract.
Our Strengths
Specialized and Collaborative Team. Our Competition Law team specializes exclusively in the field, allowing us to find non-standard solutions and achieve the most efficient results for our clients. These experts work closely with Motieka & Audzevičius’s Litigation team to address and resolve competition disputes, and with the firm’s Corporate Law team to recommend superior corporate and transaction structures and contract terms.
The Most Complex Matters. The significant projects that our team has worked on include:
- Representing a client’s interests in a Competition Council investigation that led to the largest competition fine in the history of Lithuania.
- Providing legal advice on Linas Agro’s acquisition of the Kauno Grūdai group – one of the largest concentrations in Lithuania in the last decade.
- Representing Lithuanian national airlines against Latvian national airlines and Riga International Airport in the largest private enforcement case in Lithuania.
We represent clients in the Court of Justice of the European Union, in Latvian and Russian courts, in international arbitrations, and in the course of inspections conducted by the European Commission and Lithuania’s Competition Council.
We have obtained merger clearance from competition authorities for client transactions not only in Lithuania but also in Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Russia, Iceland, and other countries of the world.
Consistent Improvement. Members of our team regularly hone their skills in specialised study programmes at international universities such as Oxford, King’s College London, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Queen Mary University of London, among others.
Involvement in the Development of Case Law. We have many years of experience representing clients in competition-law cases and case law was developed in the cases we represented our clients. Therefore we not only know the case law but know what reasons led to its development. We are creative and flexible, and we are skilled at finding innovative solutions to pressing problems what helps us to channel the developments in a favorable manner for our clients. We follow Lithuanian, EU, and global competition-law issues and trends and stay abreast of all regulatory changes, knowing both their causes and their purposes. We maintain links with public authorities and are often able to communicate with officials to help prevent further legal problems.
International Recognition. The international Chambers Europe and Legal 500 law-firm directories have recognized our team as among the leaders in competition law in Lithuania.
Educating on Competition Law. We explain relevant competition regimes and the ways of dealing with them in a language that our clients understand, and we regularly provide training for our clients and their employees to help them avoid violations and fines.
After delving into a client’s problems and performing initial research, we explain to the client whether a template solution could work or a more creative and unique solution is required – or whether, in the particular situation the client finds itself in, it is best to do nothing at all.
Our biggest strengths are our understanding of our clients’ businesses and our ability to understand their interests to focus our efforts towards the desired goal.
Our knowledge of psychology and behavioural patterns in the public sector is another of our team’s distinctive features, which helps us find solutions that others tend not to notice.
Our services include:
- Representing clients in competition-law disputes
- Representing clients in Competition Council investigations and in cases resulting from its rulings
- Representing clients in competition-law procedures and in disputes with state agencies
- Assisting clients in obtaining clearance for their transactions from the Lithuanian Competition Council and from other countries’ competition authorities
- Helping clients to comply with competition law
- Reviewing agreements to assess compliance with competition-law regulations
- Assessing potential transaction prospects and terms from a competition-law perspective.
