The world’s leading legal directory The Legal 500 has announced its annual rankings of the best law firms in Lithuania. AVERUS keeps up leadership in the transport and shipping practice area in Lithuania for the seventh year in a row. The firm was also recognized in dispute resolution and employment practices.

Legal500 acknowledges AVERUS as having one of the most comprehensive shipping and transport practices in the Lithuanian market, representing clients in shipbuilding, cargo forwarding, salvage and aviation investment, among other areas. The practice is jointly led by highly regarded maritime lawyer Regina Derkintytė-Kaupienė and Laura Čereškaitė-Kinčiuvienė, who acts as permanent legal advisor to a number of aviation-sector businesses and companies operating in the vehicles trade. Senior associates Ignas Kerbelis and Greta Motiejuniene support contentious matters. Both have been awarded in the Rising Stars category and are key lawyers in transport practice. 

Sigita Klimkiene, another key lawyer, joined the firm from the Klaipeda State Seaport Authority, bringing specific expertise in shipping-related construction contract law.

„We managed not only to preserve the entire core of our transport law colleagues but also to enforce it with new strong members with specialized knowledge in this field", said AVERUS partner, lawyer R. Derkintytė-Kaupienė, who heads the shipping law practice.

Maritime law team lead, partner Regina Derkintyte-Kaupiene, was honoured in the Hall of Fame. To be considered eligible for the Hall of Fame, lawyers must be widely regarded as being at the very top of the profession, and to have been consistently ranked as leading individuals by The Legal 500 for a number of years. 

„Within the last year, we have advised Heston Airlines in leasing three narrow-body aircraft and three wide-body aircraft. We consulted a major insurance company in respect of a business jet lost due to the war in Ukraine in the claim management process related to aircraft repair in Russia under the aviation parts ban regime. Also, we’ve been advising Klaipeda State Seaport Authority on the construction of the Klaipeda Seaport's northern and southern breakwaters (piers)“, said Laura Čereškaitė-Kinčiuvienė about the work highlights. 

Clients' testimonials emphasized AVERUS's expertise in niche practice areas, such as aircraft leases, aircraft deliveries, and ship arrests, as well as great overall client experience and response time. 

The ranking also noticed AVERUS's achievements in dispute resolution, primarily for its shipping, transport and logistics expertise. The practice is headed by Regina Derkintytė-Kaupienė, a shipping specialist working on cargo damages claims, and tax-focused financial services lawyer partner Raimondas Kivylius. The firm also represents clients in personal injury claims. Experienced customs and trade disputes litigator and partner Jonas Sakalauskas has substantially strengthened the firm‘s dispute resolution department by joining in early autumn 2022.

Named a top-tier firm in employment practice, AVERUS specialises in the education sector, acting on behalf of academics, unions and schools. Its work includes negotiations and disputes over pensions and pay, allegations of misconduct and non-contentious internal union matters. The practice also serves transport companies and has been gaining clients in the energy sector. The team is now led by Ignas Kerbelis, who primarily works in transport and shipping.

About AVERUS

AVERUS is a business law firm with headquarters in Vilnius and Klaipėda. International Legal500 rankings have recognized AVERUS's achievements in aviation, shipping and transport practice areas, as well as dispute resolution and real estate since 2016.

About „Legal 500“ 

„Legal 500“ is the world’s leading directory, providing credible legal rankings for 35 years. The ranking is conducted annually, providing a detailed qualitative assessment of various factors including work conducted by law firms over the past 12 months and historically; experience and depth of teams; specialisms and ancillary services; and, importantly, opinions of law firms’ clients – each year, The Legal 500 series contacts over 300,000 clients globally to obtain feedback on which law firms meet the criteria required by today’s in-house counsel and business leaders. All of this is used to benchmark each law firm versus competitors in the specific practice area.