About Us
Lawyer Simonas Reksnys is closely related with the attorneys, working in Vilnius 2nd law firm that is the oldest law firm in Lithuania existing so far, and a member of international legal networks: AQUIL, lawyrs.net, and EIN-Law.net. His published works include Employment Law, 550 pages, isssued in 2003.
The lawyer can provide legal consultations in the following languages: English, Russian, Italian, French, Polish, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Spanish, German.
Our law firm has been working since the year 1946 in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. We provide high-level legal services to Lithuanian and international clients.
Our law firm in Vilnius, Lithuania, follows very carefully all tendencies of the development of our profession in Europe. We have also the representing attorneys in Klaipeda our Lithuanian seaport city and Kaunas the second largest city of Lithuania.
Our legal practice might be divided into four main areas.
1. Consultation of clients in many areas of the law
The main principle of law firm is the counselling of clients in many areas of the law. We have made it a priority that our clients do not have to think where to find the right person to solve their problems - our clients know that the lawyers are always ready to help them.
2. Representation of clients in court
A legal dispute is a natural part of the modern society and every person has a constitutional right to protect their interests in court. The judicial system is a collection of strictly formalized procedures and thus requires appropriate skills and experience. The quality of attorneys at law is especially important since the lack of it can lead to a negative result in dispute at court. Law firm has a wide range of experience representing client’s interests in civil, criminal and administrative cases of all instances of courts.
3. Preparing of contracts and other legal documents
Most of judicial disputes are in one way or another to do with contractual relationships. Therefore it is imperative to have contracts prepared so that the rights and responsibilities of the parties are defined with appropriate clarity and all applicable legal acts are considered. To reach an optimal solution and also to avoid possible legal disputes in the future, it is necessary to attain the services of a lawyer when preparing contracts or other legal documents. Law firm has extensive experience in preparing all kinds of juridical documentation, ranging from simple petitions to governmental agencies to complicated contracts.
4. Reestablishing the freedom to move, releasing out from closed-type facilities - jails, mental hospitals, migrant camps
Only in the year 2022, our law firm participated and played essential role in over 150 court processes of releasing of over 150 migrants from Asia and Africa, that were kept in special closed-type migrant camps.
Preparation of Contracts and Other Legal Documents
After the Republic of Lithuania restored its independence on 11 March 1990, the Lithuanian law was reformed fundamentally. The main accent of the reform in business and civil law areas was passing of the new Civil Code and the Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania. Our lawyers actively contributed to the preparation of these Codes.
Before Lithuania became a full member of the European Union, the Lithuanian law was basically reviewed in accordance with the EU acquis communautaire. Now the Lithuanian legal system being a contemporary law system is based on European law traditions and has features of both the continental and common law systems.
At The law firm we focus on understanding the industries in which our clients work and develop long term client relationships.
In order to provide with the highest quality legal services, the professional law partnership has formed the teams of lawyers specialising in the following legal services areas:
Company law
Immigration
Distribution, pharmacy and health law
Competition law
Finance and Banking
European Union law
Transport
Insurance
Environmental law
Energy law
Real estate law
Labour law
IT and Intellectual Property
Dispute Resolution
Migration, Visas and Citizenship
Company Law
Company law includes establishment of companies, meetings of shareholders and other bodies, appointment and revocation of members of the bodies, corporate governance, increase and decrease of share capital and similar regulation.
Our firm law lawyers provide the following services related to company law in Vilnius and Lithuania:
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consult on the establishment of companies and other legal persons, draft the required documents;
consult on increasing or decreasing share capital;
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provide legal assistance in the conversion of companies and other legal persons;
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assist in selection and reorganisation of management structures of companies and company groups;
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evaluate tax issues of the selected corporate management structures;
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consult and provide solutions regarding issues of competence, restriction of functions and responsibility of the governing bodies and their members;
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consult in organising shareholders meetings and other bodies, appointing and recalling the members of management bodies;
consult on shareholder rights and their implementation;
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provide assistance in preparing (shareholder) voting, vote transfer and other agreements;
draft regulations of management bodies;
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provide assistance in investigation of the activities of legal persons;
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consult on the issues of securities, the tender offers, mandatory sale and acquisition of shares as well as other issues related to the securities market;
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consult and represent clients in shareholder disputes, disputes between shareholders and governing bodies, in negotiations or in court;
provide assistance in liquidation procedures.
Our lawyers have extensive experience in company law, they successfully consult and represent the interests of the clients. Our experience has been proven many times while preparing shareholders’ cooperation agreements, assisting to achieve peaceful settlement agreements in the disputes between shareholders both in pre-trial stage and in court, to choose adequate legal remedies in disputes between shareholders and governing bodies (initiating investigation of legal person and its managing bodies, preventive claims, combining revoking of managing bodies with non-competition agreements etc.). Other examples of successful actions of our lawyers in company law include collaborative work of our lawyers with tax experts while analysing company conversion.
Our lawyers draft documents and provide assistance in establishing companies not only in Lithuania, but also in other countries. Our lawyers are recognised experts in EU company law, they participate in the work of the EC, have published a number of articles on EU law problems (e. g. expedience of establishing a European company, etc.)
Our lawyers closely cooperate with the specialists of the Register of Legal Persons, take part in various working groups related to the legal regulation of companies.
Migration, Visas, and Citizenship
As Lithuania is a part of the Schengen area, our law firm lawyers assist in getting invitations, Schengen visas, life and work permits and the EU citizenship.
Distribution, Pharmacy and Health Law
Pharmacy law regulates the production, distribution, marketing, registration of prescription and non-presciption pharmaceutical substances. Medicine law regulates health sector matters, our lawyers have experience in consulting the companies supplying medical equipment to private and budget clients. Distribution law includes distribution, agency, commercial representation, commission, franchise as well as other similar transactions.
Our firm law lawyers provide the following services related to distribution in Vilnius and Lithuania:
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provide legal advise on distribution, agency, commercial representation, commission, sale-purchase, supply, franchise and other related issues;
draft agreements and standard terms and conditions;
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provide legal consulting on issues related to conducting transactions;
represent clients in negotiations on transactions;
provide strategic advise on transaction structure;
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represent clients in disputes arising from business transactions;
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provide legal advice and assistance in relation to licensing and permits for client business and business organisation;
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provide legal advice on business structuring and related issues.
Our lawyers successfully use their wide experience and knowledge while consulting our clients on choosing and implementing optimum distribution schemes, preparing agreements and contracts, drafting standard terms and conditions as well as providing legal advise on various business related issues.
Competition Law
Competition law is one of the most topical branches of law in business today. The practice of competition law includes the protection of freedom of fair competition. Following Lithuania’s accession to the EU, EU legislation on competition and prohibitions on restrictions on competition is directly applicable in Lithuania.
Our lawyers provide the following competition law services:
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Advising on the application of Lithuanian and EU competition law;
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legal assistance in defending the right to fair competition of economic operators;
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advising on the compliance of transactions with competition law rules;
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advising on restrictive agreements and concerted practices and exemptions from such agreements, possible abuse of dominant position, unfair competition, misleading and comparative advertising;
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advising on concentrations and preparing notifications of proposed concentrations;
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representing clients’ interests before the Competition Council and the European Commission in relation to alleged or actual infringements of restrictive agreements and other competition law rules;
advising on the granting and legality of State aid.
Our lawyers have successfully represented major companies before the Competition Council and the courts, advising clients on the application of European Union and national competition law.
Our lawyers represent clients’ interests before the Competition Council in connection with its investigations, including investigations into possible abuse of a dominant position, in providing written commitments to the Competition Council, and in defending the client’s interests in court in relation to the implementation and application of the legal norms relating to the investigation and the commitment.
Finance and Banking Law
Finance and banking law is a branch of law, which includes financing of companies and projects, banking and stock market.
Our firm law lawyers provide the following finance and banking law services in Vilnius and Lithuania:
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consult and assist in preparing various financial transactions and schemes: from routine credit contracts to structuring financing projects upon acquisition of
assets or restructuring of property and companies;
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consult in the field of corporate finance: funding of share capital, lending, borrowing;
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consult on legal issues related to banking and securities market;
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consult financial institutions on contractual, corporate law and regulatory aspects;
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prepare various financing documents: letters of intent, term sheets, comfort and mandate letters, loan, credit line, lease agreements, promissory notes, mortgage agreements and mortgage bonds, various confirmations and guarantees, etc.;
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provide counsel related to trading and registration of securities including preparation and registration of sale-purchase agreements, notifications on material events, information disclosure and tender offers;
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represent clients in all the transaction stages: from preparation of transaction structure, legal audit, draft agreements or other documents to negotiations, contract conclusion, registration of security instruments, provision of legal opinions and supervision of project implementation;
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provide counsel to both the public sector (mostly municipalities) and private companies on Private Public Partnership projects: selection of a partnership structure, preparation of tender documents, negotiations and conclusion of concession or other agreements.
#European Union Law
European Union (EU) law is constantly evolving, from its initial focus on the smooth functioning of the internal market to areas such as foreign and security policy, border control, asylum and visa regimes, policing, the judiciary, etc. In the latter sectors, decisions are generally taken by intergovernmental rather than Community methods.
Successful application of EU law requires not only a thorough knowledge of the general principles of EU law, but also of the entire Community acquis. This includes not only directives, regulations, decisions, opinions, recommendations, resolutions, international treaties concluded by the Communities and other legal acts, but also the case law of the European Court of Justice, quasi-judicial decisions, etc.
Our lawyers provide the following legal services related to EU law:
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Advising on the free movement of goods, services, people and capital within the EU;
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advising on public procurement, competition, environment, energy, customs policy and regulation, tax systems, transport and other areas; providing valuable legal advice on the compliance of national legislation with EU law, as our lawyers are involved in the transposition of EU law into national legislation;
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protecting clients’ interests in case of conflicts between national and EU law;
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represent clients in disputes before national and EU institutions on the application of EU law.
Transport Law
Transport is one of the biggest, most important and intensely developing areas of economy in Lithuania. Common transport policy is one of the priotities of the EU. Lithuania’s participation in international treaties and conventions in the area of transport aimed at unifying transport rules on the international level is important for Lithuania’s membership in the EU.
Transport law is a branch of law regulating various treaties of carriage of passengers and goods, legal status of transport workers, custom procedures of transporting goods, civil liability of freight carriers, etc. Considering the importance of transport law, our lawyers give their special attention to subjects of transport law — carriers, consignors, consignees, legal relations of passengers, responsibility.
Our firm law lawyers provide the following services related to transport law in Vilnius and Lithuania:
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provide counsel related to carriage of passengers and goods on local and international routes by road, rail, sea and air, as well as freight forwarding and agency;
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draft and review agreements, consult on national and international legislation regulating transport;
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prepare legal opinions on application and restriction of and release from carrier civil liability, and distribution of civil liability among haulage participants;
represent our clients in court and arbitration.
Insurance
Insurance relations cover contractual relations for life and non-life insurance, legal relations for reinsurance, the management, control and finance of insurance companies and the state supervision of insurance activities. Insurance law also covers the establishment of insurance companies, the licensing and operating conditions for branches of foreign insurance companies established in the Republic of Lithuania and insurance intermediaries, etc.
Our lawyers provide assistance in the following insurance law matters:
Advising on insurance and reinsurance issues;
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solving problems related to various types of life and non-life insurance;
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assistance in specific areas of credit and surety insurance;
drafting and reviewing insurance contracts and rules;
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assessing the performance of insurance undertakings with regard to compliance with legal requirements;
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representing clients in disputes arising between the insurer, the policyholder and third parties;
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advising on the acquisition, restructuring and reorganisation of insurance undertakings at national and international level.
Environmental Law
Environment protection is a very important task for the quality of life of the current and future generations. Therefore environmental law is currently one of the most rapidly developing areas of law both in the EU and Lithuania. Lately, a very important process is has been harmonisation of Lithuanian law with EU law and problems of evaluating impact on the environment. The harmonisation process is important not only in transposing EU rules into the national law, but also in implementing them in practice.
In Lithuania currently all the principles of EU environmental law are complied with: high level of environmental protection, caution and preventive actions, source of damage, “the polluter pays”, integration, sustainable development, etc.
Our firm law lawyers provide the following services related to environmental law in Vilnius and Lithuania:
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take part in the implementation of environmental projects developed by international and EU organisations;
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provide counsel to local and international companies on the issues of environmental law;
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analyse legislative acts and perform reviews of compliance with the EU and international legislation and prepare draft legislative acts;
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provide counsel to international financial organizations working on environmental projects in Lithuania.
Our environmental law team was formed directly in response to the ever increasing needs of our clients. Our professionals hold law degrees from Lithuanian and foreign universities, and have obtained further qualifications through local and international specialised training programmes and working side by side with the best European specialists in the field of environmental law.
Energy Law
Energy law covers the use of energy resources - water, electricity, gas, oil and other resources - and the regulation of companies operating in the energy sector.
Our lawyers provide the following services:
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Advising on the use of energy resources, project financing and development, energy trading and supply, energy market regulation and reform;
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advising local and foreign companies investing in heat and energy facilities;
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advising on the privatisation and restructuring of energy facilities;
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participating in the drafting of energy legislation and analysing it for compliance with EU energy legislation standards.
Real Estate Law
Real estate law includes transactions related to real estate, use and management of real estate, territory planning, construction and related legislation.
Our lawyers provide the following real estate law services:
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advise clients regarding the structure of real estate, purchase and sale, rent and other transactions;
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advise clients regarding sale and purchase of real estate preserving the valid rent agreements;
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advise on determining the procedure for the use of property and other issues related with real estate management, use and disposal;
perform specialised legal due diligence of real estate;
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draft sale and purchase agreements, mortgage, rent agreements, agreements on procedure of use and other agreements; represent clients in negotiations, coordinate and supervise the process of concluding agreements of real estate sale and purchase, rent and other agreements as well as implementation of concluded agreements;
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draft legal documents and represent clients in various institutions in relation to obtaining construction permits and approving territorial planning documents;
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draft construction, design and other contractor agreements in accordance with the local legislation and FIDIC conditions of contracts;
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draft tender documents for choosing contractors and other parties of construction.
Our firm law lawyers have gained extensive experience in the area of real estate law, they take part in international real estate exhibitions, read lectures on real estate law, write articles and organise seminars, issue publications about Lithuanian real property market. While dealing with real estate issues we cooperate closely with specialists of the Real Property Register, municipalities and districts. Our integrated activities together with tax the specialists help to properly plan, prepare and implement even the most complex real estate projects. Our lawyers practice successfully both in common jurisdiction and administrative courts and their qualified advice helps to avoid unnecessary litigation in most cases.
Profound theoretical knowledge of our lawyers and wide professional experience make us one of the leading real estate legal advisers.
Labour Law
Labour law is the branch of law, which regulates relations between an employee and an employer and related issues.
Our lawyers provide the following services related to labour law:
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consult and represent clients in individual and collective labour relations;
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assist in resolution of the issues of labour relations of foreign citizens in the Republic of Lithuania;
prepare collective and individual employment agreements;
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represent clients and take part in negotiations with trade unions and other employee representatives;
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draft documents of companies regulating working, rest, remuneration and other employment conditions, draft job descriptions, documents required for employment of foreign citizens in Lithuania, render consulting services on other labour law issues;
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represent clients in collective and individual labour disputes.
Our firm law lawyers have gained wide experience in labour law, they have acquired specific labour law knowledge in local and international specialised training courses and workshops.
Our lawyers have prepared codes of ethic, analysed conditions of employee transfer (outsourcing), job descriptions, and other local legal acts.
Intellectual Property and Information Technology
The Intellectual Property and Information Technology area includes advice on copyright, inventions, trademarks, e-commerce, telecommunications, personal data protection, and related legislation.
Our lawyers provide the following services in the field of intellectual property and information technology:
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Advising on copyright and related rights, trademarks, design and invention protection;
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representing clients before public authorities in registering trademarks, patents and inventions;
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assisting in the protection of clients’ infringed rights and interests;
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advises on e-commerce and telecommunications, information technology products and services and related matters;
advising on the processing of personal data.
Litigation and Arbitration Law
Litigation and arbitration law includes judicial and extrajudicial disputes, negotiation (alternative ways of solving disputes), courts of all instances and arbitrations.
Our lawyers provide the following services related to litigation and arbitration:
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provide counsel, represent clients in pre-trial disputes, negotiations, and alternative processes of dispute resolution;
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provide counsel, represent clients and defend them in courts of all instances and arbitrations, both national and international, as well as in relations with other natural persons and legal entities;
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represent clients at the Constitutional Court of the Lithuanian Republic in disputes of law compliance with the Constitution;
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provide with high quality legal assistance in disputes on national law compliance with the EU law;
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represent client interests in the European Court of Justice, the Court of First Instance, European Court of Human Rights, the institutions for dispute resolution at the World Trade Organisation as well as other international dispute resolution bodies;
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draft and prepare procedural documents, conclusions, claims, formulate dispute resolution tactics and strategy, provide counsel on various issues of judicial and arbitration dispute resolution;
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render assistance related to acknowledgement and fulfilment of the decision of foreign states and arbitrations as well as represent client interests in bankruptcy processes;
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provide legal assistance related to implementing court rulings, represent clients in the process of implementation.
Our qualified firm law lawyers have gained experience in litigation and arbitration law, they have high competence in rules of local, EU and international litigation and arbitration law.
Simonas Rėksnys: The Myth that All Lawyers Are Millionaires
Vilnius-based Simonas Rėksnys was a special child because he started reading and writing when he was just two. And at the age of four, he already knew all the world’s capitals of all countries. So it’s not surprising that he was offered the chance to jump from first grade to to fourth grade: he decided that there was nothing for him to do in the lower grades. Now 35 years old Simon works as a lawyer, speaks at least eight foreign languages and dials phone numbers from memory.
Simon, where did you get these extraordinary abilities?
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A kind of inheritance, I would say. My uncle is a physicist with a PhD, and he comes from a very educated family, the Chibiris family. Povilas Čibiras was a professor, a long-standing professor of infectious diseases at Vilnius University. head of the Department of Infectious Diseases, and also head of the Infectious chief physician of the Infectious Diseases Hospital and the first first Lithuanian textbook on infectious diseases author of the first first manual of infectious diseases. And my mother, when she was pregnant, ate a lot of fish. And now reading about the latest scientific research, I have learned that the phosphorus in fish is very good for fetal brain development. It is so hereditary factors.
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When did you realise that you were different from your peers?
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Perhaps when, at the age of seven I went to first grade at the age of seven and the school officials suggested I go straight into fourth grade if I passed a session of five exams. Back then there was a five-point system, you had to to pass at least four all the exams. And I did it. I remember I also wrote a dictation, and they tested my knowledge of mathematics and nature. I was immediately transferred to the fourth grade.
I guess you were never left for a second year?
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No, I wasn’t. (Laughs.) I graduated with 10s. From At first, I studied at Vilnius Mykolas Biržiška Gymnasium, and from the eighth grade - Gabija Gymnasium in Pašilačiai. I used to be a year two years younger than my classmates. Then, at 16, I entered the Law Faculty of Law at Vilnius University. From 630 applicants, I was the second highest scorer. When I successfully graduated Faculty of Law, I was faced with the dilemma of what to choose: scientific or practical path. I was very good at science, at theoretical subjects, but still I chose practice. I did practical legal work, not forgetting theory: in 2003 I published I published a book on “Labour Law” in 2003. I was editor-in-chief. I was the editor-in-chief of the new edition, because during that time A lot has changed in the meantime.
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Why did you choose law and not medicine, as your relative is known for? Were there any lawyers in your family?
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There were and are lawyers. There are two Rėksnys in the family: one is Juozas Rėksnys, a lawyer, and the other is Julius Rėksnys, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Vilnius. I didn’t choose medicine because I didn’t want to to study for a long time.
But working as a lawyer do you like it?
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Of course, I like working as a lawyer I like it, although it involves a lot of a lot of money and a lot more more stress, but I can’t imagine myself in any other profession. Until I was assistant lawyer from 2007 to 2010, I had to be versatile. Under the current concept an assistant lawyer must be able to all branches of law. Both international, and national law. And then from 2010 I started to specialise in private international law, which is the branch of law that covers public relations with foreign element where the parties belong to different states. My clients are foreign firms with interests in Lithuania. And Lithuanian companies, who have interests abroad.
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In this case, I find it very useful the fact that you speak a number of foreign languages, even translate. Which languages are easy to communicate?
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Lithuanian, Russian, English, Polish, German, Italian, French, Norwegian, Danish… Language learning - my hobby, combined with work. For example, during my studies I am accompanied tourist groups and guided tours for Italian speakers. Of course, this has helped me a lot in improving my language. Once I was commissioned to drive from Vilnius to Tallinn for two weeks with a client and a driver, and I was always in the car to communicate with each other all the time. I get interested in language when when I have clients in the field - you have to learn the language. But you still need to be in the country, to commit the knowledge to memory.
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Now as a lawyer as a lawyer, you represent one of Japan’s company. Probably not bad you have a good command of Japanese as well?
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I am still learning Japanese. There are two thousand hieroglyphs and you can hurt your eyes learning it. So a lot of Japanese people wear glasses. (Smiles.) Encrypting those hieroglyphics may be normal for them, but for us it’s not at all.
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It’s common for people to graduate in law but not know what to do next…
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The problem is actually that there are a lot of lawyers being trained, but not enough, I would say, qualified lawyers. For example, there is a shortage of judges, the courts are overwhelmed with cases. I had to to see the queues stretching into the courts. And then there is the myth that all lawyers are millionaires and that they should be taxed even more because they already earn a lot. In reality that’s not the case, because the market is very dynamic and very divided: if you are too expensive, nobody will approach you, because there will be ten people offering cheaper services.
But you’re probably not getting poorer?
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Of course, I survive, and I also support my parents, who have small pensions. Living with my parents S.Konarskio Street, I see around me a lot of poverty. For example, there are bins in our yard, and there is not a day that goes by that someone does not rummage through them. I almost always see something, and I I feel very sorry for them.
Have you considered leaving Lithuania?
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I have no plans to leave Lithuania yet, All the niches abroad are already taken and, to achieve something, you would have to start from scratch. And the problem is that law is more local: let’s say there is Lithuanian law, there is Polish law, German law, Anglo-Saxon law. law is fundamentally different…
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I heard that one of your clients is even a sheikh…
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It’s not over yet because of the sheikhs. Just because people are from Pakistan, they have been denied, discriminatorily on a discriminatory basis, to give them a visa. A serious businessman was going to engage in legal business in Lithuania. He would have created around 20 jobs here. jobs. This is the situation.
Is it true that you work without a notebook?
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Yes. But I can say that memory now is not what it used to be in my twenties. I remember, there was a Roman law exam. Three thick volumes of eight hundred pages. And I wrote it all out by heart for the lecturer, as from textbook - I got a ten and walked out happy.
Do you have one negative characteristic?
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I have. Maybe too easily to be influenced by others. And for me it’s cost me a lot - like that false accusation in 2003 in Kaunas FNTT, at that time very corrupt, very unprofessional, accused me of embezzling funds from a company, we were in litigation for more than three years, from August 2003 12 August 2003 to 26 September 2006. It was a very difficult and very frustrating process. My mistake - dealing with the wrong people people who were greedy and dishonourable. When things started came to light, the case at the Kaunas Prosecutor’s Office had already gone to court. There it began to emerge that completely different people had committed that crime. Then the Prosecutor General’s Office intervened and put all the dots right, the right way.
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One can only imagine, how much nerve it cost you three years of litigation…
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And no one in Lithuania, unfortunately, will compensate you. I know one lawyer who was suing for damages caused to him by investigations - both moral and direct. And he was awarded a hundred, two hundred litas, such sums. So, of course, I decided to forget about it, not to go to court at all and not to raise any anger.
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It seems that your surname does not fit the character type at all?
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That’s right, it’s not like me to get angry, to raise my voice, I am more of a calm person. If I were angry, I would have taken the state to court over that million-dollar investigation lawsuit. But something has to be done, like Anglo-Saxon law is famous for million-dollar compensation awards. But here, nobody has that compensate us, even though the prosecutors prosecutors have been dragging their feet, investigators have been dragging their feet for years, and then they say, “Sorry, we’re we dragged you unnecessarily, the investigation we’re closing it down.
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People very often complain about the poor legal situation in Lithuania. that it should be changed from fundamentally. What do you think?
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I think that more of the new generation should come to the Lithuanian legal system, with a new approach. Already some of my peers, for example, are judges. I think it will work out over time.