Counselling a roster including the leading Baltic ship management company and a world leader in global container shipping, in addition to national and international ship and cargo owners, Cobalt acts in a cross-border fashion across all transport types, from aviation to the automotive, rail and marine sectors. Gatis Flinters, who leads the practice, demonstrates expertise in local transport infrastructure regulations, while Līga Fjodorova is regularly involved in high-profile transport disputes, which include acting for insurers in manufacturing disputes in courts of all instances. Such expertise belies the practice’s strength in civil claims and large court disputes as a whole. Additionally, team members are present in transport infrastructure projects, such as vehicle leasing and airport infrastructure usage. Ugis Zeltins regularly represents clients in complex international transport dispute proceedings.

Ellex Klavins specialises in aviation finance and leasing, while further building on this sector-specific knowledge through shipping expertise of areas such as chartering and insurance, and a deep involvement in ship finance. Transportation and logistics, rail transportation and oil and gas transport are additional key areas for the team. Firm co-founder Raimonds Slaidiņš leads the group, a lawyer offering a deep level of expertise in mergers and acquisitions within shipping, and transport more generally, indicative of the wider group’s capacity to advise on acquisitions between shipping companies. Contentious mandates involve damage claims and other complex shipping disputes. In this regard, key support comes from Daiga Zivtina, who is skilled in domestic and cross-border disputes. Māris Brizgo is key for public procurement within shipping and transport, especially for advice to transport companies on public procurement procedures.

Sorainen acts in large M&A transactions in transport throughout the Baltics in both the public and private sector. Another key branch of the practice is advising on large-scale public sector transport projects, among which is the Rail Baltica railway project, a projected billion-dollar Baltic-region rail infrastructure project. Valts Nerets and Artūrs Kazāks spearhead the group; the former often leads the group’s arbitration matters, and clients also benefit from dispute expertise across rail, aviation, road, and shipping, including procurement disputes reaching the Supreme Court. Kazāks handles matters ranging from disputes in the rail industry to damage claims in shipping. Agita Sprūde and Elvis Grinbergs are standout practitioners at associate level.

With a team that regularly collaborates with Lithuanian and Estonian counterparts, WALLESS adopts a pan-Baltic approach whilst maintaining a foundation of local mandates, specifically advising on the expansion of Riga International Airport. Frequently, team members also act in infrastructure projects in the transportation industry, as well as public procurement matters with a cross-border angle. On the disputes side, the group deals with cargo, damage, and commercial claims. Sintija Radionova, who excels in M&A in the transportation space, and practice head Kristīne Gaigule-Šāvēja are standout team members. The practice was further strengthened by the addition of Arina Stivriņa, who joined from TEGOS (Formerly TGS Baltic) in November 2024.

Eversheds Sutherland Bitans adopts a multidisciplinary approach, allowing the practice to cover areas such as public passenger transportation. The group also handles transport matters incorporating elements of real estate, dispute resolution, employment, and M&A, while continuing to build up its client base in the aviation sector. Jānis Siliņš is often called upon for public sector transport matters and team leader Māris Vainovskis is experienced in the financing of the aircraft and vessel deals, a sphere in which the broader team is also well versed.

Among Kronbergs Cukste Levin‘s core strengths are contract support and licensing in the public and private sector alike. International transportation and logistics companies form part of a varied client roster, which notably includes a state-owned railway holding company. This is indicative of the practice’s public sector expertise due to the relationship of members of the group with Latvian Railway and the Ministry of Transportation. Indeed, Vineta Čukste–Jurjeva who is proficient in transportation law, has represented Latvian Railway Holding in a restructuring mandate on an ongoing basis since 2020. Valters Kronbergs is at the helm, forging continuing relationships with significant transport clients, employment matters and shipping disputes.

Skilled in advising on the chartering of vessels and aircraft, Magnusson acts in transport disputes, including cargo claims. Commonly present among such litigious matters is Matīss Rostoks, who leads the team together with Artūrs Ševčuks, a keen litigator and arbitrator. Practitioners also regularly provide contractual advice and assist with the drafting of transportation agreements to transport sector clients such as large European coach companies.

At TEGOS (Formerly TGS Baltic), financings, bond issuance, and M&A in the transport sector are key among the group’s workload, which is of benefit to both smaller local clients and regional clients across Europe. On the regulatory side, corporate governance issues and compliance are often present. The group also deals with administrative law matters in administrative courts, such as abuse of dominance cases in the transport sector and cases related to public procurement contracts. Ivars Grunte and Andra Rubene head up the team. Grunte’s strong suit lies in disputes, specifically tax disputes in the transport industry, or disputes related to sanctions and customs. Rubene is a seasoned transport sector lawyer, drawing upon knowledge of distribution and transport, storage, and logistics contracts primarily.