Filips Kļaviņš

Senior Partner

Latvia

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Filips Kļaviņš is a senior partner at Ellex in Latvia and is also one of the firm’s co-founders. His expertise includes cross-border mergers and acquisitions work (including project management), complex due diligence and transaction documents, team leading and negotiation.

Filips has advised a broad range of foreign investors and local market leaders on major precedent-setting matters. He is also one of the firm’s leaders on complex real estate projects.

Also admitted to the Bar in New York and Connecticut, Filips began his law career in New York with the law firms “Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Heine, Underberg, Manley, Myerson & Casey” and then “Baker & McKenzie”.

Filips Kļaviņš is a well-reputed figure in the Latvian market, with extensive experience advising foreign clients on M&A transactions involving Latvia.

chambers europe  chambers global  expert consultant lawyer 2022  emea leading individual 2023  wwl

1986

Duke University School of Law | Durham, North Carolina, USA

Doctor of Law (J.D.)

1983

Tufts University | Medford, Massachusetts, USA

Bachelor of Arts (B.A. English and History), cum laude

Latvian Bar Association

Member

International Bar Association (IBA)

Member

Since 2008

Best Lawyers | Advisory Board

Member

Since 2000

Swiss Embassy in Latvia

Official Legal Counsel

Since 2015

Latvian Foster Family Association

Member of Advisory Board

2009-2011

Lex Mundi Association

Vice-Chair Europe/Middle-East/Africa Regional Managing Partners Committee

2003-2014

New Theater of Riga Foundation

Member of the Board of Directors

2004-2006

Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art

Member of the Board of Directors

2001-2008

Latvian National Opera Foundation

Member of the Board of Directors

2000-2004

International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes

Member of the Board of Directors Arbitration

1996-2014

Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Member of the Board of Directors Arbitration

1996-1998

American Bar Association Section of International Law and Practice Central European Law Committee, USA

Country Representative for Latvia

1993-2002

Senator August Leber Legal Scholarship Foundation, USA

Member of the Board of Directors

1992-1994

American Chamber of Commerce in Latvia

Member of the Board of Directors

1992-1993

American Bar Association Dictionary of Legal Synonyms Latvian/English

Member of the Board of Advisors

1991

Latvian Supreme Council Committee on Legislation and Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Legal Adviser

1990-1991

University of Latvia Law Faculty

Lecturer on American Contract Law

1989-1991

USA Latvian-American Bar Association, USA

Vice President

2020

The Buzz in Latvia with Filips Kļaviņš
CEE Legal Matters, March 2020

“Without question,” says Filips Kļaviņš, Senior Partner at Ellex in Latvia, “the biggest news was that on Friday, February 21 the Financial Action Task Force decided not to put Latvia on its Gray money-laundering List.” Latvia has been under monitoring by Moneyval and the FATF for potentially allowing space for conducting money laundering in Latvia. “The countries that find themselves on the Gray List are the likes of North Korea,” Kļaviņš says. “Not the company you’d want to find yourself in.” Still, he smiles, “the country has been working really hard to avoid that, and we’ve done it.”

Moneyval also reported positively about Latvia in January, and Kļaviņš reports that Standard & Poor's recently gave the country an A+ rating - the highest in Latvia's history.

2018

Energy Investment Risk Assessment (EIRA)
Energy Charter Secretariat, October 2018

EIRA 2018 aims at assessing specific policy, regulatory and legal risks concerning foreign and domestic investment in the energy sector of different countries.

Ellex experts in Latvia Filips Kļaviņš, Iveta Ceple and Ints Skaldis joined the project contributing to the EIRA country profile of Latvia.

2017

CEE Legal Matters Market Makers Round Table
CEE Legal Matters, Issue 4.7., July 2017

On May 31, 2017, many of the Market Makers came together at the Bristol Hotel in Warsaw for a unique Round Table conversation: A joyous celebration of history made, challenges overcome, opportunities seized, and careers built. Over the course of three hours these Market Makers laughed their way through reminiscences of earlier times, different technologies, unexpected obstacles, and eventual success.

Filips Kļaviņš also took part in the discussion.

2017

How did basketball fan Filips Kļaviņš get hold of a copy of the NBA champions ring of 1973?
Overtime TV, March 2017

Episode by Latvian television show Overtime TV featuring partner Filips Kļaviņš.

2017

Core values and Latvia as the land of great opportunities
Laiks, February 2017

Ellex in Latvia co-founders and partners Filips Kļaviņš and Raimonds Slaidiņš in an interview to Ligita Kovtuna for the Latvian-American newspaper “Laiks”.

2017

From Latvia With Love, Vintage 1973
www.nba.com, January 2017

Article about the historical impact left on New York Knicks by Filips Kļaviņš.

2016

The Buzz From Latvia: Interview with Filips Kļaviņš
CEE Legal Matters, July 2016

The most controversial legislative development in Latvia in recent months, according to Filips Kļaviņš, is the so-called “Solidarity Tax” that went into effect in January 2016.

2015

The Baltics - A triple Play

The Lawyer, January 2015
Article prepared by partner Filips Kļaviņš.
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