Our team

Hannes Vallikivi specialises in the areas of banking and finance, insurance law, securities law, mergers and acquisitions, trademarks, intellectual property, and IT and telecom.

International independent journals Chambers Global and Chambers Europe have acknowledged Hannes as an experienced and well-known attorney who “knows banking and finance throughout and is really helpful in advising clients on issues related to this subject”.

Hannes has made a number of presentations regarding the issues of commercial law, IT, international law, and human rights.

• Advising investing banks on conducting Estonia’s largest initial public offering (IPO) of shares (the privatization of Eesti Telekom, part of TeliaSonera Group, worth USD 221 million) and listing on the London and Tallinn Stock Exchange.
• Advising JPMorgan Chase and others involved on organising the EUR 2 billion bond program of Hansapank (now Swedbank). This is the largest-ever bond program in the Baltics to date.
• Advising Swedbank on making a takeover bid and on the takeover of shares belonging to minority shareholders and delisting of the bank’s shares on the stock exchange. The EUR 1.7 billion deal is the largest ever single transaction in the Baltics.
• Advising an international syndicate led by HypoVereinsbank (member of Unicredit) on a project worth EUR 100 million. Part of the project was aimed at financing a port development at the Port of Muuga by steel manufacturer Galvex (now ArcelorMittal). In its time, it was the largest Greenfield project in Estonia.

• Since 2016 Partner, law firm DERLING PRIMUS (previous firm name till September 2018 – DERLING)
• Since 2016 Chairman, Estonian Bar Association
• 2002 - 2016 Partner, law firm Tark Grunte Sutkiene
• 2000 - 2005 Guest Lecturer, University of Tartu, Faculty of Law
• 1996 - 2002 Senior Associate, law firm Tark Grunte Sutkiene
• 1993 - 1996 Attaché, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia, Legal Department

• University of Tartu, Master of Laws (cum laude) (2001)
• Academy of European Law, international program of criminal law (Trier, Germany), (2003 - 2005)
• Concordia University in Estonia, program of EU law (1997)
• University of Tartu, Bachelor of Laws, officially equivalent to MA (1996)
• University of Birmingham, training program about human rights (1994)

• IBA Banking Committee, Legal Opinions Sub-Committee (since 2009)
• Listing and Supervision Committee of the Tallinn Stock Exchange (since 2007)
• International Bar Association (IBA) (since 2007)
• Estonian Bar Association (since 1996)

• Leading Individual, Chambers Europe 2017
• Leading Individual, Chambers Global 2017
• Leading Individual, The Legal500 EMEA 2017
• Leading Lawyer, Financial and Corporate, IFLR1000 2017

• A book, co-authored by DERLING PRIMUS partners
• Author of the article “Piiriülese ühinemise ühinguõiguslikke aspekte. Baltikumi kogemus reguleeritavate ettevõtjate ühinemisel Euroopa äriühinguks” (Corporate Legal Aspects of Cross-Border Mergers. The Baltic Experience of Regulated Enterprises Merging into a European Company), Juridica journal IV/2007
• Author of the article “Juhi elu pärast IPOt” (Life of the Manager After IPO), “Investor ja ettevõtja” journal, autumn 2006
• Author of the article “Külgeklammerdatud rahastamine” (Stapled Financing), “Finantsjuhtimine” journal, 2007
• Co-author of the book “Rahvusvaheline õigus” (International Law), Juura Publishers, 2002, 2004, 2007
• Co-author of the book “Inimõigused ja nende kaitse Euroopas” (Human Rights and their Protection in Europe), Iuridicum Sihtasutus Publishers, 2003
• Author of the monograph “Välislepingud Eesti õigussüsteemis” (Foreign Contracts in Estonian Legal System), Õiguskirjastus Publishers 2001
• Other articles related to commercial law, international law, constitutional law, and human rights