Company briefs - 2008-09-18

  • 2008-09-18
TLS Alliance, a pan-Baltic commercial law partnership, has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Vlasova Mikhel & Partners, one of the largest law firms in Belarus. The step will ease the entry of Baltic businesses into the Belarusian market, allowing them to share in the improving outlooks of that country's economy, the Estonian law firm Tark & Co said. TLS Alliance was formed by Tark & Co, the Latvian law firm Loze, Grunte & Cers and Lithuania's Sutkiene, Pilkauskas & Partners at the beginning of September 2007 to exchange expertise and offer common services. Including the Belarusian law firm, TLS Alliance employs more than 120 lawyers in four countries. The aggregate turnover of the associated companies in 2007 was 9 million euros (140.8 million kroons).

Estonian mobile communications carrier Elisa has turned to the competition watchdog asking that an advertisement for competing carrier EMT be banned for supplying incorrect information. Elisa CEO Sami Seppanen said the EMT slogan "Best coverage across Estonia" clearly gives misleading information to consumers. "Various independent measures show that Elisa has the best coverage in the 10 Estonian cities in which more than half of the Estonian population lives. Elisa provides the best quality of coverage in Tallinn, Tartu, Johvi, Sillamae, Narva, Voru, Valga, Viljandi, Otepaa and Parnu," Seppanen said. "By the measuring results, Elisa had in comparison with other mobile operators the strongest reception, best speech quality and largest percentage of successful connections in Tallinn," he said. Speaking for EMT, Kaja Pino said the company does not plan to change its slogan, "as EMT remains the quality leader and we're not speaking here about specific sites in cities," but rather about Estonia as a whole.