Bernitsas: Greece

Key contacts

Managing Partner: Panayotis Bernitsas

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Quick facts

# Partners

# Other qualified practitioners

Total number of practitioners (worldwide)

Languages

Greek, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish

Network memberships

Legal Sustainability Alliance

Key practice areas

Banking and finance

Banking

Project finance

Capital markets

Capital markets : Debt

Capital markets : Equity

Financial and corporate

Corporate and M&A

M&A

Project development

Social media feeds

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Firm overview

Bernitsas is a market leader in commercial law services in Greece. The firm provides sound, practical legal solutions, taking into account clients' commercial reality and priorities. With long-term relationships comes unrivalled insight into clients' operations. Teams work across departments to provide specialised, consistent, high-standard service in line with international ethical standards.

Key practice areas

Asset finance
Banking
Capital markets: Debt
Capital markets: Derivatives
Capital markets: Equity
Capital markets: High yield
CLO/CDO
Competition
Covered bonds
Financial restructuring
Financial services regulatory
Hedge funds
Investment funds
M&A
PPP/PFI
Private equity
Private equity funds
Project bonds
Project development
Project finance
Real estate finance
Real estate funds
Restructuring and insolvency
Securitisation
Structured finance/securitisation
Trade finance

Key practice contacts & recent matter highlights

Athanasia Tsene
Banking
E:atsene@bernitsaslaw.com

Bernitsas advises EBRD on a portfolio guarantee of up to €98.5m to Piraeus Bank.
Bernitsas advises Lana Securitization S.à r.l. on Asterias Portfolio.
Bernitsas advises Piraeus Bank on two secured bond loans by ETVA VIPE.

Maria Nefeli Bernitsa
M&A
E: mnbernitsa@bernitsaslaw.com

Bernitsas advises Ethniki Insurance on inaugural €100m Restricted Tier 1 and €100m Tier 2 issuances.
Bernitsas advises Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA on its indirect acquisition of two hospitality companies.
Bernitsas advises on PPC €4.25bn successful equity capital raising.

Nikos Papachristopoulos
M&A
E: npapachristopoulos@bernitsaslaw.com

Bernitsas advises Eurobank on new €600m Fixed Rate Green Senior Preferred Notes due 2033.
Bernitsas advises Piraeus Bank on €500m Senior Preferred Fixed Rate Reset Callable Notes due 2032.
Bernitsas advises Aktor on its indirect acquisition of 75% in HELECTOR and THALIS.

Sector expertise

Aviation
Automotive
Banking
Construction and materials
Consumer goods and services
Energy
Financial services
Food and beverage
Gaming
Government and public policy
Healthcare
Industrials
Insurance
Investment management
Media
Mining
Natural resources
Oil and gas
Pharmaceutical and life sciences
Real estate
Social infrastructure
Technology and telecommunications
Tourism
Utilities

Address:

Lykavittou Street 5

Athens, 10672

Greece

Tel:+30 210 339 2950 Email:Contact Us Web Address:https://bernitsaslaw.com

Social:

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2027 Edition

Banking and finance

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Capital markets

21 firms ranked

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M&A

34 firms ranked

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Project development

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Bernitsas

Linked Reviews

Financial and corporate

Founded in 1946, Bernitsas Law advises on all areas of business law. It is among the most prestigious firms in the market with over 50 lawyers based in Athens under the management of Panayotis Bernitsas. This year, the debt capital markets team, led by counsel Alexia Kefalogianni, acted as Greek law counsel to Attica Bank (renamed CrediaBank) on the establishment of a EUR 1 billion Medium Term Note Programme and its inaugural concurrent issuance and offering to international and domestic institutional investors through a bookbuilding process of €100m Non-Cumulative Temporary Write-Down Deeply Subordinated Fixed Rate Resettable Notes (AT1 Notes), and €150m Tier 2 Fixed Rate Resettable Callable Subordinated Notes due 2035. This transaction was the first time that a Greek bank issued concurrently two different regulatory capital instruments. The equity capital markets team, led by Nikos Papachristopoulos, acted as leading Greek counsel to Metlen Energy & Metals on its dual listing on the London Stock Exchange and Athens Stock Exchange. Both transaction won the Impact Deal Award – Greece at the IFLR 2026 Europe Awards. Key clients of the firm include Helleniq Energy, Hoist Finance, Apollo Capital Management, Piraeus Bank, National Bank of Greece, CrediaBank, Eurobank, Metlen Energy & Metals, Optima Bank, Aktor Group, Masdar, CVC, Vodafone, Apivita, Kosmocar, Gastrade, EBRD, and Olympia Odos.

Testimonials
‘The firm has an excellent team, sharp and clear advice, and availability. Their advice is always spot on and clear allowing non legal people to understand all risks entailed and take informed decisions.’ (Banking & Finance)
‘Bernitsas Law distinguishes itself through its extensive experience and solution-oriented mindset. The team is proactive, hands-on and highly responsive, demonstrating a strong commitment to meeting deadlines. In addition, the team maintains close and continuous oversight of each matter. Their reliability and engagement make them a trusted advisor throughout the transaction lifecycle.’ (Banking & Finance)
‘Bernitsas Law Firm wasexcellent to work with. They brought strong Greek public M&A, capital markets and regulatory expertise to a transaction with a number of novel and highly technical features, including the interaction between a Greek-listed operating group, a new UK plc holding company, the Athens Exchange, the London Stock Exchange and the relevant Greek and UK regulatory processes.’ (Capital Markets: Equity)
‘What stood out most was their ability to provide practical, transaction-focused Greek law advice in a way that integrated well with the wider international execution process. They were responsive, commercial and collaborative, and were able to translate Greek legal and regulatory requirements into clear, actionable advice for an international working group. That was particularly important given the number of moving parts, including tender offer mechanics, regulatory approvals, listing and delisting steps, settlement and shareholder communications.’ (Capital Markets: Equity)
‘The team had a strong understanding of how Greek regulatory and market practice issues would affect the broader transaction timetable and documentation. They were constructive in helping the working group identify practical solutions, manage dependencies and anticipate points that needed to be discussed with regulators, market infrastructure providers or other Greek advisers. In my experience, they combined technical depth with a sensible and solutions-oriented approach, which is exactly what is needed on a complex cross-border capital markets transaction.’ (Capital Markets: Equity)
‘Ifound the team easy to work with: responsive, approachable, calm under time pressure and willing to engage collaboratively with UK counsel, the banks, the company and the wider adviser group. Their advice was clear and reliable, and they were an important part of keeping the Greek aspects of the transaction aligned with the broader UK / international process.’ (Capital Markets: Equity)
‘We appreciate the firm’s professionalism, high quality of services, and immediate responses.’ (Capital Markets: Structured Finance and Securitisation)
‘The team is very cooperative, responsive,and able to resolve uprising issues.’ (Financial Services Regulatory)
‘The whole team have exceptional technical expertise as well as commercial awareness.’ (M&A)
‘Their responsiveness was fast and they gave practical, clear and proper advises for our business needs. They consist of highly professional lawyers that possess deep knowledge of our automotive industry, and they are really client focused.’ (M&A)
‘Bernitsas Law stood out for their deep expertise and exceptional command of the legal and financial issues involved. Their team was highly skilled, fully dedicated to the project, and consistently provided clear, accurate guidance. What impressed me most was their responsiveness — they were always available, quick to act, and proactive in addressing complexities. Their combination of technical knowledge, professionalism, and reliable support made them an invaluable partner for this type of work.’ (Project Development)
‘We appreciate their professionalism and ability to work under strict deadlines.’ (Project Finance)
‘I work with Nikos Papachristopolos and he is my preferred choice for Greek counsel. He is always responsive, practical and a pleasure to work with. The firm isalso competitive on fees and go the extra mile to help with tricky questions and ensure smooth relationships.’ (Capital Markets: Debt)
‘Athanasia Tsene is brilliant, knowledgeable, and always providing on the spot advise. Athanasia can explain extremely complex legal issues in a very clear way to non-lawyers allowing them to take informed decisions.’ (Banking & Finance)
‘Sildia Fotopoulou is a really good lawyer always keen to support. She is smart, nice to work with and reliable.’ (Banking & Finance)
‘Evangelos Mamalakisis highly meticulous and very detail-oriented in his work, ensuring accuracy and thoroughness at every stage of the proceedings.’ (Banking & Finance)
‘George Margaritisis highly responsive and provides accurate legal advice.’ (Banking & Finance)
‘Maria Nefeli Bernitsahas a calm and measured style, which was particularly helpful where issues required careful handling across Greek and international workstreams. She was approachable, responsive and pragmatic, and helped smooth the process by ensuring that points were discussed in a collaborative way and that the relevant stakeholders remained engaged and aligned.’ (Capital Markets: Equity)
‘Evi Kitsou is handling for the last 17 years all day-to-day activities of our company. She is perfect in coordinating requests and bring us in contact with the specialized partner or associate. I dare to say that Evi is the cornerstone of our cooperation with Bernitsas Law.’ (Financial Services Regulatory)
‘Dimitris Roussis always meets strict deadlines despite complexity and workload. He is always proactive.’ (Financial Services Regulatory)
‘Lambros Belessis has good technical expertise, is efficient and pragmatic.’ (M&A)
‘Anastasia Kaiara is effective, works within deadlines, and has good technical expertise.’ (M&A)
‘Eleni Stazilova was an exceptional collaborator throughout our engagement. She demonstrated deep subject‑matter knowledge and a strong command of the legal and financial aspects involved. Her work was consistently accurate, well‑reasoned, and aligned with the business objectives of the project. Eleni was also highly responsive and flexible, always adapting quickly to evolving needs and providing clear, practical solutions. Her professionalism, reliability, and ability to translate complex issues into actionable guidance made her contribution invaluable.’ (Project Development)
‘Yannis Seiradakisis an excellent collaborator and a partner our company can always rely on. He provides efficient and business-oriented solutions, tailor-made with the company needs. He is a real asset for Bernitsas Law Firm; we highly value his work and commitment.’ (Project Finance)
‘Stella Papakostais a talented lawyer with deep legal knowledge; she provides excellent legal services.’ (Project Finance)

Deal Highlights

134 results134 results

Sort by

Deal Name	Deal Date	Firm Name	Jurisdiction	Deal Type	Lawyer Names	Client Names	Client Role
Eurobank Ergasias SA - Bond Issue	2021-09-01	Bernitsas	Greece	Bond issue		Eurobank Ergasias SA	Issuer
Piraeus Bank SA - Bond Issue	2021-10-01	Bernitsas	Greece	Bond issue		Piraeus Bank SA	Issuer
Piraeus Bank SA - Bond Issue	2021-11-01	Bernitsas	Greece	Bond issue		Piraeus Bank SA	Issuer
Citigroup; Piraeus Bank - Securitisation	2020-01-08	Bernitsas	Greece	Securitisation	Athanasia Tsene	Citigroup, Piraeus Bank	Underwriter
Thomas Cook Group Tour Operations - Restructuring	2020-10-01	Bernitsas	Greece	Restructuring	Athanasia Tsene	Thomas Cook Group Tour Operations	Liquidator
Intrum - Securitisation	2020-01-03	Bernitsas	Greece	Securitisation	Athanasia Tsene	Intrum	Securities trader
Hellenic Petroleum - Financing	2020-12-31	Bernitsas	Greece	Financing	Athanasia Tsene	Hellenic Petroleum	Investment manager
OTSM Societe Anonyme of Maintenance Compulsory Stocks and Trading of Crude Oil; Hellenic Petroleum - Securitisation	2020-01-12	Bernitsas	Greece	Securitisation	Athanasia Tsene	OTSM Societe Anonyme of Maintenance Compulsory Stocks and Trading of Crude Oil, Hellenic Petroleum	Financial adviser
Apollo Global Management - Securitisation	2021-01-01	Bernitsas	Greece	Securitisation	Athanasia Tsene	Apollo Global Management	Financial adviser
Vodafone - Project finance	2020-09-01	Bernitsas	Greece	Project finance	Yannis Seiradakis	Vodafone	Project developer
First State Investments - Project development	2021-02-25	Bernitsas	Greece	Project development	Yannis Seiradakis, Nikos Papachristopoulos	First State Investments	Sponsor
Intercity Buses Association; Athens Metro - Project development	2021-02-25	Bernitsas	Greece	Project development	Yannis Seiradakis, Dimitris Roussis	Intercity Buses Association, Athens Metro	Sponsor
Gastrade - Project development	2021-02-25	Bernitsas	Greece	Project development	Yannis Seiradakis, Dimitris Roussis	Gastrade	Project developer
Hitachi Zosen Inova - Project development	2021-02-25	Bernitsas	Greece	Project development	Yannis Seiradakis	Hitachi Zosen Inova	Project company
North Star Group - Project development	2020-12-01	Bernitsas	Greece	Project development	Yannis Seiradakis	North Star Group	Project company
Piraeus Bank - Bond issue	2021-10-27	Bernitsas	Greece	Bond issue	Nikos Papachristopoulos	Piraeus Bank	Issuer
Mytilineos Group - Bond issue	2021-04-28	Bernitsas	Greece	Bond issue	Nikos Papachristopoulos	Mytilineos Group	Issuer
Motor Oil Hellas Corinth Refineries SA - Bond issue	2021-07-08	Bernitsas	Greece	Bond issue	Nikos Papachristopoulos	Motor Oil Hellas Corinth Refineries SA	Issuer
Eurobank - Bond issue	2021-04-29	Bernitsas	Greece	Bond issue	Nikos Papachristopoulos	Eurobank	Issuer
Eurobank - Bond issue	2021-09-10	Bernitsas	Greece	Bond issue	Nikos Papachristopoulos	Eurobank	Issuer

Bernitsas

Greece

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