Areas of Practice
Alexandros Efstathiou joined the firm as an Associate in September 2015, having completed his traineeship with the firm. His primary areas of practice are EU & competition law, employment law, and administrative law.
Alexandros is further involved in corporate law matters and has experience in the review of corporate documents and the provision of legal opinions thereon. He further assists with the preparation and review of court applications, written pleadings for annulment of administrative acts and public procurement cases handled by the Litigation department.
“Alexandros is professional and very responsive. He will go above and beyond to get the answers for you.” The Legal 500
Admitted
- Cyprus Bar Association (2015)
- European Employment Lawyers Association (2019)
- Young Commonwealth Lawyers Association (2022)
Education
- LLM in International Humanitarian Law & Human Rights, University of Geneva
- LLB in Law with European Legal Studies, King’s College London
Languages
- Greek
- English
- German (intermediate)
- French (basic)
Areas of Practice
Employment, Immigration & Citizenship Law
Examples of Alexandros’ employment and immigration law work include, (i) advising the managers of the consortium that won the tender for the award of concession of the container terminal of the Port of Limassol, (ii) advising the operator of the marine services terminal of the same port, (iii) assisting international providers of information technology in relation to their appointment procedures and employment contracts and (iv) reviewing several employment issues emanating from a multi-million euro acquisition of a Cypriot company by a large South African multinational pharmaceutical company, and many more.
Alexandros has further helped one of Britain’s big four banks with employment issues arising from the closure of their Cyprus branch, and other foreign banks based in Cyprus on matters such as downsizing of their local branch. He has further assisted with the restructuring of the Cyprus subsidiary of one of Ireland’s largest airport and retail holding and management companies, operating the concession of retail shops in the two main commercial airports of the Republic of Cyprus.
During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Alexandros frequently advised clients on restrictive and lockdown measures, vaccination programmes, return to work, remote work policies, and has also acted on behalf of clients in a number of collective redundancy procedures.
Some of Alexandros’ regular clients in the field include one of the UK’s largest tourist operators, one of Cyprus’s main public transport companies, a number of HR recruitment companies, forex firms, financial software developers, and innovative start-ups in the online food delivery market.
Alexandros is recommended as Rising Star in Employment Law for Cyprus by Legal 500 EMEA for 2020 and 2021 and he is a member of the European Employment Lawyers Association.
In the field of European Union law, Alexandros concentrates on anti-trust litigation and concentrations of undertakings of major importance. He has also worked and advised on various regulatory frameworks arising from EU law, such as environmental regulation, agricultural law, product safety, internet regulation, telecommunications and electronic communications, customs, food safety, as well as trade in dual-use products.
Alexandros was part of the firm’s team that successfully represented two companies from the dairy industry in proceedings before the Cyprus Commission for the Protection of Competition, relating to allegations of unfair terms, arbitrary price increases, vertical foreclosure and more, as against the PanCyprian Organisation of Cattle Farmers (POCF) Public Ltd, which controls 80% of the cow milk supply in Cyprus.
Alexandros has further assisted, among others, Societe Generale Bank Cyprus in anti-trust proceedings before the Commission in relation to practices in the retail banking market and currently represents Daimler AG in connection with practices in the market for original spare parts of Mercedes Benz vehicles.
He is currently also involved in anti-trust investigations in the online food delivery market, as well as activities in the animal waste processing market.
Alexandros is recommended as Rising Star in EU & Competition Law for Cyprus by Legal 500 EMEA for 2020 and 2021.
Litigation, Arbitration & Mediation
Alexandros’s litigation experience is mainly in the fields of employment disputes, administrative law and anti-trust litigation. He has also been involved in UNICTRAL-based arbitral proceedings in Cyprus in the past, and he has also taken part in mediation proceedings before the Department of Labour Relations, concerning both individual disputes and collective negotiations between employers and employee representatives.
Alexandros regularly undertakes the review of corporate documents of Cyprus companies and commercial transactions and agreements. He further assists with the due diligence review for important mergers and acquisition projects handled by the firm. Notably, Alexandros has recently assisted and advised on a transaction involving the award of concession of the container terminal of the Port of Limassol, to a joint venture of private sector operators; the sale of Cyprus’s second largest telecommunications operator; the consolidation of two retail banks in Cyprus; as well as one of the largest sales of NPL portfolios made by a Cypriot retail bank.
Public & Private International Law
Alexandros regularly advises clients on the recognition and enforcement of foreign (EU and non-EU) judgments in civil and commercial matters in Cyprus. Prior to joining the firm, he worked at the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies in The Hague as an assistant to the head of a legal team that represented a defendant before the International Criminal Court and attended The Hague Academy of International Law. As such Alexandros has gained experience in the field of public international law. In his practice he has advised on several legal issues arising from the continued occupation of the northern part of Cyprus.
Alexandros is a member of the firm’s team that handled two major cases before the General Court of the European Union and the European Court of Justice, challenging the decisions and acts the European Union and its organs in connection with the “bail-in” measures adopted in March 2013 on the Cyprus banking sector. The 100 Applicants represented by the firm’s team sought compensation for (i) the loss suffered on bank deposits as a result of the adoption of these measures (ii) the depreciation (in both value and number) or elimination of their shares and/or bonds held in local banks. The actions were further challenged before the European Court of Human Rights. Furthermore, Alexandros has also had previous experience as a human rights lawyer in a Geneva civil society organisation and as a researcher in an academic centre in The Hague.
Distribution, Commercial & Franchise Agreements
Alexandros has experience in advising clients on both contentious and noncontentious matters pertaining to distributorships, including advice to foreign principals concerning commercial relationships with their local distributors, such as undertaking negotiations on their behalf, as well as advising on rules on abuse of relationships of economic dependence, unlawful termination, and post-termination compensation rights in such relationships. His clients in this regard have included one of the world’s largest food and drink processing manufacturers and their local distributor, as well as one of Cyprus’s largest dairy companies in the context of anti-trust proceedings.
He has supported an arbitral tribunal in its examination of rules on abuse of relationships of economic dependence in the context of a commercial dispute as to the exclusivity arrangement between a drip irrigation systems products manufacturer and its (Cyprus-incorporated) exclusive worldwide distributor.
Alexandros also regularly undertakes to draft, review and assess such commercial arrangements and advise accordingly.
Telecommunications, Media & Technology Law
Alexandros has knowledge and experience assisting clients operating in the media and telecommunications industry, in particular concerning licensing of radio and television organisations, as well as advice on the regulatory framework of OTT media and satellite uplink services. Alexandros has also advised a digital media and broadcasting company on the content of its own series of documentaries and, in particular, concerning any possible matters of advertising restrictions, while he has also undertaken a due diligence review of Cyprus’s second largest telecommunications company on behalf of its new buyer, and undertook assessment of compliance with all relevant radiocommunication, building and planning restrictions. Finally, Alexandros also assists and has assisted a number of software developer companies and innovative app start-ups with their (re)location to Cyprus and regulatory matters.
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