Change Starts with Us
Sustainability Report 2022
Reporting period: 1 January 2021 – 30 June 2022

2
Table of contents
Letter to readers from our managing partner	
	
 	
3
Sorainen and sustainability	
	
	
	
	
4
Business and clients	
	
	
	
	
	
6
People	 	
	
	
	
	
	
             11
Society		
	
	
	
	
	
	
16
Environment	
	
	
	
	
	
	
20
Table of contents
Sorainen

3
Letter to readers from 
our managing partner
The last few years have brought a lot of new uncertainties 
and challenges to our region, as around the world. In this 
environment some organisations have chosen to scale down 
their sustainability efforts. We, however, have done quite the 
opposite. For instance, when Covid-19 hit, we launched our 
Shared Mission initiative to provide pro bono assistance to 
projects working to reduce the negative consequences of the 
pandemic; when Russia invaded Ukraine, we immediately 
donated to Red Cross efforts in Ukraine and offered pro bono 
support to Ukrainians; and so on. Overall, we have accelerated 
our sustainability and ESG efforts to new levels, with the 
understanding that our region’s long-term prosperity depends 
to a significant extent on the commitments and initiatives being 
undertaken now. 
During the reporting period we increased our focus on the well-
being and development of Sorainen team, and on creating a 
more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment. As a result, 
our people displayed increased engagement and loyalty. 
We continued to strengthen our operations by launching 
new ESG services, investing in innovation and tech solutions, 
streamlining and intensifying our pro bono endeavours, 
reinforcing our security and compliance systems and 
procedures, and achieving even more alignment in everything 
we do. All the while, we remained firmly committed to our core 
purpose: helping our clients succeed. 
I am glad to present this, our first sustainability report, 
describing our initial progress on a journey that is, of course, 
only starting. I hope that this report will not only shed light on 
our sustainability and ESG initiatives, but will also encourage 
other businesses in our region to promote a sustainability 
mindset, forge partnerships, and build sustainable businesses. 
Letter to readers from our managing partner Laimonas Skibarka
Sorainen
Laimonas Skibarka, 
Managing Partner of Sorainen
“Our region’s long-term prosperity 
depends on the commitments and 
initiatives being undertaken now.”

4
Sorainen and sustainability
In 2021 our approach to the concept of sustainability became 
more streamlined and strategic, and we created a dedicated 
cross-functional team to monitor and improve our efforts 
at the regional and local levels. The work of the sustainability 
team is guided by the Steering Committee, which consists of 
the firm’s partners, senior management, and board members. 
We continue to look for ways to expand our efforts, and at  
the beginning of this year we completed two major steps in 
this regard. First, we launched a new Environment, Social 
and Governance (ESG) service line dedicated to helping 
clients navigate the constantly-changing landscape of  
sustainability-related regulations. 
Second, we established the position of Sustainability 
Officer to embed sustainability and social-responsibility 
principles into the firm’s processes, teams, and projects. Our 
Chief Operating Officer Leda Iržikevičienė leads the firm’s 
sustainability-strategy development and execution.
Sorainen and sustainability
Sorainen
Leda Iržikevičienė
Chief Operating Officer
Our sustainability mindset is firmly encoded in our firm’s core 
purpose – to grow prosperity in the region by helping clients 
succeed in business. Sorainen has adhered to sustainability 
principles since the day of its creation by keeping our impact 
on society front and center in our minds and by following 
best-governance practices, as well as by ensuring fair, safe 
and engaging work conditions for our staff. 
Over the years we have matured and evolved. We have 
created new education projects, such as the Sorainen Stu-
dent Academy and an e-learning platform for our team; we 
expanded pro bono initiatives such as legal clinics and our 
Shared Mission programme; we increased the environmental 
friendliness of our offices in a number of areas, including recy-
cling and purchasing energy from renewable sources; and we 
put additional focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

5
In defining Sorainen’s sustainability strategy and setting targets 
and directions for action we started with the UN SDGs2 closest 
to our heart: 
Even though we are still at the beginning of our journey, we 
believe that transparency in our sustainability endeavours will 
increase the confidence and trust of our stakeholders, as well 
as inspire other businesses to follow a similar path in their ac-
tivities. This report is the first in what will become an annual 
series, with each year’s report describing Sorainen’s sustaina-
bility efforts in all four of the firm’s offices1 between 1 July of the 
preceding year and 30 June of the year the report is produced. 
This year’s report, however, covers the period of 1 January 
2021 to 30 June 2022. 
These annual reports will address our strategy, targets, success 
stories, and points for improvement. We plan to align the method- 
ologies we apply to the production of these reports with inter- 
nationally recognised reporting standards such as the Global  
Reporting Initiative and United Nations Sustainable Development 
Goals (UN SDG), as our data gathering matures.
Sorainen and sustainability
Sorainen
1In Estonia - Advokaadibüroo Sorainen AS, Reg. No. 10876331, in Latvia - Sorainen ZAB SIA, Reg. No. 50203349641, in Lithuania - Advokatų kontora Sorainen ir partneriai, Reg. No. 9400025, and in Belarus - Sorainen and Partners FLLC, Reg. No. 190961147. 
2 Sorainen supports the Sustainable Development Goals, and in this report SDG logos are included for informational and illustrative purposes. This report will also refer to SDG targets and indicators as provided in the Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that was adopted by Resolution of the United Nations  	
  General Assembly A/RES/71/313 (2017), available at https://undocs.org/A/RES/71/313. 
Our sustainability endeavours are built on four pillars: our busi-
ness and clients, our people, our impact on society, and our 
impact on the environment.
Sustainability
People
Environment
Business and Clients
Society
“We believe that transparency  
in our sustainability endeavours  
will increase the confidence and  
trust of our stakeholders, as well as 
 inspire other businesses to follow.”

6
Business and clients
Business and clients
Sorainen
1995
Founding year  
44  
partners
350+  
people in four countries
80,000+  
mandates
15,000+ 
clients
EUR 33.7 million
in revenue in 2021
In working towards our core purpose, we adhere to the 
firm’s corporate values:
Client Focus & Business-Mindedness:  
We help clients succeed by providing exact  
solutions for their business needs.
Excellence & Innovation: We strive for  
excellence in everything we do, and  
everyone on our team plays a part in it.  
We excel through constant personal develop-
ment and innovation. 
 
Teamwork & Sharing of Know-How: While indi-
vidual initiative and creativity are always encour-
aged, teamwork is at the root of everything we 
do.
Ethics & Respect: Reliability, integrity, and hon-
esty are at the heart of our business. We act 
courteously and respectfully towards each other 
and towards everyone we work with.
Sorainen is an international business law firm working as one 
integrated team to fulfil its core purpose – to grow prosperity in 
the region by helping clients succeed in business. 
With 44 partners and more than 250 lawyers and tax specialists, 
we have the resources to support our clients in all business-law 
and tax issues  in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Belarus. 
Since its founding in 1995 the firm has worked on the most 
significant mandates for international and local clients in the 
region, in the process improving the business culture and 
growing investments and prosperity.
We are committed to:
Enhancing inclusive and sustainable economic  
growth and entrepreneurship, as well as em-
ployment and decent work in the region through 
innovation.
Building just, peaceful, and inclusive societies 
by promoting the rule of law and ensuring  
access to justice for all by providing the  
highest level of legal advice, including  
pro bono.
Working to eliminate bribery and corruption, as 
well as taking measures to combat  
terrorism and crime. 
Contributing to the development of effective,  
accountable, and transparent institutions and  
businesses.

7
Business and clients
Sorainen
The Compliance & Quality team is in charge 
of implementing the QMS throughout the 
firm, and for considering and mapping 
all possible risks the firm may face, from 
bank failures to IT risks, fire, theft, money 
laundering, and departing staff or partners. 
Our QMS contains detailed guidelines of 
measures to be taken to ensure compliance 
with applicable laws, regulations, and Bar 
rules, including those related to the respect 
for human rights and the prevention of 
involvement in money laundering, terrorism 
financing, financing of proliferation,corruption, 
and the evasion of sanctions. The guidelines 
apply to all relationships where Sorainen 
provides services to clients – whether new or 
existing. One of the essential parts of these 
guidelines is the procedure related to client 
identification, and it includes the requirement 
that all clients be asked to complete UBO 
(Ultimate Beneficial Owner) forms follow other 
extensive client-onboarding procedures.
The firm trains its people to recognise signs of 
unusual or suspicious transactions, know the 
risks of money laundering, terrorism financing, 
and financing of proliferation, and stay aware 
of the existence and consequences of interna-
tional and national sanctions. Everyone in the 
firm is regularly reminded of the firm’s policies 
in this regard through various trainings and 
other means. Sorainen is committed to con-
ducting business ethically and honestly, and to 
implementing and enforcing systems to ensure 
that bribery is prevented. Sorainen people 
are prohibited from engaging in any form of 
bribery, whether directly or indirectly (such as 
through a third party), and whether actively (of-
fering a bribe) or passively (accepting a bribe). 
Naturally, no cases of bribery were reported or 
discovered during the reporting period.
Operating as a single ecosystem
 
Among the 30 
most innovative law firms in Europe 
according to the Financial Times
EUR 355,000  
invested in knowledge management  
and innovations
EUR 1.7 million  
invested in IT and  
security
0 major  
data breaches or leaks
Sorainen offices operate together as a single 
ecosystem under a single ISO 9001-certified 
quality management system (QMS).  
 
 
 
 
 
 
As part of the onboarding procedure, all our 
staff members are familiarised with QMS 
guidelines and are required to pass a test on 
the rules. They are also provided with regular 
trainings and updates on effective policies 
through various internal communication 
channels and are regularly tested on their 
knowledge. Pursuant to the QMS, we make 
a regular relevant risk assessment and due 
diligence procedures of all our operations, 
and conduct periodical internal and external 
QMS audits. Internal audits are conducted 
each September and external audits are 
conducted every nine months in two of the 
four offices. The most recent external audit 
was conducted in September 2022 and the 
next is planned for May/June 2023.
Ensuring the highest standards  
of compliance
Sorainen’s Compliance & Quality team  
includes the head of the team, several 
compliance specialists, and other carefully 
selected representatives (partners, lawyers, 
administrative personnel, and IT specialists) 
from all parts of the firm. 
In the reporting period

8
Business and clients
Sorainen
Because Sorainen is occasionally faced with 
a potential or actual conflict-of-interest sit-
uation, on either an individual or firm/office 
level, it is essential to have effective controls 
in place. These rules must be followed 
when any new client or case is accepted. 
An extensive list of reasons for refusing to 
accept a specific mandate is set out in the 
applicable QMS Conflict Check guidelines. 
Any potential conflicts of interest that are 
identified are recorded in a register, along 
with a description of the effective measures 
being taken to manage the situation. These 
registered items are reviewed at least once 
a year to ensure up-to-date documentation.
person of our staff had been stolen, resulting in 
a relatively insignificant data leak, involving only 
access to that person’s e-mail and calendar. 
An investigation revealed that no confidential 
information or sensitive personal data was 
involved, and that the personal data that had 
been improperly obtained was limited to the 
names and surnames of a few individuals.
Consistent with our long-standing commitment 
to helping our clients become and stay com-
pliant with applicable laws and regulations, as 
well as providing specific services with respect 
to data protection, due to increased sanc-
tions-related risks our legal team launched a 
new service line related to sanctions compli-
ance at the end of the reporting period.
Confidentiality, privacy,  
and information security
Confidentiality, privacy, and information  
security are the cornerstones of our 
business. Information regarding clients, their 
business operations, and the services we 
provide to them must remain confidential 
unless their consent has been received, or 
where disclosure is required by law. 
No one may make use of any confidential 
client or insider information in their personal 
activities on their own or another party’s 
behalf, either directly or indirectly. We have 
developed a number of organisational, 
technical, and legal-separation-management 
tools in order to ensure that such information 
remains confidential.
No failures to comply with the duty of 
confidentiality, nor any cases of insider trading, 
were identified during the reporting period.
Cybersecurity affects almost every 
organisation today, with significant spikes 
in malicious cyber activity being reported 
by observers around the world. To ensure 
adherence to the best practices and eliminate 
potential data breaches in 2021 our information 
security management system was certified 
under ISO/IEC 27001.
Our IT team is always working to improve 
our IT security systems, and it proactively 
anticipates potential threats and risks – and 
develops relevant prevention mechanisms to 
mitigate them. All staff members are obliged 
to undertake regular IT-security-awareness 
training. Our IT team also provides regular 
updates on new phishing strategies and
shares applicable tips on detecting, alerting, 
and resolving potential cybersecurity breaks. 
No data breaches or data leaks were iden-
tified during the reporting period apart from 
the one incident reported above. Due to in-
creased cybersecurity risks at the end of the 
reporting period our team has also prepared 
brief and publicly available cybersecurity 
awareness materials.
Firm’s board
Sorainen’s Board handles the firm’s  
day-to-day management, makes decisions 
regarding firm-level policies, and is in charge 
of the firm’s economic performance. 
It is made up of a senior partner, (co-)
managing partners, and the country 
managing or co-managing partners of each 
Sorainen office, along with other key persons 
regularly invited to join it. The ten permanent 
members of the Board include nine from 
Sorainen and one individual from outside the 
firm who has more than 40 years of working 
and managing experience in international 
companies. 
The main goal of the external member 
of the Board is to ensure that the firm’s 
management decisions take into account 
the experience of individuals from diverse 
backgrounds and various cultural spaces. 
We realise that the current 20%-to-80% 
female-to-male ration on the Board is not 
satisfactory, and we aim to improve it. 
Updates on this situation will be included  
in subsequent reports.
Sorainen demands that everyone in the firm 
observe all applicable laws, including the 
General Data Protection Regulation and 
other applicable data-protection legislation, 
as well as legislation regulating the legal pro-
fession (e.g., laws and regulations relating to 
confidentiality and the client-attorney privi-
lege). The QMS sets out detailed rules with 
respect to protecting the security and con-
fidentiality of personal data, including when 
data is processed and in audit procedures.
No major personal data breaches were identi-
fied during the reporting period. In November 
2021 we learned that a credential of one junior 
“Confidentiality, privacy,  
and information security are the  
cornerstones of our business.”

9
Business and clients
Sorainen
Among the most innovative  
law firms in Europe
We regularly review our working processes 
to ensure they are as creative, efficient, and 
effective as possible, and we employ cut-
ting-edge technology to share experience 
and know-how between offices, teams, and 
sector groups.
When our lawyers are confronted with an 
issue they can immediately draw on the vast 
experience Sorainen holds across the four 
jurisdictions it operates in, allowing them to 
limit the time they spend on research and 
maximise their focus on creating legal and tax 
solutions that are just right for their clients.
In 2021 the Financial Times declared So-
rainen among the 30 most innovative law 
firms in Europe, shortlisting the firm for “Most 
Innovative Law Firm in Europe (outside the 
UK)” award – the first Baltic law firm ever 
to receive this recognition. We were also 
nominated in the “Innovation in Social Jus-
tice”category for our Shared Mission pro-
gramme. The Financial Times pointed to our 
development and usage of legal-technology 
and automation solutions, such as the Green 
Meadow Document Drafter contract automa-
tion tool (which helped in drawing up the first 
automated complex share-purchase agree-
ment in the region), the xLaw knowledge 
management system, the Nuix data analysis 
tool, and the Jarvis in-house practice man-
agement system, among others.
In 2022 we raised from 27th to the 22nd 
position on the Financial Times European 
Innovative Law Firms list. Sorainen was also 
shortlisted in five categories in the Financial 
Times’ Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe 
2022, this being the highest number of 
nominations of any law firm from the Baltic 
or Nordic regions.  We were once again 
shortlisted for “Most Innovative Law Firm in 
Europe (outside the UK)” award and nom-
inated in the “Learning and Development” 
category for the iKnow e-learning platform; 
in the “Professional Business Services” cat-
egory for our interim lawyers service; and in 
the “Using Data” category for the creation of 
the international-law-firms sector group. In 
addition, Aku Sorainen was nominated in the 
“Innovative Leader” category, as the most 
devoted advocate of the innovation and 
modernisation process.

10
Business and clients
Sorainen
Our clients and ESG services
We have established a well-deserved 
reputation for working on matters that make 
the region greener, safer, and more just.  
At the end of the day, Sorainen is not simply 
doing what it can to check the appropriate 
boxes; instead, it is the preeminent firm on 
the ESG-consulting-services market, and its 
commitment in this regard sets a standard.
The impact of ESG on business continues  
to increase, and making investment 
decisions and organising business 
processes now requires a skillful navigation 
of the ESG-regulatory landscape. In the 
beginning of 2022 we formed a regional 
team of 29 experienced partners and 
lawyers and launched our ESG-advisory 
service to help clients succeed in business 
while remaining compliant with both hard 
and soft ESG criteria. 
Even though the service line consists of 
three workstreams (Environment, Social 
and Governance), our team is dedicated to 
seeing ESG as a whole, and is thus able to 
advise on the subject from different angles 
and foresee the potential risks that clients 
may face. In addition to working with a 
sector-focused approach for which Sorainen 
is known, our experts’ experience with ESG 
allows them to offer clients practical tools, 
such as an ESG checklist to help them 
identify potential ESG-related legal issues. 
Other examples of kinds of ESG assistance 
we provide clients include helping them 
answer ESG-related questions in legal due 
diligence request lists, providing them with 
template documents to navigate ESG, and 
suggesting ESG clauses for different types of 
contracts.
We also invest in educating clients – and 
the market in general – on ESG matters by 
sponsoring webinars, producing newsletters, 
accepting various speaking opportunities, 
and establishing partnerships. For exam-
ple, Sorainen Latvia is a member of the 
Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance, 
which offers educational programs related 
to corporate governance that are designed 
to introduce board and supervisory council 
members, shareholders, and top executives 
to best-corporate-governance principles.
Impactful projects across  
the region
This reporting period has been particularly 
fruitful in terms of the significant and impactful 
projects we worked on across the region. 
For instance, our team advised the Taaleri 
SolarWind II fund (a Nordic investment firm  
specialising in renewable energy) and 
Atsinaujinačios Energetikos Investicijos (a 
Lithuanian private-equity house focusing  
on the energy market) on their acquisition  
of three wind farms from European Energy –  
the largest acquisition in the wind-energy 
sector in the Baltics in the last three years. 
We also advised Atsinaujinačios Energetikos 
Investicijos on the first private-sector 
renewable-energy green-bond issuance in  
Lithuania, which was valued at EUR 25 million.
In Estonia we helped establish and then joined  
Green Tiger (Rohetiiger), a collaboration 
platform of Estonian companies launched in 
2021 to boost environmental awareness and 
form the basis for a green economy. As part 
of this project we analysed legal obstacles 
to food donation, then helped Green Tiger 
to present recommendations to the Estonian 
Chancellor of Justice with the aim to eventually 
improve the regulatory environment for food 
waste reduction. 
We provided assistance to the financing of 
Rigas Satiksme, an organisation designed to 
make the Riga municipality more accessible 
for elderly people, passengers with children, 
and people with movement disorders, and in 
general increase the number of passengers 
in (environmentally friendly) public transport. 
We also continued to advise longstanding 
client Tallinn Public Transport on its efforts 
to effect a full-on sustainability revolution in 
public transportation in the city of Tallinn, 
made as part of the City of Tallinn’s “Make 
Tallinn Green” initiative. 
We helped clients to avoid disputes by 
providing trainings, such as the interactive 
anti-corruption training module we developed 
for the largest hospital group in Estonia, 
seeking to ensure that the nearly 5,000 peo-
ple – and more than 500 doctors – it employs 
are sensitive to potential conflicts of interest 
and other risks in their professional activities. 
“Making investment decisions and 
organising business processes 
now requires a skillful navigation 
of the ESG-regulatory landscape.”

11
People
Sorainen
People
Sorainen’s most valuable asset is its people – more than 350 
lawyers, tax specialists, and business-services professionals in 
four countries. 
The success of the firm depends heavily on the competencies 
and achievements of its people – and their dedication to its 
goals and values. 
We strive to create an environment that allows all the members 
of the firm to achieve their individual professional goals while 
still adhering to our corporate values and ethical standards – 
and of course maintaining our commitment to delivering the 
highest-quality service to clients. 
Sorainen works to develop and maintain a diverse workplace 
where everyone feels included and has equal opportunities to 
succeed. 
We are committed to:
Promoting healthy living and well-being for 
everyone at the firm, including by improving 
access to quality essential health-care servic-
es, medicines, and vaccines.
Promoting lifelong learning by providing ac-
cess to a variety of e-learning materials and 
training opportunities for everyone in the firm.
Empowering female members of the firm staff 
and ensuring equal opportunities for leader-
ship at all levels.
Protecting labour rights and promoting a safe 
and secure working environment for everyone 
at the firm.

12
People
Sorainen
Additional incentives and opportunities for all 
 
EUR 500,000 
invested in learning and  
development
EUR 255,000  
invested in well-being and remote  
work arrangements
 
115  
new team members  
joined 
100%  
of team members receive regular feedback on  
career progression,competency, and performance
73
80
70
60
2018
71
72
72
73
2019
2020
2021
Sorainen employee engagement 
level in 2018-2021
in 2021
In the reporting period
We also support new staff members – and those who return 
after an extended period of leave – with a six-month mentoring 
programme.
Sorainen’s remuneration package consists of salary, an annual 
bonus, sports compensation and/or health insurance, days-
off, sabbaticals, and paid days-off for volunteering. Everyone in 
the firm is able to choose their preferred sports and health ser-
vices from our well-being package. Our bonus system is also 
transparent and objective, ensuring that everyone’s effort is 
noticed and remunerated fairly. We search for and fill pay gaps 
gender equality and to ensure sustainable economic growth 
and decent working conditions for all. During this reporting 
period our salary survey showed that Sorainen had offered 
equal salaries for men and women for the same level positions. 
Not coincidentally, the level of employee engagement has 
been gradually increasing since 2018, according to an annual 
independent survey conducted by Ennova International. 
In addition to maintaining strict compliance with regulatory 
requirements and human-rights standards on matters related 
to our staff’s rights, health, and safety, we have provided 
additional incentives and opportunities to our team, by, for 
example, creating a platform for continuous learning and 
development, introducing flexible working arrangements, and 
providing various monetary and non-monetary compensations 
and bonuses. 
We are committed to ensuring transparency and equality in all  
matters related to career progression. A transparent and 
objective competence model ensures that everyone has the  
opportunity to progress in their career. In addition to the 
obligatory KPIs, people may dedicate certain portions of their  
time to activities of their choosing, such as working on side  
projects or learning new skills. The firm’s partners and 
managers hold regular check-in meetings to provide 
employees with opportunities to gain feedback on their 
performance, and learn what they need to do to progress.

13
People
Sorainen
Focus on well-being
We launched several new initiatives during the 
reporting period pursuant to our commitment to 
creating the best-possible working environment 
for our team. While still recovering from the 
pandemic, and in addition to our annual satis-
faction-and-motivation survey, we started “pulse 
studies” to learn more about how team mem-
bers are doing during these challenging times 
and what more the firm can do to help. 
We began providing staff with an allowance to 
enhance the ergonomics of their home offices, 
and decreased their workload by offering Fri-
day afternoons off during the summer months 
of 2021. Second, as a combined initiative of 
Sorainen’s People & Culture and Sustainability 
teams, we launched a series of trainings ded-
icated to nutrition, the importance of sleep, 
stress management, and other physical and 
mental-health issues. 
We also, in 2021, launched an internal sports 
challenge to inspire our staff to move more 
during the summer and to think of ways to make 
their trips to work more sustainable. In addi-
tion, in 2022, as part of the challenge’s second 
round, we also celebrated World Bicycle Day 
(June 3rd), and encouraged team members to 
cycle to work instead of using their traditional 
means of transport. 
Advancing flexible working  
arrangements
Although pandemic restrictions have been lifted, 
everyone in the firm continue to enjoy the op-
portunity to work remotely. Additional flexibility is 
offered to younger team members who are still 
studying, as they are invited to choose a work-
load that allows them to continue their studies.  
 
To stabilise workloads, we co-operate with 
counsels who can offer us short-term assis-
tance. Team members who wish to have more 
flexible working arrangements can also switch 
to working as counsel or combine working with 
a vacation abroad (a “workation”). An increasing 
number of lawyers worked on a project basis with 
our clients or from abroad, or simply relocated 
temporarily while working remotely during the 
reporting period. 
 
Learning and development  
innovations
At Sorainen we strive to build a culture of learning 
for everyone in the firm. We created the iKnow 
e-learning platform, which provides a rich pool of 
training materials and tailor-made learning jour-
neys for all staff levels. 
We subsequently strengthened it by adding an 
onboarding programme for new staff members 
and those who have been on a longer leave. The 
platform also contains flexible options for learn-
ing about our organisation’s culture and policies 
through online lectures and tests. We will keep 
developing iKnow to make the learning process 
more accessible and compelling.
In addition to e-learning opportunities, all Sorainen 
newcomers receive live trainings from top man-
agement (on topics such as Client Strategy and 
Organisational Development, among others) and 
comprehensive trainings from business-services 
departments. The combination of e-learning and 
live trainings provides a good introduction to and 
explanation of the firm’s vision and goals, as well 
as providing practical suggestions, recommended 
strategies, useful tips and guidelines, and more. 
In addition, both internal and external trainings 
on professional skills are organised to ensure the 
continuous development of the competencies 
that are expected for each level of seniority based 
on the Sorainen Competency Model, with up-
dates regularly provided in Practice and Sector 
Groups trainings organised on local and regional 
levels. We also pay special attention to developing 
our leaders from very early stages, and newly pro-
moted partners are expected to participate in a 
one-year comprehensive onboarding programme. 
“The level of employee engagement has 
been gradually increasing since 2018,  
according to an annual independent survey.”

14
People
Sorainen
Sorainen team in numbers
Board
Partners
Business Service Heads
22%
78%
28%
72%
Associates
Lawyers
59%
41%
88%
12%
77%
23%
88%
12%
71%
29%
64%
36%
63%
37%
Male / Female 
Distribution Per Career Level
Counsels
Senior Associates
Assistant Lawyers
Business Services
Business Services Team
Legal Team
Lithuania
Estonia
Latvia 
Belarus
20%
80%
12%
30%
34%
24%
Shedding more light on diversity, equity, and inclusion
We believe that diversity and inclusion strategies are the catalysts for success and innovation in 
the workplace. In 2021 a task force was created to systematise the efforts in this field. We aim to 
improve gender balance at all levels for both legal and business-services teams. 
For example, we realise that current representation of women in senior legal roles is insufficient. 
While no strict KPIs have yet been set, since 2021 we have launched a number of initiatives to 
facilitate awareness of female-leadership issues and to deal with the so-called “glass ceiling” that 
women might face on the way to senior roles, including partnership. During the most recent pro-
motion round, in 2022, the number of male and female partners promoted was equal. Currently, 
the female-to-male ratio of staff on the development track is 87% to 13%.  We are particularly 
encouraged by this ratio, as it reflects only the personal achievements and hard work of the indi-
viduals involved, rather than any firm-imposed quota.  
We conducted a survey to understand the gaps in our workplace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 
strategies. Based on the results we identified a few main directions for improvement, including: 
setting more measurable KPIs to allow us to track and understand the impact of our efforts in this 
field; adding more training materials to the iKnow platform; adding more perspectives to the ques-
tion of diversity and begin looking at it in ways beyond gender; providing more mentoring oppor-
tunities to emerging female leaders; and increasing the ways we encourage a diverse, inclusive, 
and equitable culture on both organisational and individual levels.

15
People
Sorainen
Ethics and respect
One of our core values requires everyone in our firm to act 
courteously and respectfully towards each other, and towards 
everyone we work with. As a knowledge-based organisation, 
Sorainen is dependent on the professional qualities and person-
al skills of its people. The firm strives to be a good employer for 
all its people and to offer an attractive working environment.
Sorainen appreciates the contributions of every member of 
its team and is committed to maintaining a workplace where 
people are treated with dignity and respect. We stand firmly  
opposed to unlawful discrimination and act quickly to address 
and rectify any behaviour that could create an offensive, 
hostile, or intimidating work environment. Our primary 
principles are described in the Ethical Code of Conduct in 
the QMS. They include respectful behaviour, equal treatment, 
diversity, ensuring a healthy physical and mental environment, 
and leading by example. 
For Sorainen to keep its working environment attractive and 
free from harassment and discrimination, team members are 
expected to report suspected violations of the Ethical Code  
of Conduct. The respective grievance procedure is described 
in our QMS.

16
Society
Society
Sorainen
At Sorainen, we are proud of our long-stand-
ing culture of respect for and engagement 
with the community. As a law firm, we believe 
that among the greatest impacts we can have 
on society is using our knowledge of and 
expertise with the law to provide access to 
social justice, quality education, and the build-
ing of strong institutions.  
 
Throughout our more-than-25 years, we 
have established different ways to provide 
pro bono legal assistance, built cooperation 
with non-profit organisations and educational 
institutions, contributed to the law-making 
process, and spoken up in the media on 
controversial legal issues to promote our 
values and improve the economic environ-
ment in the region. Each year the firm allo-
cates more than EUR 100,000 to pro bono 
assistance to organisations and individuals in 
need of legal assistance.
Shared Mission programme 
 
Among the major initiatives in this area that 
we have continued to implement during the 
reporting period is our Shared Mission pro-
gramme, which was originally launched in 
2020 to provide free legal and tax advice to 
entities working to help our region recover 
from the health and economic crisis caused 
by the Covid-19 pandemic. 
After the success of the 2020 Shared Mis-
sion programme, we decided to make it a 
During this reporting period we have also 
contributed to other pro bono endeavours, 
such as: 
Donating EUR 50,000+ for  
humanitarian aid to the Red Cross 
in Ukraine and offering pro bono  
legal and tax services to more 
than 30 Ukrainian NGOs, busi-
nesses, and people in need. By 
the end of the reporting period, 
we had devoted more than 300 
hours of legal assistance to issues 
of immigration, donations, corpo-
rate establishment, and employ-
ment, among others.
Promulgating a new pro bono pol-
icy aimed at ensuring the provision 
of high-quality legal and tax advice 
to all our pro bono clients, as well 
as streamlining our pro bono ef-
forts into strategic action. 
Enhancing our cooperation 
with TrustLaw – a pro bono 
legal service of the Thomson 
Reuters Foundation connecting 
high-impact NGOs and social 
enterprises working to create 
social and environmental 
change with the best law firms 
and corporate legal teams for 
free legal assistance.
EUR 100,000 
invested in pro bono each year
EUR 55,000  
donations in response to the 
Ukraine crisis
 
75  
students graduate from the Sorainen 
Student Academy each year
12%  
of Sorainen team  
members volunteer
part of our sustainability strategy and run it 
annually by selecting specific projects each 
year involving innovative solutions to current 
environmental and social problems that we 
believe can contribute to increasing pros-
perity and eliminating injustice in society. 
The programme allows these promising and 
innovative projects, which might otherwise 
lack access to critical legal and tax services, 
to develop efficiently. Thus, although the 
programme was launched in 2020 to fight 
the consequences of the pandemic, its 
focus moved to health innovations in 2021, 
and to innovations in the environmental 
sector in 2022. 
The success of the Shared Mission pro-
gramme can be measured by the way the 
projects we support have developed with 
our assistance, for instance by attracting 
additional investments to allow scaling of 
activities, by building proper confidentiality 
and data-protection mechanisms to comply 
with regulatory requirements and ensure that 
privacy is preserved when dealing with sen-
sitive issues such as health matters, and by 
transforming ideas into formalised business-
es with real potential for further growth. 
The Shared Mission programme is a one-
of-a-kind initiative in the region, and in 2021 
Sorainen was nominated in the “Innovation in 
Social Justice” category by Financial Times 
for the programme’s success.

17
Society
Sorainen
We are committed to:
Ensuring inclusive and quality education by 
providing scholarships and free-of-charge ed-
ucational and training opportunities for youth, 
and supporting those team members who 
teach and/or lecture at universities and other 
academic settings.
Supporting technological development,re-
search, and innovation by providing pro bono  
legal advice to innovative projects and con-
tributing to the improvement of applicable 
regulatory frameworks.
Promoting a just, peaceful, and inclusive 
society by contributing to the development  
of effective, ethical, accountable, and trans-
parent institutions and businesses. 
Ensuring public access to justice and pro-
moting the understanding of the rule of law 
by providing legal advice at the highest level 
and working on numerous pro bono projects.
emy, we also strive to improve the diversity of our participant 
pool, not only from the perspectives of ethnicity and gender 
but also of academic background, in part by drawing students 
from different law schools all over the region. 
In addition to the Sorainen Student Academy, we promote qual-
ity legal education in the region by supporting moot courts and 
the activities of local and international law-student societies and 
associations. In addition, around 7% of our staff actively lecture 
in the universities or are involved in other educational endeav-
ours such as coaching moot court teams, mentoring young 
people in job-shadowing days to provide them with a closer 
look at jobs they find appealing, and providing prospective stu-
dents with scholarships and other sponsorship arrangements. 
“We believe that among the greatest impacts 
 we can have on society is using our knowledge 
of and expertise with the law to provide 
 access to social justice, quality education,  
and the building of strong institutions.”
Sorainen Student Academy
The Sorainen Student Academy is a free-of-charge educational 
programme for law students from the Baltic States and 
Belarus. The programme includes local workshops dedicated 
to specific legal fields and based on real cases, international 
moot court projects, and mentoring and networking sessions 
for participants. 
The Sorainen Student Academy aims to expand students’ 
practical legal knowledge by considering real client matters 
in an interactive format, including simulating court sessions, 
negotiating and representing client interests, and offering 
legal services to clients. It also helps students make their 
first steps in building an international professional network 
and become acquainted with the corporate culture of an 
international law firm.
Around 15% of each year’s Student Academy cohort are invit-
ed to stay with the firm as interns and deal with real legal is-
sues under the supervision and guidance of our professionals. 
While trying to attract the most talented students to the Acad-

18
Society
Sorainen
Improving the legislative environment  
and boosting innovations
Sorainen lawyers cooperate with governments, business 
associations, and other stakeholders to improve legislative 
environments in the region. 
Around 6% of our staff are members of boards of various 
organisations, institutions, and committees. Sorainen lawyers 
fight for a legal environment that is entrepreneur-friendly and 
less bureaucratic and contribute to the crafting (and drafting) 
of new laws.
To support innovation in the region we assist startups every 
step of their way, and we work to create a better business 
environment for them by improving relevant legislation. We 
provide startups with free-of-charge packages of model 
documents and mentoring (as we did with, among others, 
the EstVCA working group, in cooperation with the Latvian 
Investment and Development Agency), we collaborate with 
accelerators (such as the sTARTUp Hub), angel investors, 
and venture capital unions, and we help startups and inves-
tors find each other.
Sorainen has been present as legal adviser on either 
the startup’s or the funders’ side in 5 out of 13 trans-
actions that have given birth to the Baltic unicorns. 
Many of them have sustainable mission at the core of 
their business. 
Bolt 
on a mission to build cities for people, not cars 
Veriff
seeking to bring transparency to the digital world –  
making it safer for everyone online
Printful 
on a mission to make on-demand manufacturing  
the norm for a planet with finite resources and  
people with infinite ideas

19
Society
Sorainen
During the reporting period, we also created 
opportunities for our people to volunteer, 
raised funds, donated and supported culture 
and arts.
The firm offers one day off per year to all 
employees to do charitable work. During the 
reporting period, around 12% of our staff 
members participated in volunteering activities 
such as planting trees, collecting garbage 
in forests, helping animal shelters, assisting 
charitable organisations that distribute food to 
those in need, and helping the Red Cross. In 
2022, two additional days off were offered for 
Ukraine-related volunteering activities.
In Latvia, we organised the annual Christmas 
charity auction, the funds raised were donated 
to three projects – radio Dod Pieci Christmas 
project, mental health-focused organisation 
ESI and the Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Volunteering and supporting  
initiatives that we believe in
In Lithuania, we donated to the Ancient 
Woods foundation dedicated to preserving 
the old-growth forests of Lithuania and sup-
ported the largest cinema event in the coun-
try – Vilnius International Film Festival “Kino 
Pavasaris”.
In Estonia, we organised an auction and do-
nated the collected funds to medical workers 
through the PAI project. We also gave Christ-
mas gifts to kids at children’s homes in the 
Estonian communities of Rakvere, Tudulinna, 
and Viljandi, in cooperation with the Naerata 
Ometi MTÜ charity. 
Sorainen was also recognised by the Estonian 
Ministry of Culture with the title of Friend of 
Culture of the Year for museums. We have to 
thank our long-time partner the Estonian Art 
Museum for this title. Since 2016 we have 
used the occasion of our annual client event 
to take guests to visit the art museum’s exhi-
bitions and other exciting projects and sup-
port the museum.

20
Enviroment
Sorainen
Environment
69% of office areas are 
BREEAM/LEED certified
66% of office areas are  
powered by renewable energy
Sorainen recognises that the world faces 
significant environmental challenges and that 
a healthy environment is a prerequisite to the 
achievement of our core purpose: increas-
ing prosperity and general well-being in our 
region. While remaining fully committed to 
being a market leader, we understand the 
importance of implementing and demon-
strating sustainable thinking and practices in 
all aspects of our business.
As the essence of our business activity is 
being a professional-services provider, we 
believe our environmental impact is relatively 
low, with the primary sources being:
Business travel.
Procurement practices.
Energy consumption.
Paper use.
Employees commuting  
and home offices.
“We are committed to contributing to 
reducing harmful environmental impacts by 
developing sustainable procurement and 
consumption patterns in our offices, and  
reducing waste through prevention,  
reduction, recycling, and reuse.”
A total of 69% of our office areas in the four 
countries we operate in have BREEAM/LEED 
certification, and 66% are powered with re-
newable energy. All offices are committed to 
sort and recycle waste, avoid non-recyclable 
materials, and use energy-saving equipment. 
We have also implemented electronic doc-
ument management practices in all of our 
internal and external operations to the extent 
possible under local legal regulations.  
In the reporting period a number of measures 
were introduced to further reduce the envi-
ronmental impact of our activities.
 
More sustainable daily choices 
 
We are refining our procurement habits to 
make daily choices more sustainable and 
environmentally friendly by:
Initiating a revision of  
procurement policies. 
IIcreasing the amount of  
plant-based food and drink  
options for our staff. 
Making a commitment to  
prioritise local purchases.
Using eco-friendly cleaning  
materials where possible.
Introducing guidelines for  
sustainable events.

21
Enviroment
Sorainen
Raising our team’s awareness
We have made a lot of effort to raise our 
team’s awareness on the need to preserve 
the environment. We were providing training 
and workshops on digital waste and cleanup,  
mindful and sustainable consumption, and 
balcony gardening; sharing a number of 
local-specific tips on how to make daily 
routines and habits more sustainable; and 
introducing a sustainability section to our 
regular internal-communication newsletter.  
In addition to that, we:
Introduced a new hybrid working 
model recommending 2-3 days of 
working in the office each week 
to decrease the environmental 
impact of commuting, and 
increasing the amount of shared-
working places.  
Are supporting environmentally 
friendly means of mobility, for 
example by organising summer 
walking and cycling challenges. 
Decreased the amount of paper 
we use by making double-sided 
printing the default option and 
by requiring the use of a card for 
those wishing to print in three of 
our four offices. 
Removed individual rubbish bins 
in three of our four offices. 
Provided bicycle-storage spaces 
in three of our four offices. 
Organised planting trees and 
collecting garbage in forests as 
office volunteering activities.  
 
Helping clients reach their  
climate goals
We dedicated the 2022 round of the 
Shared Mission programme to companies 
innovating in the environmental field. We 
expect that our pro bono advice to this year’s 
participants, who are working on innovative 
environmental projects such as sustainable 
farming, maximising solar energy in buildings 
to ensure lower energy costs, eliminating 
food waste,  among other things, will have a 
positive impact on the environmental agenda 
across the region.
Additionally, we joined the World Law Group’s  
impact events in 2021 and 2022, which were 
dedicated to raising awareness of ways to 
contribute to global environmental projects.
Our next steps
Assessing the environmental im-
pact of our activities in the second 
half of 2022 (and then regularly 
thereafter).
Upon completion of this first 
assessment, we plan to set addi-
tional measurable environmental 
goals to further reduce our impact 
in accordance with internationally 
recognised standards. 
As a longer-term commitment, we 
plan to implement an Environmen-
tal Management System and have 
it certified under ISO 14001.

22
Get in touch with us
If you have comments or questions about this report, or you 
would like to find out more about our sustainability journey, 
please, contact us at sustainability@sorainen.com. 
To learn more about how our team can support you on your 
ESG journey, please contact Vitalija Impolevičienė, our co-head 
of ESG service line, at vitalija.impoleviciene@sorainen.com.
© Sorainen 2022 All rights reserved
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