Martin Tamme

Martin Tamme

Counsel, Senior Associate
Tallinn, Estonia

Martin Tamme is praised by international legal directories Chambers & Partners and Legal 500, according to whom he is "able to deal effectively with complex situations and is an excellent negotiator".

‘Martin Tamme – excellent negotiation skills, always choosing the shortest and most beneficial possible route to the client, even if the process might be quite challenging.’ - Legal500

Tamme Martin v2Leading Individual 2021 v2. Kirsti Martin Paul Helmut Katri   chambers europe 44 v2     chambers global 44 v2    iflr 44

  • About

    Martin Tamme has extensive experience in real estate, planning and construction matters, from planning and financing complex procurement and development projects to complicated cases and disputes that encompass many different fields of law. His best-known cases involve construction of the Estonian War of Independence Victory Column in Tallinn; organisation of the compulsory demolition of a building carried out by an administrative authority for the first time in Estonian practice; preparation of a large-scale legal audit for the state-owned company Eesti Energia which analysed management board liability issues relating to the management exceeding the originally approved budget for Enefit280 shale oil plant; and advising creditors of GILD Arbitrage on restructuring of debts and exercising supervision over management and realisation of assets.

    Martin has long-term and extensive experience in advising railway operators and providing consultation in disputes over railway infrastructure charge both to transport operators and infrastructure operators. He is also experienced in insolvency matters, having advised both creditors and bankruptcy trustees, bankruptcy committees and companies seeking reorganisation protection.

    Martin has been a leader in the development of best practice guidelines for court proceedings at Harju County Court in joint round tables for judges, lawyers and prosecutors and in its implementation since January 2017 in Harju County Court, Estonia's largest first instance court. As Chairman of the Ethics and Methodology Committee of the Estonian Bar Association, Martin is responsible for the internal rules and instructions of the Bar Association. Martin was the work group leader and co-author for the preparation and publication of the commented edition of the Estonian Bar Association's Code of Conduct in 2018.

  • Major Projects
    • 21.06.2023

      Partner Martin Tamme and Senior Associate Silvia Urgas successfully represented Swedbank

      TGS Baltic has successfully represented Swedbank regarding a 1.75 MEUR claim presented against Swedbank by the bankruptcy trustee of the former Swedbank client Alberta Trade OÜ.

      More
    • 04.10.2021

      Advising the Ministry of Environment

      Advising the Ministry of Environment on a wide range of legal aspects related to planning and financing the construction of new environmentally friendly office premises to the ministry, its subordinate institutions and the Estonian Museum of Natural History. The new building is planned as state of art sample of Estonian wooden architecture, encompassing many innovative and sustainable construction methods.

      More
    • 09.04.2020

      TGS Baltic advised a producer of precast concrete products AS Framm on the acquisition of AS Lasbet Tootmine, an undertaking operating in the same field

      With the help of TGS Baltic team, a producer of concrete elements and products AS Framm entered into a transaction by which it acquired an undertaking operating in the same field AS Lasbet Tootmine, making AS Framm the largest producer of concrete elements and products in Estonia.

      More
    • 28.02.2018

      Advising EstateGuru in funding its largest ever P2P loan and entering the Finnish market

      TGS Baltic advised property lender EstateGuru in a cross-border financing transaction where EstateGuru provided a 1,6 MEUR loan to Finnish based printing house Libris Oy for purchasing real estate. With funding the platform’s largest ever loan in the country’s capital, the peer-to-peer platform entered in Finnish market.

      More
    • 16.11.2017

      Helping Estonia’s giant offshore wind project get the green light

      TGS Baltic has successfully represented Estonia's Hiiu County Government in administrative court in three disputes regarding spatial plans providing general conditions for establishing offshore wind farms.

      More
    • 02.08.2013

      Representing the City of Pärnu in a dispute over a property at Esplanaadi 10

      The firm, led by partners Paul Varul and Martin Tamme, represented the City of Pärnu against OÜ Herder in a dispute over the contract for sale of a property at Esplanaadi 10, which resulted in the biggest court victory in the city’s history.

      More
    • Representing Lietuvos Energija and its subsidiary Tuuleenergia regarding the wind turbines of Tamba

      Representing Lietuvos Energija and its subsidiary Tuuleenergia in the process of legalising the wind turbines of Tamba. With the decision of the Supreme Court the use permits of Tamba wind turbines were withdrawn and possible demolition of the turbines was at stake. It was a highly complex case that combined environmental issues, objections from The Ministry of Defence due to impact on radars, foreign investments protection issues as well as state aid issues.

    • Acting as the main legal advisor to Invego

      Acting as the main legal advisor to real estate developer Invego by assisting them on all real estate transactions and negotiations, including drafting financing structures, dealing with distressed assets, involving mezzanine investors, as well as construction and planning issues.

    • Representing the bankruptcy trustee of Werol Tehased against major foodstuffs group Pere

      Representing the bankruptcy trustee of the rapeseed processing plant Werol Tehased (bankrupt) against major foodstuffs group Pere (bankrupt) in voluminous bankruptcy proceedings, including recovering assets that were groundlessly transferred to the parent company Pere.

    • Representing the Estonian Maritime Museum against Nordecon

      Representing the Estonian Maritime Museum against construction company Nordecon in a dispute concerning the reconstruction of the Tallinn Seaplane Harbour.

    • Advising on the sale of shares in the Cinamon Group

      Advising on the sale of shares in the Cinamon Group of companies, owning multiple cinemas in the Baltics, from the GILD Arbitrage venture capital fund to DLT Capital.

    • Advising creditors of the GILD Arbitrage hedge fund in restructuring loans to bonds

      Advising and representing major creditors of the GILD Arbitrage hedge fund in restructuring loans to bonds and creating security and supervisory structure as well as in the first ever bankruptcy proceeding of a fund manager, GA Fund Management (bankrupt), which created a judicial precedent and led to the amendment of provisions concerning the liquidation of hedge funds in the Investment Funds Act.

    • Assisting Timo Houses in entering the Swedish and Norwegian markets

      Assisting modular houses manufacturer Timo Houses in entering the Swedish and Norwegian markets, also advised in a complicated refinancing scheme including changing the main banking partner and attracting mezzanine investments of 1.5 million EUR from private and institutional investors to support the growth of production volumes.

    • Conducting an analysis for the Supervisory Board of the Port of Tallinn

      Conducting a high-profile legal and constructional analysis for the Supervisory Board of the Port of Tallinn with the aim of examining allegations made in the State Audit Offices’ report to the Management Board in the matter of constructing berth No. 17 of the Muuga container terminal.

    • Advising the Estonian Ministry of Defence in construction disputes

      Advising the Estonian Ministry of Defence in construction project management and construction disputes concerning the Estonian War of Independence Victory Column and Amari Air Base, a designated facility for conducting NATO Baltic Air Policing patrols.

    • Conducting a large-scale legal audit for Eesti Energia

      Conducting a large-scale legal audit for the state-owned company Eesti Energia that analyses the liabilities of the management board regarding exceeding the originally planned 190 MEUR budget for the construction of the Enefit280 shale oil plant by 90 MEUR as well as the plant’s profitability.

  • CV

    Memberships

    2012
    Chairman of the Ethics and Methodology Board of the Estonian Bar Association
    2011
    Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
    2003
    Estonian Young Bar Association
    2003
    Estonian Bar Association

    Professional career

    2023
    Counsel, law firm TGS Baltic
    2020
    Partner, law firm TGS Baltic
    2017–2020
    Managing Partner (Estonia), law firm TGS Baltic (formerly Varul)
    2014–2017
    Managing Partner (Estonia), law firm Varul
    2011–2014
    Partner, law firm Varul
    2005–2011
    Senior Associate, law firm Varul
    2004–2005
    Associate, law firm Varul
    2001–2004
    Lawyer, law firm HETA Pärnu

    Education

    2005
    University of Tartu, Faculty of Law, mag.iur.
    2003
    University of Tartu, Faculty of Law, BA