Nikitas focuses on all aspects of administrative law, with a special focus on environmental, urban and TMT issues and heads the Administrative Law and the TMT departments of the Firm. He is active in both the advisory and the litigation aspects of the field. His clients include telecom companies, water industries, medical devices companies, pharmaceutical companies, medical diagnostic centers, construction firms etc. He regularly represents clients before the competent authorities, Regulatory Bodies and the Courts. He also advises and represents clients on public tenders’ issues.

He is very active in pharmaceutical law cases advising clients on EU and Greek regulatory and compliance matters, preparing and negotiating a wide range of commercial agreements (including, among others, distribution agreements, collaborations agreements) as well as representing pharmaceutical companies and medical devices companies before the administrative courts for various issues (promotion, marketing and licensing of medicines, etc.).
Furthermore, Nikitas also focuses on anti-corruption (including FCPA) and data protection cases and has extensive experience in addressing relevant processes before the competent authorities.

Academic Background

  • University of Paris II, Pantheon-Sorbonne (D.E.A.)
  • University of Athens Faculty of Laws (LL.B.)

Languages

  • Greek
  • English
  • French

Professional Memberships

  • Partner in Koutalidis Law Firm
  • Head of TMT Department.
  • Member of the Athens Bar Association qualified before the Supreme Court.

Recognitions

  • Legal 500 EMEA – TMT (Greece), Recommended Lawyer, 2022

  • Chambers and Partners - TMT (band 1) Top-ranked practice with extensive experience advising major telecoms companies on contractual, transactional and compliance aspects. Also represents clients in commercial and regulatory disputes. Notable practitioners: Head of department Nikitas Fortsakis has long-standing experience in the TMT sector. He represents telecoms companies before civil and administrative courts, as well as the EETT. One client highlights "his directness and the certainty of his legal advice”.

Career Highlights

Recent work includes advice to:

  • Representing before the Greek Courts a company in an over €200m litigation regarding regulatory, white-collar and anti-corruption issues.
  • Successfully representing before the administrative courts, a company in relation to an €1m administrative fine on regulatory and anti-corruption issues.
  • Successfully representing before the Athens administrative court of appeal a Greek telecommunication company regarding a €10m administrative dispute.
  • Advising a medical devices company for its participation in electronic public tenders for the procurement of medical devices, as well as representing the company before public authorities and administrative courts.
  • Advising United Group B.V. in its acquisition of WIND Hellas, one of Greece’s three mobile operators with a total of 4.2 million users and revenues in excess of EUR 500 million annually.
  • Regularly advising various service providers such as Vodafone-Panafon (the Greek subsidiary of Vodafone plc) and Digea SA (a subsidiary of the main privately-owned Greek nationwide television stations offering networking, multiplexing and broadcasting) on all business matters, including major day-to-day issues, regulatory compliance, EMF and antennas installation issues, fining and competition law issues, access rights, as well as on major cases to be litigated, including data protection/interception cases and commercial cases.
  • In addition, he has extensive experience in drafting telecommunication contracts and, in particular, colocation and network sharing contracts, while he has been involved in due diligence exercises in practically most of the important IT companies active in the Greek market, such as Wind Hellas, Hellas on Line and Forthnet. He has close and well-appreciated cooperation with the competent Administrative Authorities in the sector as well as with the competent Ministries. He is advising the Mobile Industry Association, since its establishment. He is present in all debates, advocacy and law-making initiatives for shaping or revising the electronic communications enforcement framework, which gives him invaluable experience and insights into the sector. Regularly advises Bloomberg on regulatory and security policy issues.
  • Successfully represented before the Athens Administrative Supreme Court a Greek telecommunication company regarding a €78m administrative fine imposed by ADAE (Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy) for the interception incident.
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Publications

  • Co-contributor on the in-depth overviews of Chambers and Partners “GREECE: An Introduction to TMT” for the years 2021, 2022, 2023.
  • Co-contributor in Chambers and Partners Global Practice Guides on “Digital Healthcare” for the years 2021, 2022.
  • Co-contributor on Legal 500 Country Comparative Guide “Pharmaceutical Advertising - Greece”, 2022.
  • Co-contributor of the chapter on Technology- Media- E-Communications -Internet: Privacy & Personal Data Protection in the Electronic Communications Sector in the Greek Law Digest (3rdedition 2019).
  • Co-contributor of the chapter on Technology- Media- E-Communications -Internet: Radio and TV in the Greek Law Digest (2ndedition 2016).
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Thought Leadership

  • Participant and speaker to the 2nd Healthcare Law and Policies Conference (2022) on Medical Devices Regulation.
  • Participant and co-speaker to the 2ndCongress of Pharmaceutical law and Ethics: Personal Data in the context of international cooperation against Corruption (on medical -pharmaceutical sector).