The Chat Chamber

With Ēriks Kristiāns Selga, PhD cand., University Hong Kong, we discussed a variety of topics, including:

• Data governance and data sharing in context of AML;

• Economic and security trends of Europe;

• Resiliency to crises and the psychology of war;

• Perception of historical events;

• Consumption of content and informative spaces, the paradox of free speech and disinformation;

• Legal and cultural identities, as well as responsibility for a state.

Raimonds Slaidiņš, co-founder and senior partner at Ellex in Latvia. In Ellex, he leads the firm’s mergers & acquisitions practice and is part of the Ellex leadership team’s Coordinating Committee.

As American Latvian he shared his path of life which eventually led him to Latvia during the times of change in 1990s and how various coincidences resulted him participating in a foundation of a law firm. We addressed such questions as how hard or easy at that time was to become a lawyer in Latvia with U.S. legal background, what it takes to work in M&A and how to always stay trustful to your gut feeling and stay positive no matter what!

Daiga Auziņa-Melalksne, Head of Nasdaq Baltic markets, CEO Nasdaq Riga, Associate Vice President. 

Adam Bodnar, PhD, Law Professor at SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, ex-Ombudsman of Poland, a former lawyer, human rights activist.

Nils Muižnieks is the Regional Director for Europe at Amnesty International and a previous Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe. We meet at a politically sensitive climate, given the invasion. Despite his broad range of interests, Nils with lightness can link together economics, security, human rights, politics, history, freedom of expression, and trafficking. His witty responses and personal background contribute to the value of the latest discussion, so do listen to it to learn about minority rights, inclusion, international order, refugees, as well as upcoming challenges for Europe.

Attorney Ivo Klotiņš is a managing partner at one of the oldest law firms in Latvia "Klotiņi & Serģis", a visiting lecturer at RGSL, arbitrator, mediator, and a member of the Council of the Arbitration Court.

We discussed his professional experience in the legal field, how hard or easy it is to mediate disputes between the parties, how Ivo decided to choose the path of arbitration as one of his specialties as well as what it takes to be a managing partner at his law firm.

Mārtiņš Mits, Judge at the European Court of Human Rights located in Strasbourg, France, Visiting Associate Professor at RGSL, previous Prorector at RGSL.

In this episode, he shared some very valuable insights on the inner procedures of the Court and the hierarchy of how cases are reviewed and dealt with. We also touched upon the emotionality and objectivity of the judge’s work. Mārtiņš also shared in which cases he has declined cases in the past.

As of the end of 2021, the Chat Chamber podcast by RGSL experienced some minor twist on the 19th episode - our dear beloved host Kristofers Kalniņš-Liberis was replaced by his dear coursemate Markuss Kozlinskis who is also a student of 3rd year in the Law & Diplomacy program.

Attorney-at-law Valts Nerets, who is a partner and the co-head of Dispute Resolution & Risk Management practice in Sorainen Law Firm Latvian office. He obtained one of his Masters at RGSL and currently is one of the guest lecturers in International Sales Law course at RGSL.

During this episode, Valts Nerets shared his views on what it takes to be a partner in one of the largest law firms in Latvia and how important it is to trust your team and their work. We also discussed the need for management, communication skills in the legal field as well as the characteristics of a great lawyer.

Filip Cyunczyk, RGSL Visiting Lecturer, teaching Constitutional Law as well as Law and Politics, Associated Researcher in the Centre for Legal Education, Assistant Professor at SWPS University and Social Theory at the University of Wrocław, Poland, Filip Cyuńczyk.

Human rights in Poland and what it is like to be a professor - some of the topics discussed in this episode. Of course, there are many others as well, explore for yourselves!