Christina Georgaki, the founder and managing partner of Georgaki & Partners Law Firm, has established herself as a formidable force in the realm of business law and foreign direct investments. With a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Thessaloniki and an MBA from the University of Macedonia, Christina's passion for law and business has driven her to create a firm that specializes in providing legal and consulting services to foreign investors. Over the past seventeen years, her firm has facilitated over 9,000 FDIs and secured 3,500 residence permits, making a significant impact on Greece's economic landscape.

In our interview, Christina discusses the journey of Georgaki & Partners, highlighting the firm’s specialized services in sectors like real estate, hospitality, agriculture, energy, and pharmaceuticals. She shares her strategies for building a successful network of associates, the importance of tailoring legal approaches to individual client needs, and her continuous pursuit of knowledge through various prestigious certifications. Christina also delves into the role of technology in modern law practices and her vision for the future of her firm and the legal industry in Greece.

I founded Georgaki & Partners after leaving university, having achieved a Bachelor of Laws from my home University of Thessaloniki and an MBA in Business Administration from the University of Macedonia. I have always had a deep interest and love for the legal profession, and my studies cemented this alongside a new fascination for business and finance management. From here, I decided to focus on business law, and founded Georgaki & Partners after observing a gap in the market, whereby other law firms who operated across various fields would seldom offer specialist turn-key solutions to foreign investors. I knew that with my expertise and commitment, I could make a success of providing comprehensive legal and consulting services to newcomers in the Greek market.

Since then, Georgaki & Partners has helped thousands of people and organisations realise their dreams in Greece – not just through helping them navigate the relevant procedures to invest or live here, but to go above and beyond by providing expert advice and assurance at every step of their journey. In the past seventeen years, we have successfully completed over 9,000 Foreign Direct Investments, and 3,500 residence permits. We support clients across industries including Real Estate, Hospitality, Agriculture, Energy and Pharmaceuticals and – alongside our core business facilitating Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) - provide support for Corporate Structuring, Banking and Finance and Tax Planning.

Within this diverse product offering, we have helped in the establishment of a new airline and facilitated the creation of a large pharmaceutical facility from the ground up. These ventures have significantly contributed to Greece's economic landscape, creating numerous job opportunities, fostering technology transfer, and boosting local economies. Georgaki & Partners today sits as a leading organisation supporting FDI into Greece, with offices in Athens, Thessaloniki and London, and a committed team of 20 associates and lawyers.

At Georgaki & Partners, we have an extensive associate network of elite lawyers in Greece and Cyprus, and offices in Thessaloniki, Athens, and London. This has not come about by accident – we strive to employ leading experts in FDI and business law, who are able to deal with clients in a dedicated and professional manner, and in numerous different languages.

Our market-leading position as providers of investment migration and FDI services makes us one of the leading organisations at which to practice in these fields, helping us to attract and retain some of the best talent. Both I and my other partners at the firm, Theodore Vazakas and Alexandros Vartzopoulos, have a strong network and presence in the industry on which we are able to lean. Finally, we are fortunate that the legal landscape in Thessaloniki is so strong, with my alma maters the University of Thessaloniki and Aristotle Law School both providing a world-class pool of graduate lawyers for us to attract to the firm, where they are able to continue their professional development.

Georgaki & Partners was founded on the pillars of integrity, commitment, and client-centric values, coming together to provide the best possible service. We therefore recognise that there is a balance to be struck between respecting those immovable parts and processes of the law that need to be navigated in order to make a client’s journey a success, but also to tailor how we approach each case to a client’s individual needs and circumstances.

It is important to understand that success in the legal landscape requires comprehensive expertise as a minimum, and so this has to be the starting point for our services. Our team of highly skilled lawyers has therefore been assembled to ensure that we can encompass diverse specializations and provide holistic guidance across various practice areas. Whether it's structuring international investments, understanding visa regulations, or addressing legal challenges, our experts are well-equipped to work through the intricacies of every situation.

Beyond this, we also know that our clients require more than just technical expertise, or to be led through a generalised process. This is what truly sets us apart from other law firms: our ability to provide advice, inspire confidence and share wisdom grounded in our years of expertise.

For me, the act of learning in itself is everything. That’s why I have adopted it as a way of life, both in terms of continuing my formal education, but also as an ethos that I apply to every professional and personal situation that I find myself in. We can never absorb enough expertise and learnings from those around us, and I am privileged in my work to be able to meet and learn from a host of fantastically varied and interesting people and organisations from around the world.

While balancing my legal and political careers, I have become an accredited international commercial dispute arbitrator, took a negotiation masterclass for lawyers at Harvard University, and achieved investment migration certification by the Investment Migration Council. I'm now honing my research skills as a PhD candidate at Warwick Business School. The lesson here is that there is always time for learning. All these courses and qualifications have taught me invaluable skills when it comes to growing Georgaki & Partners and equipped me with a business expertise that I have been able to take into my political career as a Member of the New Democracy Party’s Political Committee.

New technologies bring so many opportunities that law firms such as my own can take advantage of. On one level, AI-driven tools, cloud computing, and legal tech platforms can increase efficiency and complement client services. Meanwhile, tech such as virtual consultations and client portals can improve client engagement, especially for a global client base such as our own and on a lesser scale, sites like LinkedIn are crucial to driving new business.

More widely, the rise of working from home practices have opened up a new market for us as digital nomads look to come and live in Greece, then work remotely for organisations all over the world. My home city of Thessaloniki was recently ranked third in the world for digital nomads, showing how interlinked our main sector of investment migration is with the digital world.

The future for Georgaki & Partners is bright.

On a macroeconomic level, the Greek economy has shown strong growth in recent years, putting the woes of the 2010s behind us thanks to the careful stewardship of New Democracy. Our nation was hailed by The Economist as the ‘top-performing economy of 2023’ for the second year in a row, and if you look at the underlying statistics it’s easy to see why. GDP growth was a healthy 1.2%– well above the Eurozone average. There was an incredible 43% rise in the real value of our stock market, and investment grew by 15%. These successes have been reflected in the successful sales of the last publicly-owned shares in Greek banks, finally shedding the legacy of the financial crisis under Syriza. This economic success story has laid the foundation for new investment, and a business environment that can sustain the growth of a business like Georgaki & Partners.

On a more sector-specific level, the Government has recently reformed Greece’s Golden Visa programme – the main source of investment migration through which we help high net worth individuals access the Greek market. Applications for this programme between 2021 and 2024 more than quadrupled, earning €4.3bn for the economy in the same period. New reforms mean the system has more flexibility. In Attica, Thessaloniki, and on islands with 3,100+ inhabitants, the investment threshold rises to €800,000. Elsewhere in Greece, it will be €400,000. There are two exceptions to these rises in the form of conversions from commercial to residential properties and the restoration of listed buildings maintaining the previous minimum investment threshold of €250,000. By increasing the minimum investment threshold here, the Government are keeping the price of a visa in line with demand. The four-tiered system meanwhile shows a greater sensitivity to the differences between certain property types and locations, meaning investment can now flow in at a greater rate with less disruption to local communities. This sensible approach means the Golden Visa programme remains strong, and Georgaki & Partners are the leading experts when it comes to helping investors access the scheme.

On a personal level, success for me comes through the success of Georgaki & Partners. My role is to guide this firm to new heights and I look forward to doing this alongside my work New Democracy and of course, as a proud mother to my two daughters.

What: Georgaki and Partners Law Firm

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Who: Specialized in Foreign Direct Investments and investment Migration, Christina is the founder and managing partner of “Georgaki and Partners Law Firm” based in Athens and Thessaloniki. During the last 14 years, she has managed to establish an extensive network of associate lawyers in Greece and Cyprus. Christina’s main objective is to meet the needs of each individual client and provide bespoke, integrated legal solutions. Having handled from A to Z each aspect for more than 3000 cases of foreign direct investments in Greece in diversified industries, Christina is equipped with the qualification, knowledge, and experience to operate within an absolutely international and competitive environment, securing her clients’ interests and enhancing their wealth.