Notwithstanding, I had an extremely successful career as soon as I graduated from the university. I was invited to work for the government of Lithuania. My expertise in the International and European Union was in high demand and sought after at the time. I was more than delighted to contribute my knowledge and serve the purpose greater than myself. 

Every morning I was waking up with a big smile on my face as I had this amazing opportunity of learning and working alongside some of the highly established and accomplished professionals. I felt a constant hunger for new knowledge so that I could bring value and relevant expertise.

I knew exactly why the client needed a specific setup, structure or a jurisdiction. Everything was carefully thought through, vetted and chosen. We were not chasing just the latest fads or the flavour of the week. We served our clients the best solution we could find in the industry tailored to their specific circumstances, needs and requirements.

My solutions were always legal and compliant, which means that they served the clients’ best interests and protected from unnecessary exposure, which did not make them vulnerable.

I especially loved the quality of connection while working with specific clients and their respective families for a long period of time. I loved the role of their trusted adviser. I very much enjoyed being of service and providing the answers and solutions they required.

I was their first port of call when they needed to vet their potential business partners, specialist advisers, needed to discuss their new business ventures and a possible structure or setup.

I specialised in finding the private banking solutions where the clients met the bank’s criteria and were ideally suited. This means they were always well looked after and their needs were met. Especially, in the challenging regulatory environment where banks started to become more picky with their clients.

I became the go-to person for the clients when things were turning sour and the legal advice they were receiving was inadequate or letting them down. I was sought out by high profile people and their family members. We never specifically marketed to attract these types of clients. 

The word of mouth spread, my professional network and equally my existing clients  thought that I was the right person to handle highly sensitive situations. Especially, where sensitive scenarios involved celebrities, high profile politicians or members of royal families.

Unfortunately, a lot of times it was too late in the process in order to save the clients from a vulnerable position and turn the matters around for them.

Initially, I was looking where I could refer my clients to somebody knowledgeable and competent who was able to work with some of my favourite clients. Only to see that regular traditional lawyers and accountants could not understand my clients’ problems. 

There are specialist rules surrounding international individuals, which is a niche knowledge and requires specialist training and expertise. 

I also did not like seeing how clients were mishandled and exposed by badly trained AML teams not trained to work with ultra high net worth individuals. 

I was a foreigner for the whole of my life. I only lived 3 years of my adult life in my own country of origin. I was born behind the Iron Curtain. I was learning English. However, the real prospect of travel and living the life I wanted became only possible after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

I travelled shortly with my family once my country reclaimed its independence after 50 years of absence from Europe’s political map. We travelled only to find ourselves in a similar situation featured in the movie The Terminal. In the movie, Tom Hanks’ character finds himself at the airport in a foreign country after his country was erased from the political map.

Their substantial wealth did not mean they were accessing the best professional advice for them. On the contrary, their wealth was making them vulnerable.

A lot of my work in this area consists of reversing the consequences of really bad UK immigration law advice given by regulated solicitors. They should know the law, but it was the experience of my numerous clients that this is not the case.

I am regulated by OISC (Office of Immigration Services Commissioner).

My immigration services are listed and promoted by the Home Office on the UK government’s site.

My background in International and European Union law coupled with my experience in public service adds that extra consideration for my clients. I am not just filling out the form, but making sure that my client’s story and circumstances are duly represented, so that it was an easy “yes” from the UK immigration authorities.

I was successful in getting visas approved within 24 hours for politically exposed people coming from the jurisdictions where the UK is not giving out visas as easily even to the elected members of government and its ministers.

I facilitate visa approvals under the rules of international law.

This is another area of expertise which I added because my clients needed this niche knowledge. I undertook the specialist training, which is typically facilitated to benefit the Big4 professionals. I passed professional exams, which have a 20% national pass rate.

I went through this process to bring this expertise and focus on the fiscal affairs of my international clients. The clients were typically coming to me ill-advised. Showing the advice they received about their extensive UK tax liability where in fact there was none under the specific UK tax rules, which is a niche knowledge.

Further legislative changes were introduced to tax high value property. UK tax initiatives targeted sophisticated overseas family wealth structures that hold prime real estate in London.

The UK is well-known for its sophisticated tax avoidance and evasion schemes. Some of our clients were involuntarily caught out by these schemes. It does require a specialist knowledge in order to determine that these are indeed sophisticated tax avoidance and evasion schemes. The international clients walked into them unsuspecting as they relied on the professional integrity of their advisers, which they thought they chose carefully. Only to find that they became the focus of HMRC tax evasion efforts.

In relation to more compliant international clients, efforts to facilitate the exchange of information of overseas individuals tax residents in the UK intensified. UK tax authorities wrote letters to otherwise compliant clients that needed to be appropriately handled.

All these new complex issues required niche expertise and up to date knowledge, which I was more than willing to provide in support of my clients and represented them successfully before the HMRC.

From the very beginning I worked to facilitate only high value transactions. There were the issues how these transactions should be structured and how they fit within the strict standards for compliance.

International high value transactions appear in different shapes and sizes. These are high value prime luxury real estate, art collections, luxury yachts and private jets.

Department for International Trade promoted my services to overseas businesses, which they handpicked to expand to the UK. Not only I was able to secure the necessary UK immigration arrangements for the entrepreneurs and their families, but prepared them to be compliant with UK international taxation requirements, while preserving their bespoke overseas structural arrangements.

I thrive when I am invited to walk alongside my clients as they set out to accomplish their personal, business and investment goals. I find it very rewarding when my clients succeed and accomplish their goals.