Dr. HELENA VARVAYANNIS

Senior Partner

Email

hvarvayannis@vglawyers.gr
Telephone

+30 210 72 56 047

BIOGRAPHY

Helena is a Supreme Court Lawyer, a member of the Athens Bar Association since 1993 and Senior Partner at VG Lawyers. In 1991, she graduated with High Honors from the School of Law of the National and Kapodestrian University of Athens. She holds an LL.M. in International Commercial Law from the University of Kent in the UK since 1993 and in 2014, she gained her M.Sc. degree with High Honors in “International Medicine – Health Crisis Management” from the School of Medicine of the National and Kapodestrian University of Athens. In 2024, she received her Doctoral Degree in Medicine, Suma Cum Laude, from the Department of History of Medicine and Medical Ethics of the National and Kapodestrian University of Athens – School of Medicine.

Helena’s main field of activity is Greek and International Commercial Law (Competition Law, International Distribution & Agency Agreements, Industrial Property – Intellectual Property & International Protection, Corporate Law, Mergers and Due Diligences), Public Contracts Law, Telecommunications Law (Broadband & Cable TV Services and Networks) and Pharmaceutical Products. Among other things, as part of a three–member team, Helena has worked on proposals that were submitted to the Greek Ministry of Trade regarding the amendments to laws on “Unfair Competition” and “Monopoly and Oligopoly Control and Protection of Free Competition”. She participated in a team of legal advisors that represented major Greek and Multinational Pharmaceutical Companies as well as the Hellenic Association of Pharmaceutical Companies (“SFEE”) in cases regarding the fairer pricing of Proprietary Medicinal Products in the Greek market and the application of annulment of the first List of Proprietary Medicinal Products brought before the “Council of State”. She also took part in the team of legal advisors to “OTE Group” (“Greek Telecommunications Organization”) when it was first listed both on the Athens Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, when it founded the “COSMOTE” mobile telecommunications company, the organization’s Pay TV & Broadband Services Project and “OTESAT–MARITEL”, an OTE subsidiary company providing satellite communications in the Greek maritime market. Helena also provides legal services to large–scale national and international construction companies that deal with projects such as highway, tunnel and bridge construction.

She has served as General Secretary of the first alumni society of the post–graduate program “International Medicine – Health Crisis Management” of the National and Kapodestrian University of Athens – School of Medicine. She is a volunteer member of “RSF Hellas – Communications and Rescue Volunteer Team” (“RSF Hellas”), which is a regular member and the liaison office of “Rescue International Assistance League” for Greece and a Certified Training Center of the “Emergency Care & Safety Institute”, as well as an “Educational Partner” of the “Committee for Tactical Emergency Casualty Care”. As a volunteer member of RSF Hellas, she is a Provider of First Aid and a First Aid Instructor certified by multiple prestigious Greek and International Bodies. In this capacity, she also participates in covering First Aid needs of major national and international sports and other large–scale events. Finally, she provides training courses to large groups of management executives and employees of significant private and public corporations on a wide range of topics relevant to First Aid.

Helena is fluent in English (C2 level), has basic knowledge of French (A1) and a good knowledge of Italian (B2).

She is a member of various organizations, including the “Association of Greek Commercialists”, the “University of Kent at Canterbury Society”, the “British Graduates Society”, the “European Resuscitation Council” and the “Metropolitan Museum of Art” of New York. She subscribes to “The Lancet Infectious Diseases”, “Harvard Medical School”, “Mayo Clinic everydayhealth.com”, “CNN Coronavirus Update”, “Research Gate”, “European Society of Cardiology”, “Southern Medical Association”, “Medical News Today”, “Mayo Clinic Press”, “St. Andrew’s First Aid, “My ESC News” “ESC Congress’, “Medscape Neurology”, “Medscape Oncology”, “ERC”, “Jama”, “Nature”.

FIELDS OF ACTIVITY

Greek and International Commercial Law
Competition Law
International Distribution & Agency Agreements
Corporate Law
Telecommunications
Industrial Property – Intellectual Property & International Protection
Mergers and Due Diligences

EDUCATION

National and Kapodestrian University of Athens, School of Law, LL.B.

University of Kent, UK, Faculty of Law, LL.M.

National and Kapodestrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, M.Sc.

National and Kapodestrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Ph.D.

PUBLICATIONS – CONFERENCES

See Helena’s publications below:

“The Diachronic Ethical Approach of the Implementation of Triage in Practice”, Doctoral Thesis, National and Kapodestrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, March 2024.
“Center for Research and Education in Disaster Medicine in the Southeastern Mediterranean – The Establishment of the Research Center”, Master’s Thesis published by the National and Kapodestrian University of Athens School of Medicine Library, May 2014.
“A Centre for Modern Research and Education in Disaster Medicine in Southeastern Mediterranean”, May 2013.
“Copyright Protection for Satellite Broadcasting in the Community”, Master’s thesis published by the University of Kent at Canterbury Library, October 1992.
“Competition Laws of Europe-Chapter IX”, Butterworths, 1995, “Greek Business Law: An Update”, Vol. 6, issue 11, 1995, European Business Law Review.
Comments on the Ministry of Commerce Proposal for the Amendment to Law 703/77, Naftemboriki, 22 July, 1994.
Contributor on developments in Greek Commercial Law to European Business Law Review, Kluwer Law International Publications [Graham & Trotman].
Contributor on the implementation of European Union Legislature in the field of Commercial Law to Corporate Acquisitions and Mergers – Newsletter, Kluwer Law International Publications.
Contributor on topics relating to Commercial Law to International Trade Law & Regulation, Sweet and Maxwell / ESC Publishing.
Publications in European Competition Law Review, Sweet and Maxwell / ESC Publishing, on topics related to the recent amendment to Law 703/77 and Competition Committee decisions.