Zepos & Yannopoulos announced today that Smaragda Rigakou has joined the firm as a Partner and Head of its Capital Markets & Financial Services Regulation practice.
Smaragda brings extensive experience in the capital markets and financial sector. For more than 15 years, she has advised banks, investment firms, funds and fund managers, fintech companies and, more broadly, financial institutions, as well as listed companies.
In this capacity, she has handled licensing matters for entities supervised by the Bank of Greece and the Hellenic Capital Market Commission, as well as issues relating to their ongoing compliance—and that of listed companies—with legal and regulatory obligations. Her expertise covers, among others, organizational requirements, corporate governance, transparency and ESG matters, as well as contractual relationships with clients.
At the same time, she has been heavily involved in capital markets work, providing legal support in IPOs, public offerings and takeover bids, as well as in complex domestic and cross-border transactions involving listed companies. Her experience also extends to trading and post-trading matters.
"Smaragda's proven track record in advising financial institutions, listed companies and market infrastructures, combined with her active role in shaping key legislative reforms at both domestic and European level, makes her uniquely placed to lead our Capital Markets & Financial Services Regulation practice," said Dimitris Zepos, Managing Partner of Zepos & Yannopoulos. "Her addition marks an important step in the firm's growth, reinforcing our capacity to guide clients through an increasingly complex regulatory landscape."
Prior to joining our firm, Smaragda served as General Counsel and Chief Legal, Regulatory & Compliance Officer of the Athens Exchange Group, now Euronext Athens, where she worked for 8 years. Earlier in her career, she worked at leading law firms.
In recognition of her contribution to the capital markets sector, the World Federation of Exchanges included her among the top 20 Women Leaders of the industry.
Her contribution to the development of financial regulation is equally significant. She has participated in numerous legislative drafting and advisory committees, as well as in national and European fora for the reform of capital markets law. Among the most important reforms to which she has contributed are those relating to listing requirements and procedures, equity-based crowdfunding, the DLT regime, as well as the transposition of key directives such as MiFID, the UCITS Directive, AIFMD and SRD.
Smaragda is General Secretary of the Managing Committee of the Hellenic Union of Listed Companies, a member of the Advisory Committee of the Hellenic Capital Markets Commission, and a member of the Steering Committee of the Stock Market of Euronext Athens.
Beyond her legal career, she has notable academic activity. She teaches as an academic associate at the University of Piraeus and at the Law School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and has delivered seminars and published studies in the fields of state aid law, EU law and banking regulation, with her most notable work being her monograph “State Aid for Addressing the Financial Crisis.”
She is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Greece.