Iphigenia Andonakou

Iphigenia Andonakou is an attorney admitted to the Athens Bar Association in March 1999, holder of a Magister iuris postgraduate degree in European Banking and Commercial Law, and an accredited mediator since 2015. Her professional career combines independent practice, long-term in-house legal management and the handling of complex transactions and disputes.

Independent practice since 2015

Since January 2015 she has practised independently in Greece and abroad in matters involving real estate, commercial, company, property, civil, labour and banking law. Her work includes leases and commercial contracts, litigation, claims, enforcement and collection proceedings, business and legal negotiations, dispute resolution, GDPR matters, legal opinions in real estate and commercial law, and mediation in civil and commercial disputes. She has also served as President of a Judging Committee for Objections filed at the National Cadastre.

Head Legal Affairs Manager in a real-estate group

From October 2004 to December 2014 she served as Head Legal Affairs Manager of the Charagionis Group of Companies, providing legal support for the group’s real-estate development, investment and corporate activities. Her responsibilities included managing in-house lawyers and external counsel, analysing and developing strategy in contract, corporate, real-estate and construction law matters, legal due diligence, business negotiations and M&A transactions.

Her experience during the same period also covered litigation, claims, enforcement and dispute resolution, labour law, public and tax law, consumer protection, financial and capital-market law, project finance, securities, public tenders, trade marks and renewable-energy law. Long-term involvement in real-estate investments and corporate decision-making shaped a practical approach to legal risk: legal review is treated not as a formal exercise but as a tool for informed business decisions.

Earlier professional experience

From March 1999 to September 2004 she practised as a freelance lawyer and partner at “Emm. A. Gyzis & Partners, Law Offices” in Athens. Her work included European and Greek commercial law, including tourist, aviation and banking law, business and legal negotiations, financial and capital-market law, company law in Greece and abroad, litigation, real-estate and property law, legal due diligence, legal opinions, project finance, taxation and securities. She also served as a member of First Instance Judging Committees for Objections at the National Cadastre.

Education and professional training

In 1998 she obtained a Magister iuris, Magna cum laude, from Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen in Germany, focusing on European Banking and Commercial Law. This followed postgraduate studies and seminars in European Corporate and Banking Law at the same university. She graduated from the Faculty of Law of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Her later professional training includes accreditation as a mediator in 2015, courses on contemporary financial transactions and the interface of law and accounting, and a 40-hour Athens Bar Association seminar for Data Protection Officers under the GDPR.

Working approach

Her approach is based on the analysis of complex factual and legal issues, strategy development, negotiation and clear communication with the client. Experience both as external counsel and in senior in-house legal management allows a matter to be assessed not only as a legal question but also as a decision with practical, financial and timing consequences.