Despoina Charakopoulou

Practice Areas

Employment law

Social Security law

Career

Despoina heads our Employment/Labor & Social Security practice. She is an experienced lawyer with extensive practice in employment and social security law. Her legal services encompass providing advice on a day-to-day basis on labour and social security contributions law issues and representation of clients (mainly employers) in trials before courts and authorities for any social security and labour law dispute.

Despoina has extensive experience in the drafting of individual and collective labour agreements, collective redundancies, transfer of businesses in the event of mergers and acquisitions, drafting of remuneration policies and incentive plans, due diligence projects, as well as regulatory compliance.

Despoina has been ranked in EMEA Legal 500 and Chambers Europe Guide as a Rising Star and Associate to Watch, respectively.

Professional Memberships

Admission:

Supreme Court of Greece

Athens Bar Association, 2004

Personal

Education:

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki LLB, 2002

MBA, Athens University of Economics and Business

Industry Sector Expertise

Employment and Social Security Law

Experience

Papapolitis & Papapolitis:

Employment and Social Security

Papapolitis & Papapolitis · Full-time

Mar 2025 - Present · 1 yr 3 mos

POTAMITISVEKRIS:

Senior Associate

POTAMITISVEKRIS

Apr 2009 - Dec 2024 · 15 yrs 9 mos

Greece

Associate

G.K. Stefanakis & Associate Law Firm

Apr 2002 - Apr 2009 · 7 yrs 1 mo

Greece

Work Highlights

Our team advised the Athens Stock Exchange SA (ATHEX) on employment law aspects of Euronext’s public takeover of ATHEX, one of the most high-profile and strategically significant transactions in the Greek financial markets sector in recent years.

The employment team advised on labor and employment matters arising in connection with the transaction, working closely with the firm’s corporate, capital markets, and financial services regulatory teams to ensure alignment of employment-related issues within the broader deal structure and to support its sucessful completion. The team also represented the client in conciliation proceedings before the Organisation for Mediation and Arbitration (OMED) in discussions with employee representatives.

The matter was particularly significant due to its cross-border dimension, the profile of the parties involved, and its importance for the integration of the Greek capital markets into the wider European financial infrastructure.

Our team advised Real Consulting S.A. on the employment law aspects of its transfer of listing from the Alternative Market (EN.A) to the Regulated Market of the Athens Exchange Group (ATHEX), marking a key milestone in the company’s development and growth strategy.

The employment team conducted employment due diligence in connection with the transaction, reviewing employment documentation and assessing employment law considerations arising from the transfer. The team worked closely with the firm’s capital markets and financial services regulatory teams to integrate employment law considerations within the broader listing and regulatory framework.

Our team advised Real Consulting SA on the employment law aspects of the share exchange transaction with the existing shareholders of Open Technology Services S.A. (OTS), involving the acquisition of 100% of OTS’s share capital.

In the context of the employment due diligence the employment team reviewed key employment documentation and assessed employment-related legal considerations arising in connection with the transaction. Particular focus was placed on management arrangements, including the structuring and review of management agreements and related employment terms to ensure consistency with the overall transaction framework. The matter represented a key step in client’s strategic expansion in the technology sector.

Our team advised Philips SA Single Member SA on the employment law and regulatory compliance aspects of the implementation of digital working time recording requirements, remote working arrangements, and broader workforce compliance framework.

The employment team supported the client in ensuring compliance with applicable Greek labour law requirements and group-wide standards in relation to working time monitoring, remote working policies and transparency obligation and the alignment of internal policies with high group-level compliance standards and evolving regulatory expectations.

The matter was particularly significant given the client’s status as part of a multinational group with high compliance standards, requiring careful coordination between local employment law requirements and global internal policies.

We advised the client on the update and harmonisation of its employment policies, internal procedures and HR compliance framework following recent legislative developments in Greece, including Law 5239/2025 and related employment law reforms.

Our Employment team reviewed existing employment documentation, workplace policies and internal processes to identify areas requiring amendment and alignment with the new legal and regulatory requirements. We provided strategic ongoing advice on the implementation of the updated framework, while also assisting the client in mitigating employment and regulatory risks.

This matter was particularly important given the extensive impact of the recent reforms on employers operating in highly regulated sectors, such as financial services, and the need to ensure consistent and compliant HR practices across the business.

Our team provides ongoing legal support to E & K Stergiou General Partnership in relation to its day-to-day corporate and employment matters, acting as external counsel on operational legal issues as they arise.

In addition, we advised the client on the development and implementation of internal compliance-related documentation, including an inclusion and equal treatment policy and a whistleblowing framework, designed to support the client’s internal governance structure and reporting channels, contributing to the formalisation of internal procedures and compliance readiness across transparency, equal treatment and internal risk reporting.

Our role included legal drafting, regulatory alignment and practical implementation support to ensure the effective integration of the relevant policies into the client’s operational framework.

Our team provides ongoing legal advisory support to the client in relation to employment matters.

We also supported the client with the review and update of its employment documentation, including the alignment of employment agreements with recent legislative developments, ensuring that the contractual framework remains compliant with current Greek employment law requirements and reflects updated regulatory standards.

This work is particularly important in the context of an insurance-sector employer operating in a regulated environment, where maintaining up-to-date and legally robust employment documentation is essential for risk management, regulatory compliance and internal consistency across HR practices. Our role included legal review, drafting updates and providing ongoing advisory input to ensure practical implementation of the relevant documentation withing the client’s HR framework.

Clients

Citibank Europe Public Limited Company

Premier Capital Hellas Single Member S.A.

E & K Stergiou General Partnership

HDI Global SE Hellas

Pachopos S.A.

Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking

Interlog S.A.

PORTO HELI HOTEL AND MARINA SINGLE-MEMBER S.A.

Athens Stock Exchange S.A.

Versuni Hellas Single Member S.A.

Vivendo Hellas Single Member S.A.

Real Consulting S.A.

Philips S.A. Single Member S.A.

Education

Awards