The Legal 500

BA-HR is ‘characterised by speed and accuracy as well as superior commercial understanding’. Svein Gerhard Simonnæs is ‘very bright, capable, solution oriented and extremely responsive’, and Lars Norheim is ‘a very good legal adviser, and a great discussion partner’. Peter Hammerich and Børre Sofus Arnet are ‘extremely knowledgeable and offer high standards’ in asset management and regulatory advice. Arne Tjaum assisted Axel Springer through its €82m take-private offer for Oslo Børs listed StepStone. Other members of an excellent department include Robin Bakken, Geir Mikalsen Bjørn Gabriel Reed, Morten P Smørdal, and Rune Svoren. Clients include JPMorgan, Orkla and Posten Norge.

Advokatfirmaet Schjødt DA is ‘definitely one of the best law firms, and not as expensive as some of its competitors’. Einar Caspersen is ‘structured in his approach, dedicated and very knowledgeable’, Dag Sigvart Kaada is ‘practical and provides excellent service’, and Knut Smith-Erichsen is ‘flexible, understands our business, and gives good advice’. Jon Kristian Sjåtil, Viggo Bang-Hansen, and Anne Gro Sundby led the team advising software major Visma when KKR acquired 77% of the company’s stock in autumn 2010.

Selmer ‘offers unparalleled client service in relation to corporate advice’. Marius Juul Møller, highly rated for his ‘transactional advice and general legal judgement’, joined from DLA Piper. The corporate practice is led jointly by Dag Erik Rasmussen, who is ‘as good as anybody else in town’, and Are Herrem, who is ‘proactive and commercial’. The ‘smart, hard-working and commercial’ Thomas Michelet led the team which assisted Njord Gas Infrastructure to acquire a 9.5% interest in the Gassled Transportation System joint venture. Anne Kjølseth Ekerholt has responsibility for the Russian desk. Selmer’s clients include Morpol and Polaris Media.

Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS ‘provides senior resources with the ability to give answers without spending time writing endless memos and e-mails’. Hans Cappelen Arnesen’s group includes Kim Dobrowen, ‘by far the best lawyer, proactive, and always on top of the job’, and Anders Arnkværn, ‘based on our experience, one of the best, if not the best, lawyer in Norway for large M&A or capital markets transactions’. Lars Eirik Gåseide Røsås is ‘a future star, a good team player with high quality delivery’. Recent instructions include counselling Norsk Hydro through the NOK10bn acquisition of the aluminium operations of Vale SA.

Wiersholm ‘do first-rate work, always very responsive and accessible, and well positioned in the market’ Erik Thyness has ‘the ability to extract relevant aspects of complex questions and give concise and relevant advice’. Ståle Gjengset ‘thinks the big picture and give practical advice’. The group recruited Harald Hellebust, ‘probably the best Norwegian corporate lawyer of his generation’ from DLA Piper. Jarle Kvam led the team which advised Cisco Systems in the acquisition of Tandberg and Eystein Eriksrud counselled Subsea 7 through its NOK15.8bn merger with Acergy.

Wikborg Rein offers ‘high levels of availability and delivery within a business-oriented and pragmatic approach’. Ketil Bøe is ‘strong on service, industry knowledge and commercial understanding’. Per Anders Sæhle is ‘an excellent lawyer in all respects’; Sahle, with Lars Kaspar Andersen, led the corporate department work for Brazilian mining giant Vale on the sale of its aluminium business to Norsk Hydro. Sigurd Opedal is ‘young and dynamic, but already very self confident and accurate in his legal advice’ Leif Petter Madsen leads the expert group, which houses Susanne Munch Thore, Marius Gisvold and Cecilie Kvalheim. Wikborg Rein’s clients include Yara International and Pareto Group.

Aabø-Evensen & Co Advokatfirma ‘is very strong, very quick and pragmatic – terrific guys to work with’. The specialist boutique handles some very large deals and has a blue-chip following of sophisticated investors. In 2010, highly recommended Ole Aabø-Evensen and a team closed Gjensidige’s purchase of Citibank’s Norwegian consumer banking business.

Arntzen de Besche has built ‘a group of young, talented lawyers – so the bigger law firms shouldn’t get too comfortable’. Geir Evenshaug is ‘a very good corporate lawyer with the ability to see the big picture’; Per Dagslet ‘a very good project leader through legal processes involving multi-national legal advisers’; and Erlend Bakken is ‘extremely practical, goal oriented and concise’. Terje Granvang and Trond Vernegg contribute vast experience to the group and are also highly recommended. The firm assisted Oslo Børs-listed Opera in its acquisition of the Australian company FastMail.

Advokatfirmaet CLP DA ‘has the same approach as the best US/UK law firms I have worked with and offers very responsive, commercial, on-point legal advice’. Lars Gunnar Aas is ‘a very rounded deal lawyer: intelligent, charming and totally committed’, and Fred Arthur Andersen is ‘top rank on industry knowledge, flexibility and relevance of advice’. The firm assisted Thomson Reuters through the acquisition of energy sector information provider Point Carbon. Edvard Cock, Alexander Lund and Kjetil Vågen are recommended. Clients include Cubera and Energy Future Invest.

Advokatfirmaet Haavind AS, ‘the upcoming firm – young and energetic’, offers a ‘deal team which delivers high quality, speed and service – it also knows how to align the advice to the situation at hand’. Practice leader Kjetil Hardeng is ‘excellent at managing client service’ and ‘a strong co-ordinator of his team’, while Preben Brecke is ‘dedicated, driven and can really move a transaction forward’. Bjorn Brevik and Amund Fougner Bugge represented Inflexion Managers on the sale of Viking Moorings to HSBC-controlled Venice Fundco. Clients include Telenor and Atea.

Simonsen Advokatfirma DA ‘always offers really good support with swift, useful and to-the-point responses’. Ståle L Hagen leads the group, particularly strong in the telecoms, infrastructure and mid-tier offshore sectors, and which continues to win clients such as ST1 Norge AS, and Fjord Line. Claus Flinder, Henning Øvrebø and Leif Tore Rønning are among the recommended ‘senior specialists’. Per Arne Damm assisted Norwegian Transport Network through the sale of 16 subsidiaries to Scandinavian Shipping Group.

Advokatfirmaet Steenstrup Stordrange DA’s lawyers are ‘very good at pressing forward and closing deals’. Ingar Solheim is ‘pragmatic, quick, efficient and experienced – one of the best private equity lawyers in Norway’, and Robert Sveen is ‘very efficient and dedicated on deals’. Suzanne Schneider represented Read on its NOK170m takeover by a syndicate including Energy Ventures. Odd Erik Johansen is also recommended. Clients include Icap Energy and private equity houses including TPG and EQT.

Kluge Advokatfirma DA’s recent partner appointments, Thomas Naalsund from the Attorney General’s office and Atle Degrè, who was head of legal at the Oslo Børs, give more Oslo weight to a team previously concentrated in Norway’s ‘petro-capital’ Stavanger. Thomas Abrahamsen is ‘calm and collected, a wise counsel in difficult situations’ and Snorre Haukali ‘a highly experienced and skilled generalist’. The firm’s clients include Lyse, Scana Industrier and PipeFlex.

Kvale Advokatfirma Da provides ‘professional and effective service’. Robert Romansky has ‘great experience in the field of corporate and M&A and very good negotiating skills’. Christian Stang Våland, Øystein Løken and Thomas Farhang are also recommended. Clients include Bilfinger Berger and Tele2.

Advokatfirmaet Vogt & Wiig AS’ shipping sector expertise has expanded into a wider corporate offering which encompasses the offshore sector. Christian Ditlev-Simonsen and Erlend Lous led the advice on Saga Tankers IPO on the Oslo Axess exchange, and Alf Nielsen and Kristin Farstad represented Data Invest when the company was sold to Nova Analytics Deutschland. Other respected and experienced members of the practice include Børge Knustad and Bjørn Kise.

Brækhus Dege Advokatfirma ANS’ Bredo Stabell represents international corporates including Fuji-Siemens Computers and Wincor Nixdorf. Stein Hove, an expert in the fisheries sector, and Ivar Barstad, are known for providing comprehensive corporate advice to medium-sized Norwegian businesses.

DLA Piper’s Marius Lysell Andresen is ‘proactive and business minded’. Fredrik Lykke advised Netconnect ASA through its Oslo Axess IPO. Tord Eide is recommended for transactions in the IT, media and entertainment sectors. The group advises in numerous inward investment assignments and acted for Singapore listed Ezra Holdings in its $250m acquisition of Aker Marine Contractors.

Advokatfirmaet Grette DA offers ‘good service and response in mid-tier transaction work’, and is particularly recommended where IP issues are involved. Roland Mörsdorf now heads the team and leads the firm’s successful German desk; Mörsdorf led the corporate work when Flow Dynamics was sold to UK-based Zeta-pdm. Dag Horsberg Hansen and Jacob Bjønness-Jacobsen are recommended. The firm’s clients include Moelven Industrier and Euronics Norge.

Advokatfirmaet Hjort has attracted a strong following of clients who use the firm for comprehensive legal services, to which the corporate department provides ‘very thorough professional skills and good advice’. Rolf Trolle Andersen leads the team which includes Ragnar Østensen and Jørn Uggerud. Clients include Unilabs Norge and Oslo University.

Advokatfirma Ræder DA provides a ‘professional responsive service at reasonable cost’ to mid-size corporates. Jan Martin Fjellestad heads a solid group of business law generalists, in which Carl Garman Clausen is also highly recommended. Well experienced in start ups, the firm took both Thin Film Electronics and Idex to Oslo Axess exchange listings.

Bing Hodneland advokatselskap DA provides effective all-round corporate advice to small and medium sized businesses. Ståle Granerud, who includes petroleum law within his broad practice, ‘understands complex matters quickly and provides appropriate solutions without delay’. Clients include Polo Ralph Lauren.

Føyen Advokatfirma DA’s corporate group is now integrated with the firm’s real estate team although assignments in other business sectors are undertaken; the group represented Oslo Børs listed Itera in the sale of an IT-consulting subsidiary. Ottar Egset is ‘good at closing negotiations’ and Johan Henrik Vister ‘solid and efficient’. Clients include Saga Corporate Finance and JBN Corporate.

Advokatfirmaet Nordia DA’s Bjørn Hanestad and Inge Fredriksen lead the Norwegian corporate group. The practice acts for Johnson & Johnson and BDO Noraudit.

Advokatfirmaet Sverdrup DA has now established a presence in the corporate law market and, in particular, Terje Sverdrup Mår is recommended for franchise instructions; he assisted Sport 1 Gruppen with group franchise contracts.