The Legal 500

BA-HR’s ‘hourly rate is high but experience shows that the total billed amount is quite often lower than similar sized law firms’. The firm has attracted a blue-chip corporate following for broad-based dispute resolution expertise. Clients include Aker Marine and Siemens. Sam Harris heads an indisputably expert 11-partner group which includes Jan-Fredrik Rafen, ‘without doubt the best marine insurance lawyer in Norway and therefore probably in Scandinavia’. In recent complex instructions, Helge Olav Bugge represented Oppland Energi in the Eidsivating Appeal Court in a dispute over power delivery prices. Gunnar Sørlie acted for Pfizer and Eisai & Co in the Aricept litigation, one of the most significant Supreme Court patent cases of recent years.

Advokatfirmaet Hjort, with 14 lawyers admitted to the Supreme Court, ranks as an excellent litigation firm that ‘is super on the strict juridical part’ although some clients comment that it is less focused on other means of resolving disputes. The expertise on offer ranges from public and criminal law, to high-value commercial disputes. In the autumn of 2009, Erik Keiserud led for Statoil in a five week trial against the Norwegian State and ExxonMobil; the original claim of some NOK14bn was reduced to NOK400m. Else Bugge Fougner, who ‘understands the game, and plays hard’, has wide experience of professional liability claims. Alex Borch represented Herikla in proceedings following a failed investment in Poland, and Frode A Innjord and senior associate Anne Marie Due led the work in a major constitutional law matter involving the Norwegian State and the Church of Norway.

Advokatfirmaet Schjødt DA has a dispute resolution team which provides ‘very good service, but sometimes we notice that it has too many ongoing cases’. For complex IP disputes, Halvor Manshaus is ‘an experienced and talented litigator with great technical insight’. Vidar Strømme is recommended for oil and offshore industry litigation: he represented ExxonMobil in two major cases. Other commended sector specialists include Nils-Henrik Pettersson for construction matters, and Ingvald Falch and Dagfinn Clemetsen for tax disputes. Senior lawyer Thomas Horn represented publisher Cappelen Damm in a libel case which reached the Supreme Court.

Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS’ dispute resolution group, headed by Frode Elgesem, includes nine partners skilled in litigation, and alternative resolution procedures, eight of whom are admitted to the Supreme Court. Representative recent instructions include a NOK250m contracts dispute settled by senior associate Margrethe Buskerud Christoffersen after extensive mediation. In court litigation, Erik Samuelsen and Borgar Høgetveit Berg represent SAS in a torts case alleging unlawful use of business secrets which is being appealed to the Supreme Court. Carsten Riekeles is recommended for offshore sector disputes, and Anders Pind for construction matters.

Wiersholm’s litigation group houses 19 attorneys admitted to the Supreme Court. Magnus Hellesylt appeared for dairy producer Tine in complex, long-running litigation brought by the Norwegian Competition Authority for alleged violations of competition law. Anders Ryssdal and Olav Perland continue to represent leading banks including Fokus Bank and DnB NOR in major class actions over retail structured investment products. Employment guru Jan Fougner’s ‘special strength is the ability to present complicated legal matters in a manner that lay people are able to follow’. Clients include Norwegian Hull Club and Hegnar Media.

Arntzen de Besche has eight partners committing in excess of 50% of their time to the practice, and generally offers ‘good levels of service’, although clients think that ‘business and industry knowledge could sometimes be better’. Employment and seaman’s law expert Tron Dalheim is ‘the perfect lawyer, always on time, and excellent in court’, and Stig Gunleiksrud, who handles oil and gas and TMT instructions, is ‘very analytical and thinks creatively about alternative approaches’. Kåre Moljord and Fred Gade acted successfully for a lawyer accused of undue influence in the drafting of a will by relatives of the deceased. Terje Granvang and Thomas Nordby are highly recommended. The firm’s clients include Gjensidige Forsikring and Petroleum Geo-Services.

Kluge Advokatfirma DA has a strong litigation offering, with seven partners dedicating more than 50% of their time to dispute resolution. The firm is regularly instructed by the Norwegian State; the most recent partner recruit Thomas Naalsund acts for both the Tax Administration and the Ministry of Defence in heavyweight litigation and other partners have represented the Ministry of Agriculture. Senior lawyer Lars Ivar Nyland acts for Mesta in high value litigation over ‘staff poaching’, and Harald Kobbe represented long-term client AF Gruppen through a lengthy contractual dispute which settled out of court at appellate level. Christian Galtung is also recommended.

Advokatfirmaet Steenstrup Stordrange DA’s Ian Kenworthy heads an ‘organised, professional and thorough’ team with a nationwide presence, which handles several hundred court cases a year, usually commercial and occasionally white-collar crime. Morten Steenstrup is ‘extremely thorough, professional and consistent’, and Erik Myrh Nilsen ‘consistently solves problems’. Bjorn Stordrange represented forestry owners Løvenskiold Vækrø in the Supreme Court in Environment Information Act litigation.

Advokatfirmaet Vogt & Wiig AS litigators have ‘a strong commitment to winning cases, and we always feel we have their attention and priority’. The expert shipping litigation team is headed by Ingar Fuglevåg and Frithjof Herlofsen who are currently assisting a client with a $300m claim against a Norwegian maritime insurer. Bjarte Grønlien and Arthur Duus represent Ability Drilling subsidiaries in a NOK900m dispute with TTS Group over the cancellation of rig contracts. Partners in specialist departments also undertake litigation.

Wikborg Rein’s litigation group is particularly strong in maritime claims, whether litigated or arbitrated, but is also recommended for competition, real estate and IP matters. Per Ristvedt is ‘excellent in court – he punches home the points that win the cases’. Dag Steinfeld became the first lawyer to argue a class action case under the new procedural legislation in Norway, representing two hundred shareholders in listed DNO International against the Norwegian State. Morten Goller and Sven Eriksrud are recommended. Clients include Orkla, Gjensidige and Transocean.

DLA Piper’s ‘service attitude is superb’. Runar Hansen’s team includes Knud Knudsen who ‘excels in litigation – he understand the law in question, and procedural law’. Cecile Haavik is recommended for disputes with an IP element, and Are Hunskaar commended for construction disputes work. Stein Hegdal is representing Lidl in litigation against two major Norwegian construction consultancies, Asplan Viak and F Holm.

Føyen Advokatfirma DA’s Preben Haugmoen Mo leads a group whose attorneys regularly appear before the Court of Appeal and occasionally before the Supreme Court. The team represented internet service provider Altibox AS for the Norwegian Supreme Court in connection with a civil claim for disclosure of the identity of a subscriber. Karl Marthinussen and Jostein Ramse are recommended.

Advokatfirmaet Grette DA achieved a high rate of Supreme Court appearances during 2009/10 and also saw three partners achieve qualification as Supreme Court attorneys. The firm is particularly strong in patent law; Amund Brede Svendsen appeared before the Supreme Court in Kvassheim vs SINTEF, a complex and precedent patent matter. Svein Ruud Johansen is also an expert in IP. Anne Cathrine Røed is recommended for construction and public procurement disputes. Lars Jørstad Francke acted for the defence in one of Norway’s largest ever construction cases.

Kvale Advokatfirma Da’s litigation group houses Jens Brede, a skilled courtroom performer and experienced hand in arbitration tribunals. Lars Trygve Jenssen and Arne Seemann Berg are both expert in IP, and Thomas Farhang is recommended for tax controversy. Christian Stang Våland is an accomplished Supreme Court performer. Clients include Bilfinger Berger, Pihl and Statoil.

Simonsen Advokatfirma DA offers nine partners admitted to the Supreme Court and has restructured the litigation offering to span other practice groups. Knut Boye heads the team. Rune Ljostad appeared for the Norwegian Video Federation and others in the Altibox litigation. Peter Simonsen, who is ‘intelligent and efficient, with great presentation and social skills’, is as skilled in arbitrations as in court cases. Karin Fløistad and Sigurd Knudtzon are recommended.

Bing Hodneland advokatselskap DA’s ten partners all handle contentious work although the more complex instructions are handled by Supreme Court advocate Ole Tokvam, and Magnus Ødegaard who acted for the artist Pushwagner in one of the most media-focused legal disputes in Norway last year.

Advokatfirmaet Haavind AS deals with contentious matters within appropriate practice groups. The firm is recommended for construction disputes and during 2009/10 appeared in the only two construction cases to reach the Supreme Court. Rasmus Asbjørnsen, Johnny Johansen, and Olav Bergsaker are all recommended for construction matters and public procurement. Harald Arnkværn focuses on pensions and labour law.

Kyllingstad Kleveland Advokatfirma DA is recommended for contentious work in the offshore, oil, gas and marine sectors. Eirik Høiby and Per Kyllingstad have been joined by Lasse Hagen, who was previously a member of the Nordisk Defence Club legal department and brings international expertise to the team. Clients include Nexans, Aker Solutions and Subsea 7.

Advokatfirmaet Lund & Co DA’s Stein Erik Stinessen, Caroline Lund and Ulf Larsen are impressively expert and highly recommended within the boutique firm’s specialist remit of energy and watercourse, environmental, planning and property law.

Advokatfirmaet Mageli ANS, with nine partners, of whom four are admitted to the Supreme Court, and several of whom previously worked in the Attorney General’s office, is frequently nominated by larger firms where conflicts arise, in addition to having established a blue-chip litigation following. Name partner Steinar Mageli is recommended.

Selmer’s Asbjørn Berg heads the litigation and disputes group which is particularly recommended for arbitration work in the real estate and construction sectors, or where IP issues are to point. Katinka Mahieu, head of competition, is also an effective litigator. Tax expert Jon Vinje is admitted to the Supreme Court. Clients include Ventelo and Rom Eiendom.