The Legal 500

Arntzen de Besche ‘makes you feel like you are the only client it has’. Group head Tron Dalheim ‘excels in all labour law issues that matter to corporate clients’, and Knut-Marius Sture is ‘looking for solutions rather than extending conflict through litigation’. Ingeborg Moen Borgerud is also recommended. The firm is representing SAS in a complex dispute regarding age discrimination against pilots. Other clients include the University of Oslo and Dagbladet.

Advokatfirmaet Haavind AS’ ‘overall level of service stands apart because of the excellent client care it provides’. The practice group, headed by Kjell Torkildsen, houses Lars Kokkvold, who is ‘solution-oriented, quick in his response, thorough and correct.’, and Pål Kvernaas ‘to the point, effective and supportive in difficult processes’. Recent instructions handled by the team include ongoing advice to the major hospital operator Helse Sør-Øst, including the merger of two hospitals. Clients include Aker Subsea and Telenor.

Wiersholm’s large employment group is ‘responsive and competitively priced’, and head Eli Aasheim’s ‘depth of knowledge and experience results in the efficient delivery of services.’ Trond Erik Solheim is also highly commended. Jan Fougner and Camilla Schøyen Breibøl represented 640 air stewardesses from SAS Norway in a precedent case concerning gender equality and indirect discrimination. Other clients of the practice include Nordisk Film and Cisco Systems.

BA-HR’s employment group is led by Tarjei Thorkildsen, who is ‘is quick to respond and very knowledgeable’. The availability of wider expertise within the firm considerably broadens the offering of the nominally small team. Peter Hammerich is leading the complex litigation for Norske Shell AS which is in dispute with former managers over the interpretation of pensions contracts; a Court of Appeal hearing is scheduled for 2011.

DLA Piper provides ‘very good service, with prompt follow up and good advice’. Per Benonisen, is ‘an extraordinary clever lawyer’, and Anette Mittet Gjertsen is ‘highly skilled, capable and experienced’. The firm provides ongoing advice to media group Aller on all labour law matters. Clients include Logica Norge, Oras and NCC Construction.

Advokatfirmaet Hjort offers a sound mix of contentious and non-contentious expertise in labour law. Else Bugge Fougner, the team leader, successfully represented the managing directors of two quoted companies in two recent arbitration tribunals. Claude Lenth is ‘very professional, responsive and knowledgeable’ in domestic and international employment matters. Jarl Borgvin Dørre offers ‘great precision, at high speed’. The firm’s clients include Statskog and Citroën Norge.

Kluge Advokatfirma DA’s employment team is ‘excellent across the board’. Johan Krabbe-Knudsen, in Stavanger, has ‘the talent to challenge presumptions tactfully, and is able to give guidance in a very professional manner’; Krabbe-Knudsen acted as adviser to Acona Wellpro in various employment and pension issues after its merger with Wellpro. Other recommended members of the group include Marco Lilli, Marianne Higson, and senior lawyer Nina Gundersen Sandnes. Clients include Avinor and Baker Hughes.

Advokatfirmaet Schjødt DA ‘is business-minded, knowledgeable and responsive’. Trond Stang and associate Birgitte Stenberg Larsen advised newspaper/media group A-Pressen ASA on reorganization and workforce reductions. Senior associate Kristin Fjellby Grung in Ålesund provides ongoing labour law advice to Subsea 7. The practice group also acts for WPP and PEAB.

Advokatfirmaet Storeng, Beck & Due Lund ANS (SBDL) is ‘very knowledgeable and more accessible than the bigger law firms’, and has a substantially employer-side practice. Nils Storeng and Tom Beck are ‘highly skilled and knowledgeable’. Kari Bergeius Andersen has ‘exactly the right personality for employment matters, sympathetic but clear about the law’. Arve Due Lund succeeded in obtaining damages of NOK13m for the North Trøndelag Red Cross in litigation with Helse Midt-Norg.

Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS offers ‘very high levels of service in all respects’. Group leader Håvard Sandnes is ‘flexible, available always when needed and gives very good advice’, while Stein Bråthen-Otterbech has ‘strong theoretical and practical knowledge and works well in a team’. In employment litigation, Bergen-based Trond Hatland and Svein Aage Valen are recommended. Clients include TECO Maritime and Microsoft Norge.

Wikborg Rein’s labour law group comprises some 12 fee-earners, led by Jan Backer, who advised a major company through the termination of its CEO, an assignment which included negotiation of the severance package. Bergen-based Dag Steinfeld, the head of litigation is an expert in employment law and member of the group. Strong in maritime and offshore employment regulations and law, the team also offers an expert niche pensions advice. The firm’s clients include CHC Norway and NSB.

Brækhus Dege Advokatfirma ANS’s Jan Dege is a senior expert in employment law and the author of ‘Den individuelle Arbeidsretten’. Henning Heitmann is building a good employment law practice which includes Varner Retail and Addecco Norge as clients.

Deloitte Advokatfirma AS’ employment lawyers are ‘very responsive, knowledgeable, helpful and extremely good value for money’. Gro Forsdal Helvik has ‘the ability to get to the core of a question, and provides solid advice and good follow-up’. The firm is recommended for international compensation and benefit planning. Clients include Cognizant Technology Solutions and Norconsult.

Føyen Advokatfirma DA has ‘highly skilled lawyers, that are very responsive, both on small and larger tasks’. Preben Haugmoen Mo is ‘always positive, open minded, and right to the point’, and senior associate Nina Kroken ‘impresses with her level of engagement, and the precision and usefulness of her advice’. Clients include Super Office and Forskerforbundet.

Advokatfirmaet Grette DA’s Jens Kristian Johansen is recommended for contentious matters and has acted for several agents in litigation with the cooperative OBOS. Johan Hveding ‘always looks for solutions’ and has a wide advisory practice whose clients include Clear Channel, Norsk Luftambulanse and Bravida.

Advokatfirma Ræder DA ‘gives us excellent service’. Elizabeth Ege’s team includes Erik Raad Herlofsen, who specialises in labour law disputes; Herlofsen litigated the first Supreme Court case relating to age discrimination in a dismissal case. Clients include KLM/Air France, Elkjøp and sanofi-aventis Norge.

Selmer’s two-partner employment team’s ‘ability to rapidly understand cases is excellent, and response is fast’. Highly rated André Istad Johansen17164 is ‘able to quickly clarify the issues’ and frequently works with corporate and banking groups on the employment aspects of major mergers. Clients include Accenture and Rolls-Royce Marine.

Simonsen Advokatfirma DA’s Per Arne Damm and his small team provide considerable support to the firm’s key clients in the oil, IP, TMT and the healthcare sectors. Active clients of the group include Helse Midt-Norge RHF, Dell Norge and Nexen Exploration.

Advokatfirmaet Steenstrup Stordrange DA offers good nationwide coverage with a six-partner labour law group. Tromsø-based Espen Johannessen has ‘very good knowledge of the law in general and especially employment law’. Clients include Helse Finnmark and Carnegie.

Bing Hodneland advokatselskap DA’s Alf Kåre Knudsen and Søren Olsen both offer comprehensive and expert labour law advice. The ten-partner firm receives strong support from small and medium-sized businesses for ‘efficiency and accurate invoicing’, and is also nominated by one of the leading law firms in conflicted matters. Clients include Dermanor and the trade union Lederne.

Bull & Co Advokatfirma AS’ Kåre Bjørlo, an experienced litigator, heads the employment group which offers broad, business-focused advice. Margrethe Husebø gained long experience of collective bargaining and agreements during her work for the Industry Federation.

Kvale Advokatfirma Da’s Nicolay Skarning is ‘an excellent lawyer and labour law adviser’. Clients include Elkjøp, and DONG.

Advokatfirmaet Vogt & Wiig AS offers competent employment support in transactions and restructuring. Active clients include NutriPharma, Astrazeneca and Etac Norge.