The Legal 500

Within Banking and finance, Castrén & Snellman is a first tier firm,

An impressive client base at Castrén & Snellman includes RBS, Nordea Bank and Svenska Handelsbanken, to name a few. Tero Tuomisto leads a ‘pragmatic, commercial and very knowledgeable’ team that provides accurate advice ‘always to deadline’, with strong support from Pekka Lehtinen and Sakari Lukinmaa. The firm is increasing its profile in cross-border deals, while at home, acted for Pohjola Bank in its €150m financing of assets acquired by Finnish wine and spirits house Altia plc.

Within Capital markets, Castrén & Snellman is a first tier firm,

The excellent résumé at Castrén & Snellman includes advising the lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, such as JPMorgan, Citibank and RBS, in Sappi Group’s €350m and $300m high-yield notes issues, and acting for Finnair on its €120m hybrid bond issue. Group head Merja Kivelä is ‘extremely good’ with ‘wide experience’. The expanding practice provides ‘effective solutions’ and made up two new partners in 2010 in Janne Lauha and Juha Koponen.

Within Corporate and M&A, Castrén & Snellman is a second tier firm,

Continuing to close the gap is Castrén & Snellman, where head of M&A Jan Örndahl and Pauliina Tenhunen (corporate governance) lead an ‘excellent team’ whose advice is ‘always appropriate and thorough.’ First class deals included acting as Finnish counsel to 3i on the €1.35bn sale of its stake in Ambea, a leading provider of health and social services in the Nordic region, to Triton.

Within Dispute resolution , Castrén & Snellman is a first tier firm,

Castrén & Snellman has long enjoyed a premier reputation for contentious work, steering complex disputes under the direction of high-profile international arbitrator Marko Hentunen. The firm is defending Nordea Bank in a number of high-profile actions stemming from the financial crisis, and representing multinational Metso in separate patent and copyright disputes. Clients appreciate the ‘easy access’ to the lead partner, and ‘the excellent service’.

Within EU and competition, Castrén & Snellman is a first tier firm,

Clients of Castrén & Snellman emphasise the firm’s depth of resources, practical approach and industry knowledge. Hannu Pokela, Anna Kuusniemi-Laine and Sari Hiltunen lead ‘definitely one of the best teams in Helsinki’. The firm advises a diverse range of sectors on work of the highest calibre, from major Finnish industrialists to global pharmaceuticals.

Within Intellectual property, Castrén & Snellman is a second tier firm,

Castrén & Snellman has a sizeable, ‘professional’ team that ‘knows our business’. It is led by Arto Liinervuo, who also heads the firm’s technology and life sciences groups, while Petri Rinkinen and Jan Lindberg are singled out by clients for their expertise. The firm is advising the Finnish subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson in a European-wide patent infringement case. Other clients include Nokia, Google and Hilton.

Within Legal market overview,

Hannes Snellman Attorneys at Law Ltd and Roschier continue to spearhead the market, now emerging as regional firms as they focus on pan-Nordic capability. Indeed, Hannes Snellman Attorneys at Law Ltd opened in Copenhagen in 2010, its fruitful Scandinavian empire rapidly expanding. Castrén & Snellman is the nearest challenger, and together with Attorneys at law Borenius & Kemppinen Ltd and Krogerus, all five firms are almost twice the size of their nearest rivals.

Within Maritime and transport, Castrén & Snellman is a first tier firm,

Brothers Niklas Langenskiöld and Rickard Langenskiöld at Castrén & Snellman are showered with praise, noted as ‘very bright’, ‘always winning’, with ‘clear communication to us non-lawyers’. The experienced duo is known for litigious skill, while Tero Tuomisto leads on ship finance. Clients range from international ship owners and cruise liners to UK P&I clubs and major insurers.

Within Real estate and construction, Castrén & Snellman is a first tier firm,

With three specialist groups, Castrén & Snellman fields one of the largest and focused teams in the market. Head of transactions Anu Tuomola ‘understands the commercial goals of negotiations’ and together with Uwe Uusitalo, head of international construction and projects, and head of real estate and environment Matias Wallgren, provides an integrated service that is ‘definitely one of the best’. The firm acted for Kesko on the €156m sale and lease-back of 13 retail estates to Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company, the largest deal of 2009.

Within TMT , Castrén & Snellman is a first tier firm,

Castrén & Snellman is the preferred adviser to leading players from a broad range of industries, for example, Alma Media (a client gain in 2010), Elisa and Neste Oil. Arto Linnervuo and Kimmo Rekola have a wealth of experience and are ‘quick to understand the essentials in a case’. Recent work includes acting for Fortum Group on the re-tendering of its outsourced IT infrastructure services.

Within Tax, Castrén & Snellman is a second tier firm,

Sari Laaksonen heads the tax practice at Castrén & Snellman, where ‘the quality of the service is excellent’. Corporate support work involves transactions of the highest level, while advisory matters included acting for Sponda in court proceedings involving a €131m tax interest.