The Legal 500

Within Banking and finance (including shipping finance), Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS is a first tier firm,

Advokatfirmaet Schjødt DA is ‘one of the best law firms within Norway in the area of loan documentation including long term interest swaps and ISDA agreements’. Wilhelm Damm leads the group, which also houses the ‘very bright’ Anne Gro Sundby. Senior lawyer Harald Sætermo is praised for his ‘high levels of accuracy’. Jarl Dybvik in Ålesund, and Jo Stokke in Oslo, are expert in marine and aquaculture finance. Members of the team assisted Renewable Energy Corporation through several high-value financing transactions. The firm also acts for Nordea and Deutsche Bank.

Within Corporate and M&A, Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS is a first tier firm,

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.

Within Dispute resolution, Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS is a first tier firm,

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.

Within EU and competition, Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS is a first tier firm,

Advokatfirmaet Schjødt DA ten-fee-earner group, stronger in European law and procurement than competition matters, has expanded the Brussels team. Clients comment on ‘much better performance than other firms in Scandinavia’. Jan Magne Juuhl-Langseth is ‘particularly good’ and Brussels-resident Peter Dyrberg is ‘top class’. Current instructions include a major Nordic-wide dominance investigation. Christian Bendiksen is recommended for public procurement work. Clients include Halliburton, Ladbrokes, and several other major online gaming firms.

Within Electricity, nuclear and renewable, Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS is a third tier firm,

Advokatfirmaet Schjødt DA has built on previously limited involvement in the electricity and renewables sector to establish a three-partner group jointly led by Ingvald Falch and Trond Sollund. Clients, which include Renewable Energy Company and Statkraft, ‘are very pleased with the overall level of service’.

Within Employment, Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS is a second tier firm,

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.

Within Insolvency and corporate recovery, Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS is a second tier firm,

Advokatfirmaet Schjødt DA is ‘above average compared to other international law firms in Europe’ in restructuring, particularly in bank representation, but does not administrate bankruptcies. Jon Kristian Sjåtil is ‘straight to the point, creative and very good at communicating his legal advice in a clear manner’, and Stavanger-based Dag Sigvart Kaada offers ‘very good response and business understanding’. Torbjørn Gjelsvik is also recommended. The team assisted Actavis Group in conjunction with the bankruptcy of pharmaceutical producer Inpac.

Within Intellectual property and TMT, Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS is a second tier firm,

Advokatfirmaet Schjødt DA’s ‘team is very strong, particularly at the top, and response is impeccable’. The practice strengths lie in IPR/media/telecom and particularly in dispute resolution. Group leader Halvor Manshaus is ‘very strong on business strategy, and also on the legal tactics’; Manshaus continues to lead for Aker MH in the long running Transocean patent litigation. Kaare Risung has ‘a very good approach to matters and understands the in-house lawyer’s position’. Clients include NetWork Norway, Motorola and TV2 Zebra.

Within Legal market overview,

BA-HR, Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS, Wiersholm, and Wikborg Rein are generally consider to be the elite firms, although the quartet occasionally appear to be complacent about competition, not only from effective and ambitious Advokatfirmaet Schjødt DA and Selmer but also from the stronger mid-tier firms, which are frequently noted as providing better value for money.

Within Maritime law (including insurance), tier 4

Advokatfirmaet Schjødt DA’s offices in Bergen and Ålesund both handle maritime work. Øystein Horneland is representing Sanco Holding in the renegotiation of its seismic vessels contracts with RXT.

Within Oil and gas, Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS is a first tier firm,

Advokatfirmaet Schjødt DA ‘continues to be in the absolute top league of Norwegian law firms with petroleum law competence’. Peter Hiorth ‘has a unique competence as tax expert combined with a commercial understanding of the commercial drivers of an exploration and production company’, and Johs Faugstad is ‘a top commercial layer with useful in-house experience’. Trond Sollund is ‘effective and business-minded’. Typical instructions include advice on the sale of a licence interest, and renegotiation of drilling contracts for oil and gas majors. Ingvald Falch and Dag Sigvart Kaada are recommended. Clients include ExxonMobil, BP, Total and ConocoPhillips.

Within Real estate and construction, Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS is a first tier firm,

Advokatfirmaet Schjødt DA is ‘among the best overall, on the top edge of knowledge in real estate’. Geir Sand, who heads the real estate group, offers ‘very high quality in negotiations’ and construction group head Hallgeir Østrem is ‘top class’. Pål Grønnæss is also highly rated. Clients include contractors Skanska, PEAB, and Veidekke, and developer Oslo S.

Within Tax, Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS is a second tier firm,

Advokatfirmaet Schjødt DA’s ‘lawyers show a particularly good business understanding and the capability to identify relevant issues and to resolve these in an efficient and appropriate way’. Department head Cecilie Amdahl and Johan Kiær Engelschiøn are recommended for corporate tax advice. Trond Larsen leads the VAT team. In Ålesund, Ingvild Vartdal ‘gives very clear advice and shows deep insight regarding our business’. Clients include Cisco Systems and Farstad Shipping.