The Legal 500

Within Banking and finance, tier 5

Hans Svensson’s team at Bird & Bird acted on several acquisition finance mandates, such as Anders Nilsson advising Keele Oy on the $640m acquisition of Shell’s operations in Sweden and Finland. Citibank is a major client of the firm. Tim Boström joined from Baker & McKenzie Advokatbyra.

Within Capital markets, tier 4

Bird & Bird’s Hans Svensson and Caroline Carlshamre advised Oasmia Pharmaceutical on its SEK240m share issue and listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Tim Boström joined from Baker & McKenzie Advokatbyra.

Within Corporate and commercial, Bird & Bird is a third tier firm,

Rickard Poppelman leads Bird & Bird’s corporate group, and Jim Runsten leads the international commercial practice. Clients include Northland Resources, Flexenclosure, BrainHeart Capital, Talentum Oyj and RebTel. The team added Fredrik Ahlesten from CapGemini and Tim Boström from Baker & McKenzie Advokatbyra.

Within Dispute resolution, Bird & Bird is a third tier firm,

Ulf Mellqvist’s team at Bird & Bird is representing 3G Infrastructure Services in cases concerning interconnection fees. Other telecoms clients include Mandator and Oracle. Mellqvist and Michael Frie are representing the Prosolvia bankruptcy estate against Öhrlings PricewaterhouseCoopers. Jessica Carlqvist joined from Stockholm district court.

Within EU and competition, Bird & Bird is a third tier firm,

Litigator Michael Frie heads Bird & Bird’s practice, which is supported by colleagues in Brussels. Ulf Mellqvist successfully represented 3GIS in the district court regarding a claim for repayment of excessive installation fees. Frie, Maria Grufman and David Nilsson represented nine Swedish municipalities against three construction companies concerning illicit cartel practices. Ragnar Lundgren joined the re-established Gozzo Advokater.

Within Employment, Bird & Bird is a third tier firm,

Bird & Bird advises on collective labour law and senior management contracts. It has a dedicated employee incentives and benefits group focusing on corporate migration. Clients include Lantmännen, NASDAQ OMX Group, and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum. Managing partner Katarina Nordblom Åhlberg heads the team, which is supported by the firm’s international footprint. Magnus Berterud is recommended.

Within Energy, Bird & Bird is a third tier firm,

Tax expert Christian Luthman heads Bird & Bird’s energy and utilities group. Hans Svensson and his team assisted Pöyry with acquiring Vattenfall Power Consulting and establishing SwedPower. Anders Nilsson advises Shell and United Waters, and Andreas Börjesson’s clients include Empower Oy and Meerwind.

Within IT and telecoms, Bird & Bird is a first tier firm,

Bird & Bird shows ‘speed, strategic focus and cost-consciousness’. Johan Tydén’s telecoms group is advising 3G Infrastructure Services on procurement, outsourcing and some 750 court cases over interconnection fees. Andreas Börjesson assisted Swefour GSM in negotiations over the reallocation of telecoms licences, and BrainHeart Capital on the sale of Spring Mobil to Tele2. Jim Runsten’s IT and e-commerce group advises longstanding client Lexmark on outsourcing and procurement. Michael Frie and Ulf Mellqvist successfully represented the bankruptcy estate of Prosolvia in its long-running dispute with the company’s former auditor. Mellqvist and Jörgen Ekström also acted for Mandator.

Within Intellectual property and media, Bird & Bird is a first tier firm,

Bird & Bird’s broad practice handles contentious and non-contentious work relating to industrial property and soft IP. Practice head Sara Sparring and Per Svanteson successfully represented SEAB, the Swedish distributor for DC Shoes in infringement proceedings in Stockholm District Court. Media team head Staffan Boström and Jerker Edström advised Max Martin on a producer agreement with Katy Perry; and Jim Runsten, Edström and Svanteson are representing Sony Computer Entertainment against distributors of ‘jailbreak’ devices. Richard Lewinson represents Teva. Ragnar Lundgren joined the re-established Gozzo Advokater.

Within Legal market overview,

Among the global firms in the market, Baker & McKenzie Advokatbyra, Bird & Bird and DLA Nordic handle a combination of local and international mandates, whereas Linklaters LLP focuses on the larger cross-border mandates; having downsized considerably in recent years it has consolidated its position and begun to hire again. MAQS Law Firm continued to expand its pan-Nordic presence. Ashurst is increasingly visible on Swedish and cross-border mandates.

Within Mergers and acquisitions, tier 4

Rickard Poppelman heads Bird & Bird’s practice locally, which is supported by the firm’s pan-Nordic presence. Andreas Börjesson advised BrainHeart Capital on the sale of Spring Mobil to Tele2. Hans Svensson and Caroline Carlshamre assisted Northland Resources with selling its Swedish non-ferrous projects to Orex Minerals, and advised Pöyry on acquiring Vattenfall Power Consulting.

Within Real estate, tier 4

Practice head Christian Luthman at Bird & Bird advised on structuring a new property fund. Johanna Olsson advised LKAB on the relocation of two cities away from mining works and, together with Mahmut Baran, assisted HEBA Fastighets with a complex transaction.

Within Tax, Bird & Bird is a second tier firm,

Bird & Bird’s tax lawyers ‘think outside the box’ when advising on tax structures and transactions. Christian Luthman heads the team, which also includes tax litigator Mahmut Baran. Staffan Andersson joined from Erik Penser Bankaktiebolag.