The Legal 500 > Europe, Middle East & Africa > Norway > EU and competition

Arntzen de Besche’s practice acts for national and international clients on the full spectrum of competition mandates including antitrust issues, merger control work, investigations and cartel cases. Recent highlights include advising Shearwater GeoServices on the establishment of a strategic partnership with CGG including the antitrust elements and acting as trustee for the Norwegian Competition Authority to monitor compliance with several of its behavioural remedy decisions. Stein Ove Solberg heads up the group and is praised as ‘a highly skilled competition lawyer, who is service minded and a pleasure to work with’. Other key practitioners include Svein Terje Tveit, who focuses on trade and distribution and regulated markets, and Espen I Bakken, who has experience in procurement, competition and state aid issues. Senior lawyer Vilde Hannevik Lien is also a key name to note. Thea Susanne Skaug moved in-house at DNB.

The practice at BAHR provides ‘high-quality and reliable advice’ and ‘always tries to be as clear and accurate as possible’. The team is a key name in the market for merger control work; it recently advised Nordea Bank on its acquisition of Gjensidige Bank and assisted with the merger between offshore accommodation companies Prosafe and Floatel. Other notable areas of expertise include competition damages claims, cartel investigations, public procurement work and state aid matters. Helge Stemshaug leads the practice, which also includes pharmaceuticals and biotech sector specialist Beret Sundet, who ‘combines a good understanding of her clients' business and markets with high-quality legal analysis and knowledge’; procurement expert Jan Einar Barbo, litigator Sam Harris and economist Harald Selte. Henrik Nordling moved to Kluge Advokatfirma AS in late 2019.

Advokatfirmaet Simonsen Vogt Wiig’s ‘very impressive’ department ‘always delivers more than expected’ and ‘sees what others don’t’ thanks to its ‘pragmatic and reliable’ approach. The team excels in a diverse range of competition mandates; practice head Jan Magne Langseth focuses on abuse of dominance issues and cartel investigations, managing partner Mona Søyland provides regulatory advice, Anders Thue assists with merger clearances and Karin Fløistad handles competition litigation. The group’s client roster includes Norwegian Air Shuttle and ST1 Group; Langseth advised the latter on the competition elements of its acquisition of Statoil Fuel and Retail.

With expertise across all elements of competition work, Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS handles antitrust investigations, mergers and joint ventures, procurement work, competition litigation and state aid mandates. Practice co-head and ‘one of Norway’s best competition lawyers’ Siri Teigum advises on merger issues and disputes, while fellow co-head Eivind J Vesterkjær focuses on the technology, telecoms, offshore, life sciences and distribution sectors. Managing associate Heidi Jorkjend is also a key contact for antitrust investigations. In a recent highlight, the group represented Telenor in the EFTA Surveillance Authority’s investigation of alleged abuse of dominance in the Norwegian mobile communications market; other clients include DNB, Kongsberg Gruppen and Veidekke.

Håkon Cosma Størdal leads the competition and antitrust practice at Wiersholm, which focuses on four distinct areas of competition law – M&A, antitrust matters, state aid work and EU and EEA law. The firm’s antitrust team is regularly involved in antitrust investigations, cartel work and abuse of dominance matters, while the state aid group specialises in the energy, transport, technology and media sectors. Other key individuals in the department include Stephan L Jervell, who handles competition law work, state aid issues and litigation; procurement and state aid expert Morten Goller and Thomas Naalsund, who is a key contact for energy sector mandates.

With ‘deep knowledge of the regulatory landscape’, Wikborg Rein is ‘recommended for both sparring on day-to-day matters and for handling more complicated issues’. The ‘professional and reliable’ team is led by ‘exceptional partner’ Mads Magnussen and also includes specialist counsel Hanne Camilla Zimmer, who co-heads the competition and procurement group and is ‘an outstanding lawyer’; and specialist counsel and competition and anti-trust team head Eivind Stage, who is ‘swift to provide assistance’. The practice handles the full range of competition mandates including antitrust infringement work, merger filings, competition litigation and state aid issues for a client roster, which includes NorgesGruppen, Jotun and Transocean.

The ‘strategically excellent’ Simen Klevstrand heads up the practice at Advokatfirmaet Haavind AS and has notable expertise in the technology, telecoms, media, pharmaceuticals, retail and energy sectors. The group is active in cartel damages claims, merger control issues, follow-on damages cases and state aid mandates; it recently represented Posten Norge in a cross-border damages case arising out of the European Commission’s trucks cartel settlement decision. Other key clients include Avinor, Atea and Tieto. Senior lawyer Gaute Bergstrøm is also a key name for merger work and abuse of dominance issues.

Kvale Advokatfirma DA is a key name in the market for clients in the telecoms, media and technology sectors and recently acted for e-book distributor VB Bok in a complaint against Cappelen Damm before the Norwegian Competition Authority; the group also acts for energy and natural resources, and life sciences companies including Pfizer and Bunker Oil. The ‘highly professional and intelligent’ Kristin Hjelmaas Valla leads the practice and handles merger clearance work, cartel issues, dominance matters and compliance mandates; while Henrik Svane is singled out for his litigation experience and expertise in the life sciences, food and beverage sectors.

The ’capable and eager’ competition department at Advokatfirmaet Selmer AS excels in merger control work where it has experience before the Norwegian Competition Authority and the European Commission; in a recent highlight, the group assisted Ambea with its acquisition of Aleris’ senior care, adult care and youth care business and the related merger filing. Alongside the healthcare and life sciences sector, the practice also advises clients in the retail, public transport, TMT, energy and real estate sectors. ‘Service-minded partner’ Ole-Andreas Torgersen leads the group.

At Advokatfirmaet Schjødt, Olav Kolstad and Thomas Nordby jointly lead the department and specialise in non-contentious and contentious work respectively; Kolstad’s expertise encompasses EU and national competition law, antitrust work and merger control issues. The group is experienced in EU and EEA law and counts multiple public sector organisations as clients, and is also singled out for its merger control expertise. The practice’s client roster include Nettbuss, Esso Norge, TV2, Grieg Seafood and Scandinavian Airlines System.

At DLA Piper, the group utilises the firm’s wider Nordic and global network to assist with a wide range of competition mandates at a domestic and Nordic level. Key sector specialisms for the practice include the food and branded goods, seafood, retail, construction and pharmaceuticals industries; example clients include Sweco Norge, Merck and OneCo. Kjetil Haare Johansen leads the team, which sits in the firm’s litigation and regulatory group; procurement specialist Kjell-André Honerud also contributes to the department.

The ‘very knowledgeable and service-minded’ practice at Advokatfirmaet Grette AS ‘has a practical approach’, which it leverages across competition disputes, cartel work, state aid matters, EU and EEA law, and antitrust issues. Odd Stemsrud leads the group and is praised as ‘a truly passionate lawyer who has a unique ability to understand the client’s needs’; he recently represented alpine skier Henrik Kristoffersen in the EFTA Court and Norwegian courts in a dispute against the Norwegian Ski Federation relating to the rights for athletes to enter into sponsorship agreements.

Advokatfirmaet Hjort’s key areas of expertise encompass state aid work, procurement issues and free movement matters with particular experience in dominance-related mandates; the group also leverages the firm’s wider litigation strength to handle competition disputes. Monica Syrdal and Heddy Ludvigsen jointly lead the practice; Syrdal assists clients in the media and communications sector while Ludvigsen’s sector expertise spans the aviation, healthcare, fishery and public sectors. Kristin Veierød also contributes to the practice and acts for telecoms clients in abuse of dominance and pricing matters.

While traditionally strong in public procurement and state aid mandates, Kluge Advokatfirma AS is also active in merger control work, abuse of dominance issues, cartel investigations, competition litigation and other matters relating to anti-competitive behaviour. Arne Torsten Andersen leads the practice and is notably experienced in EU law, while managing partner Bjørnar Alterskjær advises on EEA law. Clients include Neptune Energy Group, Ruter and Norsk Tipping. Associate partner Henrik Nordling joined from BAHR in late 2019.

SANDS fields ‘a strong team with experience across several different disciplines’ including competition litigation, regulatory and compliance issues and merger filing work. Practice head Thomas Sando is a key contact for merger control work, while Aksel Joachim Hageler also handles compliance matters and damage claims. The team is also recognised for its sector expertise and regularly acts for clients in the public, construction, fishery and aquaculture, waste and recycling, health and transport industries; examples include CNH Industrial, Aleris Helse and Norsk Takst.