EU and competition in Norway

Arntzen de Besche‘s EU and competition practice is home to a ‘strong team with unique industry knowledge‘. The department covers the full range of matters, spanning merger control work, competition litigation, investigations and cartel cases, and state aid mandates. The client roster includes names in the food, construction, transport, oil and gas and pharmaceuticals industries. Svein Terje Tveit is ‘a very skilled competition lawyer‘, with expertise in EU and EEA regulatory work and complex disputes; he shares leadership of the practice with Espen I Bakken, who focuses on state aid and public procurement work, and merger control expert Stein Ove Solberg. Senior lawyer Frida May Behrens regularly handles antitrust and public procurement matters.

BAHR‘s ‘highly experienced‘ team has ‘excellent legal knowledge‘ in EU and competition matters, with notable expertise in complex merger control mandates, antitrust and cartel investigations, competition damages claims, and state aid work. Practice head Helge Stemshaug has an established track record in appearing before the Norwegian Competition Authority and the EFTA Surveillance Authority concerning cartel investigations. Beret Sundet is ‘a very well-regarded competition lawyer‘ who is sought out for her expertise in M&A-related competition work. Senior associate Ylva Kolsrud Lønvik acts on state aid matters. Arne Torsten Andersen joined from CMS Kluge in July 2021.

Advokatfirmaet Simonsen Vogt Wiig has a leading EU and competition practice, which is recognised for its strength in merger control mandates, cartel investigations and state aid work, and fields a team which regularly handles matters before the Norwegian Competition Authority. Department head Jan Magne Langseth is a well-regarded practitioner, and specialises in high-profile EU regulatory disputes and abuse of dominance claims, while managing partner Mona Søyland is well known for assisting government ministries with a broad range of competition and antitrust work. Media and telecoms sector mandates are handled by Karin Fløistad, who focuses on EU law matters, while senior lawyer Erik Klevmo advises on public procurement work and EU and EEA regulatory issues.

Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS‘ department stands out for its ‘extensive experience and in-depth knowledge about competition law‘. The team covers complex antitrust investigations, public procurement matters, joint ventures and mergers, state aid work, regulatory issues and competition litigation, and acts for clients from a range of sectors. Siri Teigum is ‘an excellent competition lawyer with good client handling skills‘; she co-heads the practice with Eivind J Vesterkjaer, who is instructed by clients from the retail, technology, telecoms, shipping and offshore industries on merger control, pricing and distribution work. Heidi Jorkjend was promoted to partner in January 2021.

Wiersholm fields a ‘dedicated and highly client-friendly‘ team lauded for its ‘very high competition law skills, good commercial sense and great availability‘. Merger control mandates, abuse of dominance claims, cartel cases, state aid work, and EU and EEA law are key pillars of strength for the group, alongside public procurement matters. The ‘very impressive‘ practice head Håkon Cosma Størdal ‘combines in-depth knowledge of competition law with commercial, strategic and practical thinking, and takes ownership and is able to communicate complex issues in understandable terms‘. Stephan Jervell has core expertise in public procurement issues, and Thomas Naalsund is noted for his experience in state aid cases, while managing partner Morten Goller focuses on litigation. At associate level, managing associate Elisabeth Lian Haugsdal is sought after for her expertise in handling abuse of dominance claims, restrictive practices and damages actions, and has a track record in representing private and public sector clients in state aid cases before the EFTA Surveillance Authority, while Elisabeth Torkildsen handles EU and EEA-law matters.

Wikborg Rein‘s 'outstanding' competition team is ‘very knowledgeable, gives high-quality advice and is very service-minded‘. The practice is especially recognised for its expertise in handling high-profile infringement cases initiated by the Norwegian Competition Authority, as well as merger filings. Practice head Mads Magnussen is ‘very service-minded and has enormous knowledge of competition law‘, and specialist counsel Eivind Stage ‘stands out as a true expert in this field‘. Newly promoted partner Hanne Camilla Zimmer is noted for her expertise in advising public and private sector clients on public procurement, EU law and state aid matters. Antitrust mandates are handled by the ‘very dedicated‘ senior lawyer Preben Milde Thorbjørnsen, while senior lawyer Stuart Stock advises on multi-jurisdictional merger control matters.

Led by Henrik Nordling, the department at CMS Kluge is ‘particularly good at state aid and public procurement‘ work, however the team fields expertise across the whole spectrum of EU and competition work. Managing partner Bjørnar Alterskjær has ‘excellent expertise‘ in representing government entities and large corporations in public procurement matters, and is sought after for his solid track record in handling complex state aid mandates. Clemens Kerle ‘provides excellent advice in state aid matters‘, while senior lawyer Frederik Nordby regularly acts for clients from the transport, infrastructure and information technology industries in state aid mandates. Arne Torsten Andersen moved to BAHR in July 2021.

Advokatfirmaet Haavind AS‘ department is praised for its ‘high level of industry knowledge‘, and houses a team of ‘highly skilled lawyers who deliver high-quality work‘. Merger control work forms a core pillar of the practice, with state aid matters, competition litigation, investigations and advisory work included in the group’s workload. Simen Klevstrand, who leads the team, is ‘highly skilled on all aspects of competition law‘, with notable strength in advising on digital services and technology sector matters. Senior lawyer Gaute Bergstrøm is a key name for state aid mandates and issues relating to abuse of dominant positions. Senior associate Marianne Henne Møller ‘complements the team in a perfect way – she always seems to be on top of the situation‘.

At Kvale Advokatfirma DA, ‘professional and service-minded‘ practice head Kristin Hjelmaas Valla is leading the advice to Norwegian publishing company Vigmostad & Bjørke in an ongoing investigation by the Norwegian Competition Authority, regarding allegations of infringement. Valla has extensive experience in assisting telecoms, life sciences, media, energy and food sector entities with cartel issues, merger clearances and distribution mandates. Robert Lund is ‘an excellent litigator‘, and has an excellent reputation for his expertise in state aid and procurement law. Intellectual property expert Marie Vaale-Hallberg has ‘solid knowledge and experience, and is very efficient‘.

The department at Advokatfirmaet Schjødt stands out for its ‘ability to respond quickly and provide first-class operational advice‘ on a range of matters, with a solid track record in appearing before the EFTA Surveillance Authority, the Norwegian Competition Authority and the European Commission. The team is well known for its strength in handling merger notification mandates, and regularly represents clients from the oil, media, food and farming industries in high-profile disputes. The ‘very knowledgeable‘ Olav Kolstad specialises in handling the competition aspects of oil and gas matters; he jointly heads up the practice with Thomas Nordby, who focuses on energy law, dispute resolution and public procurement work. Senior associate Morten Henriksen advises on anti-competitive matters, state aid issues and abuse of dominant position claims.

Under the leadership of Ole-Andreas Torgersen, the team at Advokatfirmaet Selmer AS is recognised for its track record in appearing before the Norwegian Competition Authority and the European Commission in complex merger control cases. Clients are drawn from the retail, telecoms, construction, media and energy sectors. Torgersen is very experienced in handling international merger control mandates, as well as distribution-related disputes. Other key practitioners include Karen Anne Rekkedal, who stands out for her expertise across the whole range of public procurement work, and associate Håkon Christoffersen.

Operating primarily out of the firm’s regulatory practice, Advokatfirma DLA Piper Norway DA‘s ‘always dedicated‘ competition group provides advice to Sweco Norge on a range of competition issues; the firm’s country managing partner Kjetil Haare Johansen leads on this work. The team also draws on the firm’s global and Nordic network to regularly assist clients in the construction, retail, food, energy, healthcare and automotive industries. Practice head Line Voldstad has expertise in public procurement and EU and EEA regulatory law.

At Advokatfirmaet Grette AS, the competition team is notable for acting as legal counsel for Vinmonopole, Norway’s only retail monopoly; the group assists the client with public procurement and competition law matters. The department has also been kept busy handling instructions from entities in the transport industry, as well as governmental bodies. Odd Stemsrud heads up the practice, which includes public procurement specialist Silje Grimseth Ullebust and associate Sigri Sagberg.

Monica Syrdal and Heddy Ludvigsen jointly head up the practice at Advokatfirmaet Hjort, which stands out for its experience in public procurement work, competition litigation and abuse of dominance matters. The group reports an uptick in state aid instructions, and is well versed in representing clients from the media, financial, telecoms, technology, public and aviation sectors. Managing associate Dag Sørlie Lund is very experienced in acting in cases before the EFTA Surveillance Authority.

The team at SANDS is notable for providing ‘specialised Norwegian competition law advice‘ to a client roster of public and private companies drawn from, among others, the transport, automotive, fisheries and aquaculture, construction and healthcare industries. Department head Thomas Sando has ‘great knowledge of competition law‘ and specialises in high-profile merger control matters. Aksel Joachim Hageler is regularly instructed in infringement cases and is an expert on state aid, EU and EEA law. Special counsel Lennart Garnes is also a key name to note.