Morten Smørdal > BAHR > Oslo, Norway > Lawyer Profile

BAHR draws on the firm’s transactional and corporate capabilities and routinely assists clients with day-to-day corporate compliance, sanctions issues, international investigations, and transaction-related due diligence work. Under the leadership of Morten Smørdal, who has extensive experience in handling transaction and project development-related compliance issues, the ‘incredibly sophisticated‘ team has seen a recent increase in instructions relating to due diligence and the new Norwegian Transparency Act. Other core members of the team include asset management compliance expert Peter Hammerich and Jon Christian Thaulow, who handles regulatory and compliance work for clients in the energy sector. Annina Luterbacher departed the team in 2023 and is now at Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS.

Described by clients as ‘simply an elite group of practitioners’, BAHR draws from its strength in energy as well as its overall ocean capabilities to provide a full-service offering in this space. Field development projects, high-value transactions, and newbuild projects feature prominently in the team’s workload. In June 2023, the firm strengthened its shipping offering with the hires of Henrik Aadnesen and Rebecca Lund Nakkim, both from Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS. The pair now co-head the practice alongside Morten Smørdal, who focuses on contracts for the construction of rigs and ships, including FPSO contracts; Haakon Flaatten is another key name here. Øystein Meland, based in Bergen, handles shipbuilding contracts, while Geir Gustavsson attracts praise for his ‘commercial acumen, strategical thinking and sophisticated legal analysis’, handling project finance and contentious mandates.