Firm Profile > Wiersholm > Oslo, Norway

Banking and finance (including shipping finance) Tier 1

Wiersholm’s roster of Norwegian and international banking institution clients leverage the firm’s expertise across the full spectrum of finance work, which is notably strong in project financing work, shipping finance mandates and issues in the energy, offshore and real estate sectors. Practice co-heads Kaare P Sverdrup and Kristine Hasle Øverby specialise in project and acquisition financing work, and ship finance matters, respectively. The group’s debt financing experience was also expanded following the recruitment of Atle Gabrielsen from Arntzen de Besche in early 2019, and managing associate Petter Thomren Moltu focuses on project financing, acquisition financing and exploration and production financing work.

Capital markets Tier 1

Wiersholm is a key contact for investment banks and issuers at a national and international level and regularly handles IPOs, debt and equity offerings; the group is also experienced in derivatives, structured products and regulatory mandates. The team has recently been active in the IPO space; it was involved in the IPO of Ultimovacs and was issuer counsel for the listing of Adevinta on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Sverre Sandvik and Tone Østensen jointly lead the department, which also includes Simen Mejlænder, who ‘provides good and practical advice’, and managing associate Anne Lise E. Gryte.

Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 1

The ‘highly accessible and commercial’ department at Wiersholm handles some of the markets top M&A and private equity work and regularly advises on international deals at a Nordic and global level. The team is led by Harald Hellebust, and also counts transactional specialist Jarle Kvam, cross-border focused Ståle Gjengset and Kai Thøgersen, who focuses on the technology and telecoms sectors, as key practitioners. Clients also praise Andreas Mellbye, Sverre Sandvik and Gunhild Dugstad. Erik Thyness is now a Supreme Court judge.

Construction Tier 1

Focusing on construction projects, Wiersholm’s ‘service-minded’ department also leverages the firm’s strength in litigation and procurement mandates to handle matters which connect these areas of expertise; the team recently represented Skanska Norge in a damages claim for loss of profit against Bane Nor following breaches of the procurement rules relating to a major railway contract. Ronny Lund leads the practice, which also fields group co-head Sondre Dyrland, who advises on petroleum exploration and production mandates; Helge Morten Svarva, who focuses on the energy and real estate sectors; and procurement expert Morten Goller. Hans Augun Parmann is also recommended for contentious work.

Dispute resolution Tier 1

Wiersholm ‘offers exceptional expertise and insight into litigation and dispute resolution’ and ‘combines excellent legal knowledge and an ability to understand the facts with an ability to communicate complicated issues in an understandable way’. The practice has notably broad expertise in contentious work and also has substantial international experience in litigation and arbitration. Team leader Ronny Lund is singled out for his construction expertise, while co-heads Christian Hauge and Olav Fr Perland focus on shipping and financial litigation respectively. Managing partner Morten Goller, competition and public law expert Stephan L Jervell, and IP and TMT specialist Magnus Hellesylt are also key names to note.

Electricity and renewable energy Tier 1

Wiersholm advises renewable energy operators on the full range of issues encompassing regulatory matters, transactional work, power purchase agreements, financing mandates, project developments and litigation. The practice’s client roster include domestic and international clients with notable examples including Statnett, Statkraft and TrønderEnergi. Inge Ekker Bartnes and Jon Rabben jointly lead the group and are recommended for regulatory, contractual and corporate work; Kristine Hasle Øverby also handles transactional work and renewable project finance issues. Odd-Harald Berg Wasenden joined Arntzen de Besche in 2020.

Employment Tier 1

Regularly handling complex employment matters, Wiersholm fields ‘a powerhouse employment team’, which ‘consistently provides high-quality advice and first-class service’. The practice is particularly praised for its contentious work and recently represented Lorentzen & Stemoco in a lawsuit relating to a substantial claim for bonus payment by a former employee. Key individuals in the group include litigator Jan Fougner, Eli Aasheim, who is ‘an outstanding partner’; Christel Søreide, who is ‘bright, clever and client focused’, and newly promoted partner and compliance specialist Georg Abusdal Engebretsen.

EU and competition Tier 1

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.

Insurance Tier 1

At Wiersholm, the team acts for policyholders and insurers on a range of marine, D&O, professional indemnity and regulatory mandates and is regularly instructed on pure insurance disputes. Hans Kenneth Viga-Gerhardsen heads up the practice, and Erik Blaker leads the marine insurance group; Blaker’s expertise encompasses wet shipping work, arrest issues, salvage claims and collision matters. Other key practitioners include Kjersti Trøbråten, who is a regulatory expert, and litigator Olav Perland.

Intellectual property Tier 1

At Wiersholm, the practice focuses on IP rich industries with substantial expertise in the media, retail and technology sectors; the group's client roster includes Monster, Visma and Orkla. The team is also a key name for IP matters relating to the digital arena and sports rights, and also handles copyright, patent, trade secret and trade mark litigation. Hans Erik Johnsen is singled out for his broadcasting, media and sport expertise; and Rune Opdahl focuses on the media, technology, pharmaceuticals and offshore industries. The practice also fields Magnus Hellesylt, who handles IP litigation, and Kai Thøgersen, who focuses on corporate work.

Maritime law Tier 1

Wiersholm’s shipping expertise spans transactional, finance and litigation work including vessel sales and purchases, new-build projects, marine insurance law, ship finance issues and offshore shipping restructuring and insolvency work. Practice co-heads Karl Even Rygh and Kristine Hasle Øverby specialise in transactional work and ship finance matters respectively; Rygh is also experienced in new-build and conversion projects and sale leaseback issues, and Øverby also acts on offshore-related restructurings. Christian Hauge is the key name for litigation, Erik Blaker leads the marine insurance, arrest, salvage and collision expertise; and Atle Gabrielsen, who joined from Arntzen de Besche in 2019, handles financing mandates.

Oil and gas Tier 1

Sondre Dyrland heads up the practice at Wiersholm, which acts for a high-profile client roster including Equinor, the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, ConocoPhillips Skandinavia, VNG and Eni. The group also recently advised Eni on the merger of Eni Norge and Point Resources to create upstream exploration and production company Vår Energi. The practice is also experienced in transactional work, litigation, regulatory mandates and operational issues and is regularly involved in complex matters on the Norwegian continental shelf. Jon Rabben counts Norwegian and international energy sector companies as clients, Thomas Naalsund and newly promoted partner Hans Augun Parmann focus on contentious work, and Kristian M. Lind handles transactional work.

Public procurement Tier 1

Wiersholm fields a 'strong team' of highly regarded practitioners including managing partner and ‘undisputed leader in the procurement space’ Morten Goller, Stephan Jervell, energy sector specialist Thomas Naalsund and senior associate Oda Hellenes Ekre, who focuses on actions against public authorities and ‘stands out for her practical advice’. The group primarily acts for suppliers with clients including BMO Elektro, Hurtigruten, Veidekke and Skanska Norge. On the procuring authority side, the team recently assisted the Ministry of Industry and Petroleum with its first full-scale carbon capture storage project in Norway.

Real estate Tier 1

Tom Rune Lian and Ståle Meleng jointly lead the department at Wiersholm, which advises on commercial, corporate and residential real estate projects for a client roster of domestic and international companies; key examples include Pareto Securities, Union Gruppen, Vika Project Finance and Ferd. The group is also noted for its tax and VAT knowledge and Nicolay Vold is singled out for his real estate tax expertise. Other key names include Ronny Lund, who assists with onshore and offshore projects and acts in contentious mandates; and managing associate Kim Hellstrøm Christensen, who specialises in real estate transactions and M&A.

Tax Tier 1

Wiersholm’s team of ‘highly skilled lawyers’ are ‘extremely knowledgeable’ and ‘inspire confidence in clients that the work will be to the highest standard’. Group leader Bettina Banoun is ‘an incredibly efficient and skilled lawyer’ and handles corporate and international tax law, Andreas Bullen is ‘a pleasure to work with', Nicolay Vold handles transaction-related tax matters and Morten Goller assists with corporate, international and EU tax law and tax litigation. Other key areas of expertise for the practice include tax planning, restructuring and transfer pricing work, administrative tax disputes and indirect tax mandates.

TMT Tier 1

Wiersholm is a key name in the market for technology transactions with notable experience in innovative areas encompassing digitalisation projects, big data work, artificial intelligence matters and internet of things issues. The group has also handled numerous GDPR projects and cybersecurity responses, and assists multiple media houses with ePrivacy and adtech mandates. Hans Erik Johnsen counts service providers, developers, licensees, media companies and distributors as clients; Rune Opdahl specialises in privacy, media, digitalisation and e-commerce work; Kai Thøgersen handles transactional work and Magnus Hellesylt focuses on TMT litigation. Senior associate Theresa Schumacher Walberg is also recommended for IT contract work.

Fishing and aquaculture Tier 2

Finance expert Tone Østensen heads up the practice at Wiersholm following the departure of Nicolas Brun-Lie to Ro Sommernes Advokatfirma DA in early 2019; Østensen is particularly active in capital markets-related issues and recently advised Mowi on its acquisition of K Strømmen Lakseoppdrett. Other key practitioners include Gunhild Dugstad, who focuses on transactional work, and private equity and M&A specialist Jarle Kvam. Managing associate Svein-Helge Hanken is active in the aquaculture sector.

Insolvency and corporate recovery Tier 2

Wiersholm is noted for its restructuring strength and handles financial restructurings, distressed asset issues and cross-border work. The practice is also active in the shipping and offshore sectors and counts Olympic Subsea, Polarcus and The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries as clients; it also recently assisted DNB Bank and Nordea Bank with the merger of AGR and First Geo and the related financial restructuring. Ståle Gjengset heads up the team, which also counts Kaare P Sverdrup, Kristine Hasle Øverby and Atle Gabrielsen, who joined from Arntzen de Besche in 2019, as key practitioners.

Offshore construction and shipbuilding Tier 2

Wiersholm’s offshore construction group is led by litigator Helge Morten Svarva while the shipbuilding team is headed up by Karl Even Rygh, who specialises in new-build projects. The practice is particularly active in litigation and arbitration and is increasingly handling field development and project mandates; it acts for foreign and Norwegian operators and oil services contractors on issues on the Norwegian continental shelf. Litigator Christian Hauge, construction team head Ronny Lund, and Sondre Dyrland are key names to note. The department also recently recruited Atle Gabrielsen from Arntzen de Besche; he is experienced in financing work.

Diversity/Community

Wiersholm | Recruitment, diversity and inclusion

We consider the diversity of our employees to be one of our firm’s most important assets. The unique experiences each person brings to the firm, allow us to better serve our clients. Also, seeing our differences as strengths gives us a better understanding of one another as human beings.

This contributes to our working environment. We have fun together and appreciate spending time with each other in social settings. In October, we even won the “most prestigious trophies of the business”, when both our male and female football-team kicked all contestants off the field in the annual Lawyer’s Cup.

Brief Facts

• 59% of our employees are female and 52% of our associates are female.
• Six of our seven female partners were recruited from within the company. Our lawyers come from 10 different countries, speaking 14 different languages. We have lawyers licensed to practice in the UK, Denmark and Sweden.

Initiatives

• Mino.jur: Wiersholm has a strong collaboration with Mino.jur, a student-run organisation for minorities at the faculty of law. The aim of the organisation is to create networks and contacts among minorities, and contribute to their professional development. We hope the initiative will attract to our company more legal talent that have a minority background.
• Female forum: In March, we invited a select group of Norwegian business women to the first annual female forum. Our aim is to create an informal network where we can discuss current events and developments, and also to be inspired by some amazing women. Keynote speaker in 2017 was Jeanette Dyhre Kvisvik – one of Norway’s most exciting entrepreneurs. Together with Alexa Chung, she founded the e-commerce company Villoid.
• Other initiatives: We also participated in the #itshertreat campaign in August, organised by the non-profit organization #shesgotit, addressing unconscious bias and gender stereotypes. We always support and encourage those who make an effort to build a better future.

Wiersholm | Pro Bono and CSR

We acknowledge our duty to the society we are a part of – as individuals – and all of us together as Wiersholm.

It is the duty of lawyers “to promote justice and to prevent injustice”; this very pledge is an expression of the presence of an inherent social responsibility.

As a business, we base ourselves on paying clients. However, not everyone is able to buy first-rate legal advice. This is why we would like to give something back to organisations in need of our assistance, of which our cooperation with the Norwegian Organisation for Asylum Seekers (NOAS) is a good example. Since 2012, Wiersholm has assisted NOAS in the judicial review of asylum cases and in so doing worked to ensure the legal protection of asylum seekers.

Key figures

• 13 218 hours spent on pro bono work
• 101 lawyers, accounting for
• 55% of the legal staff, have worked on pro bono cases (in the last three years)