Mr Geir Sviggum > Wikborg Rein > Oslo, Norway > Lawyer Profile
Wikborg Rein Offices
Dronning Mauds gate 11
P.O.Box 1513 Vika
NO-0117 Oslo
Norway
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Mr Geir Sviggum
Work Department
Ligitation and Arbitration, Corporate Compliance and Crisis Management, Trade Law
Position
Geir is our Managing Partner. He headed the firm’s Shanghai office from 2008 to 2013 and was Managing Partner International with overall responsibility for Wikborg Rein’s international practice from 2012 to 2016. Geir has on a number of occasions, as late as 2022, been named International Lawyer of the Year in the Norwegian Financial Daily’s annual lawyers survey. Legal 500 points to Geir as a Leading Individual within the Regulatory, Compliance and Investigations category, describing him as “the rock that you need in a crisis”. Geir is also ranked Band 1 by Chambers Europe within the Compliance category. Geir’s specialities are threefold: – Compliance with a particular focus on anti-bribery and crisis management, hereunder criminal law consequences and civil disputes triggered by potential misconduct. Geir’s experience spans from a role as public defender in Norwegian courts to crisis management on behalf of listed Norwegian companies following suspected misconduct, preventive advisory work for Norwegian companies and public authorities in their anti-bribery work and lecturing on anti-bribery legislation at universities in several countries; – Dispute resolution focusing on larger disputes of international nature. Geir has significant experience from Norwegian courts as well as arbitration- and court processes in several countries; – Advisory work to medium-sized and large Norwegian industry- and technology enterprises in their international exposure, hereunder regulatory issues, sales contracts, distribution contracts, production contracts, agent contracts and risk preventive measures. Geir further has significant experience as legal advisor to Norwegian authorities with regard to Norway’s various international exposure. During Geir’s time in China he was highlighted in local and regional rankings as among China’s “15 Rising Stars” in the legal profession for “impressive achievements” and among the 100 most influential lawyers in Asia. Geir is frequently used as speaker at universities, conferences and in other fora.
Career
Education
Lawyer Rankings
Norway > Regulatory, compliance and investigations
(Leading Individuals)Leveraging its international network of offices, Wikborg Rein’s multidisciplinary offering spans all core areas of compliance and regulatory work, with the group routinely handling crisis management, investigations, due diligence, and ESG work. Practice co-head Elisabeth Roscher has an impressive track record advising on a large volume of complex compliance cases, as well as private investigations and human rights due diligence matters. Working alongside Roscher is co-head and managing partner Geir Sviggum, who is particularly skilled at handling mandates and investigations with international aspects. The firm’s sanctions offering, hailed by clients as ‘by far the best in Norway’, has recently seen further increases in sanctions and export control-related instructions, a core area of expertise for the firm; the ‘fantastic’ Tine Elisabeth Vigmostad is the name to note here. New partner Elise Johansen is also recommended for her ESG expertise. Charlie Pope left the team in March 2023.
Lawyer Rankings
- Leading Individuals Norway > Regulatory, compliance and investigations
- Regulatory, compliance and investigations Norway
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Banking and finance (including shipping finance)
- Capital markets
- Commercial, corporate and M&A
- Dispute resolution
- EU and competition
- Fishing and aquaculture
- Insolvency and corporate recovery
- Intellectual property
- Maritime law
- Offshore construction and shipbuilding
- Real estate
- Regulatory, compliance and investigations
- TMT