Landslog – Law Offices > Reykjavik, Iceland > Firm Profile

Landslog – Law Offices
BORGARTÚN 26
105 REYKJAVIK
Iceland

Iceland > Dispute resolution Tier 2

Landslog – Law Offices counts major banks, including Íslandsbanki, insurance companies, real estate companies, mackerel fisheries and telecoms businesses among its key roster of clients. The team’s workload includes a broad scope of disputes, ranging from administrative and bankruptcy proceedings to damage claims, infringement cases and shareholder disputes. Supreme Court attorneys Johannes Karl SveinssonJohannes Bjarni Bjornsson and Viðar Lúðvíksson jointly lead the practice group; Björnsson specialises in corporate litigation.

Practice head(s):

Jóhannes Karl Sveinsson; Jóhannes Bjarni Björnsson; Viðar Lúðvíksson

Other key lawyers:

Jón Gunnar Ásbjörnsson

Testimonials

‘The team at Landslog is efficient, knowledgeable and diversified in Icelandic law.’

Viðar Lúðvíksson has been our main attorney at the firm. He is an extraordinary professional in every sense, both extremely knowledgeable in law and has very valuable experience in the field. His extraordinary expertise and level-headed professional approach with a deep sense of ethics provided us with the best possible service during quite a challenging time.

‘My experience with the legal team at Landslog was that it was highly professional and dedicated to excellence. I would say that their most unique quality apart from professional skills would be the high level of communication skills and how attentive and responsive they were.’

Jón Gunnar Ásbjörnsson has been our lawyer for six years now and has excelled in every project for us. He is thoughtful, calm and efficient and has a way of focusing on what is important and what is not. We have the utmost trust in his work.

Key clients

Central Bank of Iceland

QBE International Insurance Ltd.

QBE Corporate Ltd.

Hagar hf.

Isavia (Icelandic Airport and Air Traffic Management)

Kaupthing hf.

University of Iceland Lottery

Íslandsbanki

Icelandic Prime Contractors – IAV

Work highlights

  • Acted for English insurers (QBE in particular) in claims made against them under D&O policies purchased by Landsbanki Islands hf., which entered winding-up proceedings in 2008 following the bank crisis.
  • Leading a class action on behalf of a group of shareholders in the collapsed bank Landsbanki against one of the bank’s former owners for allegedly deceiving and withholding information from the bank’s shareholders.
  • Representing an organisation of mackerel fisheries, which initiated court proceedings against the Icelandic state, aiming to overturn the state’s allocation of mackerel quota.

Iceland > Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 3

Landslog – Law Offices counts government ministries, municipalities and leading domestic companies among its key list of clients, and the team is particularly active in handling M&A transactions, as well as restructuring matters. Real estate and telecoms specialist Viðar Lúðvíksson heads up the practice and acted as lead adviser to Syn hf. (Vodafone Iceland) on the sale and lease-back of the company’s passive mobile phone infrastructure. Johannes Bjarni Bjornsson, Grimur Sigurdsson and Aslaug Arnadottir are key members of the team.

Practice head(s):

Viðar Lúðvíksson

Testimonials

‘Very good, all round service even in the most complex areas, e.g in emerging technologies. Very strong practice in the field of privacy and tech law.’

‘This law firm has a broad scope of experts for different fields of law. New clients will experience the true strengths of the firm through both its size when compared to other law firms in Iceland and how they create dynamic teams to serve their clients in the best possible way.’

‘First and foremost, personalised approach towards the clients, professionalism in every field and strong in communicating potential solutions.’

Key clients

Hagar hf.

Syn hf./Vodafone Iceland

Isavia (Icelandic Airport and Air Traffic Management)

DeCode Genetics

Icelandic Regional Development

The National University Hospital

Kaupthing hf.

Advania

Alvogen pharmaceuticals

Syndis

Curio

Hekla (Audi, VW, Mitsubishi dealership)

University of Iceland Lottery

Frumtok

Umbudamidlun

Icelandic Fish Market

Íslandsbanki

Icelandic Prime Contractors – IAV

Work highlights

  • Advised Syn hf. (Vodafone Iceland), a listed company, on the sale and lease-back of the company’s passive mobile phone infrastructure.
  • Acted as lead counsel to the owners of the geothermal service company Deilir ehf., which merged with Hamar ehf.
  • Advised Samkaup hf., a grocery retail chain with a 25% market share in Iceland, on various issues including negotiating an international cooperation agreement with Coop Denmark.

Iceland > Banking, finance and capital markets

The firm: Landslog – Law Offices has an extremely strong presence in Iceland and comes highly recommended. The firm provides clients with high-level one-stop legal services. The firm’s lawyers are well recognised in the Icelandic market for their fine-tuned expertise and personal services. Landslog has one of the strongest presences in Iceland in dispute resolution and has recently handled many of the largest transactions in Iceland over the past years.

The legal landscape in Iceland has slowly been emerging over the past years, shifting from legal work pertaining to insolvency, restructuring, insurance, creditor composition and other “clean-up work” following the banking crisis in 2008, over major transactions, M&A work, banking advice, industry specific transactions and corporate work.

Areas of practice
Banking and finance:  In August 2019 Hagar hf. (Iceland´s largest retail chain and one of Iceland’s largest companies), a listed company, retained Vidar Ludviksson, partner at Landslog, to handle the prospectus and legal issues in relation to the company’s bond issue in the amount of 8 bn ISK, i.e. around 53 million GBP. The issue, which was completed in February 2020, was the first asset-backed bond issue in Iceland since the crash in 2008.

Landslog currently does work for all the major banks in Iceland on various assignments and the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority. Landslog has advised Kaupthing bank hf. on various issues relating to the bank’s winding-up, regarding bankruptcy law, derivatives, set-off and other issues. The firm represented Islandsbanki in a case regarding the legality of indexation provisions on consumer loans and numerous other cases. Landslog advised Landsbankinn in its negotiations with the ‘old’ Landsbanki Íslands hf. and on drafting the necessary agreements in relation to the compensation instruments for the assets which were transferred to Landsbankinn following the collapse of the ‘old’ Landsbanki Íslands hf. in 2008.

M&A: Grimur Sigurdsson, partner at Landslog, acted as a legal advisor for HS Orka when its largest shareholder, Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. sold its entire shareholding to Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets for approx. US$305m in March 2019.

Partner Aslaug Arnadottir worked for Iceland’s third biggest retail chain Samkaup on their merger with parts of the retail chain Basko. The deal involved Samkaup buying 14 stores from Basko, all “Iceland” stores in Iceland and 7 10-11 stores. The Icelandic Competition Authority was notified of the merger in June 2018. The Icelandic Competition Authority approved Samkaup’s acquisition of 12 stores in the Reykjavik area from Basko verslanir in late 2018. In May 2019, however, the Icelandic Competition Authority annulled a merger, which concerns Samkaup’s acquisition of two stores owned by Basko verslanir in Akureyri and Reykjanesbær.  Landslog also performed a Due Dilligence review in relation to the merger.

Vidar Ludviksson was sole legal advisor to FAST-1 slhf. in the signing of heads of terms for the sale to Reginn hf. (a listed company) of two real-estate companies with an enterprise value of €185m. This was the single largest real estate transaction since the banking crisis in 2008.

Vidar Ludviksson advised Vodafone Iceland (i.e. Fjarskipti hf., listed on the Icelandic Nasdaq stock exchange) on the purchase of almost all assets and operations (including TV content agreements with foreign providers) from 365 midlar hf. This is the largest telecom and broadcasting asset purchase transaction ever in Iceland, with a value of around €69m.

Vidar Ludviksson and Jona Bjork Helgadottir advised Hagar hf. (Iceland’s largest retailer – listed on the Icelandic Nasdaq stock exchange) on the purchase of all shares in the oil company Oliuverzlun Islands hf. – a landmark in M&A deals in Iceland. The value of the deal is around €133m.

Vidar Ludviksson advised SMI ehf. on the purchase of all shares in Korputorg ehf. (the owner of the 45,000m sq Korputorg Shopping Center in Reykjavík).

Bankruptcy, reconstruction, receivership and more: Landslog specialises in bankruptcy and reconstruction and the courts have repeatedly appointed Landslog’s attorneys as receivers to manage many of the largest bankruptcy and reconstruction cases in Iceland, such as Milestone, Mosaic Fashion, V&Þ and numerous others. Furthermore, one of the largest bankruptcy estates in the world, Kaupthing bank hf., hired Landslog to take around 50 rescission cases to court on behalf of the estate.

Corporate and commercial: Landslog has acted for the largest companies in Iceland. Clients include Hagar, Iceland Prime Contractors, various ministries in Iceland, the National Power Company in Iceland, the Reykjavik Power Company, Bauhaus, Norvik Group, HB Grandi and various municipalities in Iceland, including Reykjavik.

Dispute resolution: the Icelandic government instructed partner Johannes Karl Sveinsson to represent it in various disputes in the wake of the Icelandic banking crises.

English insurers hired Vidar Ludviksson to handle claims made against them under D&O policies purchased by Landsbanki Islands hf., which entered under winding-up proceedings following the banking crash in 2008.  The ongoing cases (which were lodged in 2011 and 2012) are landmark cases with regard to D&O insurance practice in Iceland and are among the largest and most complex in Icelandic civil procedure. They have been followed closely by the U.K. insurance market.

Landslog successfully defended the insurance company Tryggingamidstodin hf. in several legal proceedings pertaining to D&O policies.

Landslog handles a 250-participant class action, lodged in October 2015, the first of its kind in Iceland, against the former largest owner of the Landsbanki Islands bank.

EEA, competition and state aid: Landslog represented the Icelandic government in state aid cases before the EFTA Surveillance Authority regarding the restructuring of the Icelandic banks.

Landslog represented Kortathjonustan (a card acquirer in Iceland) in the largest civil settlement relating to competition in Iceland which was reached on the payment of damages to Kortathjonustan due to Valitor‘s (VISA Iceland) and Borgun‘s (MasterCard Iceland) breaches against the Icelandic competition/antitrust rules.

Data protection and IT law: Landslog is the leading Icelandic law firm on issues pertaining to processing of personal data and the EU Data Protection Directive. One of Landslog’s partners was Iceland’s Data Protection Commissioner from 2013 to 2014. Landslog specialises in IT-related issues, including IP, telecommunications, software procurement contracts and electronic forensics. Among Landslog’s clients are Advania, Iceland Post and The Icelandic Data Protection Authority.

DepartmentNameEmailTelephone
Banking and finance Johannes Karl Sveinssonjks@landslog.is(+354)5202900
Restructuring Grimur Sigurdssongrimur@landslog.is(+354)5202900
Corporate and commercial Johannes B Bjornssonjbb@landslog.is(+354)5202900
M&A, Insurance, Dispute resolution Vidar Ludvikssonvidar@landslog.is(+354)5202900
EEA, competition and state aid Aslaug Arnadottiraslaug@landslog.is(+354)5202900
EEA, competition and state aid Jona Björk Helgadottirjonabjork@landslog.is(+354)5202900
Data protection and IT Hordur Helgi Helgasonhhh@landslog.is(+354)5202900
Construction, Development, Fisheries Gardar Gardarssongardar@landslog.is(+354)5202900
Corporate, Competition Hlynur Halldorssonhlh@landslog.is(+354)5202900
Administrative, Zoning and Planning Ivar Palssonivar@landslog.is(+354)5202900
PhotoNamePositionProfile
Aslaug Arnadottir photoMrs Aslaug ArnadottirPartner.
Johannes Bjarni Bjornsson photoMr Johannes Bjarni BjornssonPartner.
Gardar Gardarsson photoMr Gardar GardarssonPartner.
Hlynur Halldorsson photoMr Hlynur HalldorssonPartner.
Jona Bjork Helgadottir photoMrs Jona Bjork HelgadottirPartner.
Hordur Helgi Helgason photoMr Hordur Helgi HelgasonPartner. Recent work: Hörður Helgi was the Data Protection Authority’s (DPA’s) first…
Viðar Lúðvíksson photoMr Viðar LúðvíkssonPartner at Landslog Law Offices.  Main focus on Corporate and Commercial Law,…
Ivar Palsson photoMr Ivar PalssonPartner.
Grimur Sigurdsson photoMr Grimur SigurdssonPartner. Recent work: Grimur acted as a legal advisor for HS Orka…
Johannes Karl Sveinsson photoMr Johannes Karl SveinssonPartner.
Number of lawyers : 20
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Contact : Vidar Ludviksson