Firm Profile > Waselius & Wist > Helsinki, Finland
Waselius & Wist Offices
ETELÄESPLANADI 24A
00130 HELSINKI
Finland
Waselius & Wist > The Legal 500 Rankings
Banking and finance Tier 2
Waselius & Wist acts for several international banking clients including Danske Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays on the Finnish law aspects of complex cross-border transactions; the group also provides regulatory advice. The practice is co-led by Timo Lehtimäki and senior counsel Lauri Peltola, who are both praised for their transactional and financing expertise, particularly in cross-border deals. Maria Lehtimäki made partner in early 2020, and is a specialist in structured financing and cross-border mandates. Tarja Wist left the firm.
Testimonials
‘Easy to work with and good at explaining the local law issues.‘
Key clients
Danske Bank
Barclays Capital
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Citigroup
Santander
Société Générale
Goldman Sachs
Deutsche Bank
BNP Paribas
Tax Tier 2
Niklas Thibblin and Jouni Weckström jointly head up the 'practical and to-the-point' team at Waselius & Wist, which acts on transaction-related tax and structuring matters alongside contentious issues. The practice's advisory work spans advice on the tax aspects of corporate reorganisations, acquisitions, financings and restructurings, where the group acts for major international financiers including JP Morgan and Santander. On the contentious side, the group handles complex disputes at a Finnish and EU level including transfer pricing and VAT litigation.
Testimonials
‘Very practical and to the point.‘
‘Niklas Thibblin, very nice person to work with and always straight to the point and provides user friendly advice.‘
‘The team forms a very coherent whole with a long term prospective of maximizing customer benefit.’
‘Niklas Thibblin demonstrates excellent analytical thinking.‘
Key clients
Goldman Sachs
Hemsö AB
Santander Consumer Finance
JP Morgan
Skylogic/Eutelsat
The Royal Bank of Scotland
HiQ International AB
Capital markets Tier 3
Waselius & Wist combines expertise in IPOs, public tender offers, bond issuances and private placements with a strong focus on regulatory advice relating to securities, hybrid instruments and other alternative investments. Clients include major international banks and financial institutions, with key examples including Santander and Goldman Sachs. The practice is now led by cross-border specialist Timo Lehtimäki following Tarja Wist's departure. Maria Lehtimäki became a partner in early 2020, specialising in cross-border financing, transactions, and associated regulatory elements.
Testimonials
‘The team has very good industry knowledge. They work quickly and efficiently and provide clear advice.‘
Key clients
Goldman Sachs
ING Bank N.V.
The Royal Bank of Canada
Société Générale Group
BNP Paribas
Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 3
The practice at Waselius & Wist specialises in cross-border transactions acting as local counsel on several high-value deals and regularly advising foreign buyers. Christoffer Waselius and Fredrik Lassenius co-lead the team, which also advises industrial clients in the technology, transport, and telecoms sectors alongside financial institutions. The group recently advised Norwegian infrastructure company NRC Group on its €225m acquisition of VR Track, a subsidiary of the Finnish state-owned railway operator VR Group. Tarja Wist has left the firm.
Testimonials
‘An experienced team; flexible and quickly available in urgent cases.’
‘They are easily the best firm we have experienced in Helsinki. The firm is a crucial support to our Finnish operations. The attitude is very commercial and advice is very practical. As with other leading firms, they strive to assist.’
Key clients
NRC Group
Apax Partners
CMA CGM
Maksuturva Group Oy
Digital Colony
BASF
IFN Group
Brunswick Marine
Cerberus Capital Management
OpenText Corporation
AEM Holdings
Loomis
JOAB Group
Secto Automotive Oy
Inlook Group
Employment Tier 3
Led by Jan Waselius and Jouni Kautto, the team at Waselius & Wist advises primarily on employment matters relating to the firm's wider M&A transactions with an emphasis on reorganisations and redundancies. The practice also handles employment-related litigation including cases argued before the district courts and Finnish Labour Court.
Key clients
BASF Oy
Ejendals
SCA
NCH
Bristol-Myers Squibb
EU and competition Tier 3
The team at Waselius & Wist acts across the full range of competition matters, with a particular focus on merger control work and public procurement litigation. Practice head Lotta Pohjanpalo successfully represented Ascensia Diabetes Care before the Market Court in litigation against the Joint Municipal Authority of the Hospital District of Central Finland. Other clients include Bayer, NRC Group, Commonwealth Bank and First State Investments. Litigator Bernt Juthström is also a key name to note.
Testimonials
‘The Waselius & Wist team provides an undeniably compelling choice in the market. Their ability to handle complex issues with simplicity cannot be understated.‘
Key clients
Maksuturva Group Oy
Bayer Oy
Olympus
Essity
Digital Colony
Gardner Denver
BASF
Ejendals
APAX Partners
Oerlikon Group
Intellectual property Tier 3
Led by Bernt Juthström, Waselius & Wist's practice acts across the full spectrum of IP matters including the protection and enforcement of copyrights, trade marks, patents and trade secrets, with a particular strength in trade secrets disputes, which leveraged the firm's wider focus on litigation. Notable international clients include Mars and Samsung. In a recent mandate, Juthström represented MSD Finland in a high-profile patent dispute relating to medical biosimilars, the first case of this type in Finland.
Testimonials
‘Always give deep and thorough advice. Experienced lawyers with a good reputation.‘
‘Bernt Juthström is one of the best lawyers in his field in Finland and the Nordic region. He is sharp and to the point with excellent analytical skills.‘
Key clients
Chr. Hansen A/S
Hardware Group Finland Oy
Samsung
Electronics Nordic AB
Mars Incorporated
MSD Finland Oy
Dispute resolution Tier 4
Waselius & Wist's partner-led practice handles litigation and arbitration and is headed up by experienced arbitrator Jan Waselius and litigators Bernt Juthström and Christoffer Waselius. Notable clients include Bayer, Nordic Gold, and BASF; the team also successfully defended MSD Finland in a preliminary injunction case relating to biosimilars, which involved notable patent and trade mark elements.
Key clients
BASF Oy
Nordic Gold Oy
Essity
First Quantum Minerals
Ejendals
NCH
Bayer
HF Industriemontagen Franz Hofmaninger GmbH
MSD Finland Oy /Merck
Waselius & Wist > Firm Profile
Waselius & Wist is a leading Finnish commercial law firm, committed to provide highly specialised legal services in complex business transactions. The firm is especially renowned for high-end advice within all fields of commercial law, with particular emphasis on capital markets, banking and finance, including financial restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, dispute resolution, real estate, energy and natural resources, tax law, employment law, competition law as well as IPR. The firm takes pride in being able to deliver tailor-made services and solutions with efficiency, accuracy and flexibility, aimed at satisfying the needs of the most demanding clients
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banking and finance | Timo Lehtimäki | ||
| Banking and finance | Maria Lehtimäki | ||
| Capital markets | Timo Lehtimäki | ||
| Capital markets | Maria Lehtimäki | ||
| Competition and public procurement | Lotta Pohjanpalo | ||
| Corporate governance and compliance | Jan Waselius | ||
| Corporate governance and compliance | Bernt Juthström | ||
| Corporate recovery | Timo Lehtimäki | ||
| Dispute resolution | Jan Waselius | ||
| Dispute resolution | Bernt Juthström | ||
| Employment, pensions and incentives | Jouni Kautto | ||
| Employment, pensions and incentives | Jan Waselius | ||
| Energy and natural resources | Christoffer Waselius | ||
| Environment | Christoffer Waselius | ||
| General corporate and business law | Lotta Pohjanpalo | ||
| General corporate and business law | Fredrik Lassenius | ||
| IPR | Bernt Juthström | ||
| M&A and private equity | Christoffer Waselius | ||
| M&A and private equity | Fredrik Lassenius | ||
| Real estate | Fredrik Lassenius | ||
| Real estate | Christoffer Waselius | ||
| Tax | Niklas Thibblin | ||
| Tax | Jouni Weckström | ||
| TMT | Bernt Juthström |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
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Ms Ann-Marie Eklund | View Profile | |
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Mr Kim Ekqvist | View Profile | |
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Ms Mira Hänninen | View Profile | |
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Ms Essi Hietaoja | View Profile | |
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Mr Bernt Juthström | View Profile | |
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Mr Henri Kaskimo | View Profile | |
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Mr Jouni Kautto | View Profile | |
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Ms Ida Keränen | View Profile | |
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Mr Matti Koivusalo | View Profile | |
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Mr Fredrik Lassenius | View Profile | |
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Ms Maria Lehtimäki | View Profile | |
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Mr Timo Lehtimäki | View Profile | |
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Mr Niko Markkanen | View Profile | |
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Ms Mona Numminen | View Profile | |
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Ms Linda Nyman | View Profile | |
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Mr Lauri Peltola | View Profile | |
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Ms Lotta Pohjanpalo | View Profile | |
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Ms Emilia Saloranta | View Profile | |
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Mr Matti Siiteri | View Profile | |
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Mr Niklas Thibblin | View Profile | |
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Mr Christoffer Waselius | View Profile | |
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Mr Jan Waselius | View Profile | |
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Ms Charlotta Waselius Sittnikow | View Profile | |
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Mr Jouni Weckström | View Profile |
Staff Figures
Number of lawyers : 20 Number of partners : 10Languages
English Finnish French German SwedishOther
Contacts : Jan Waselius Contacts : Lauri Peltola Contacts : Niklas Thibblin Contacts : Lotta Pohjanpalo Contacts : Bernt Juthström Contacts : Timo Lehtimäki Contacts : Christoffer Waselius Contacts : Fredrik Lassenius Contacts : Jouni Kautto Contacts : Jouni Weckström Contacts : Maria LehtimäkiComparative Guides
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Finland: Banking & Finance
Published: March 2020
Authors: Timo Lehtimäki Linda Nyman-Kujala
This country-specific Q&A provides an overview to Banking & Finance laws and regulations that may occur in Finland.
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Finland: Lending & Secured Finance
Published: March 2020
Authors: Timo Lehtimäki Ann-Marie Eklund Essi Hietaoja
This country-specific Q&A provides an overview to Lending & Secured Finance laws and regulations that may occur in Finland.