NJORD Law Firm

Chairman of the board Christian Schwarz-Hansen explains how the firm is adapting to clients’ changing needs   What do you see as the main points that differentiate NJORD Law Firm from your competitors? One of the key factors that differentiate NJORD Law Firm from our competitors is our people. We have the right team with the right mindset, ensuring that every task is handled efficiently and with expertise. Additionally, our strong international focus, backed by years of experience, has positioned us as one of the preferred law firms in the Nordics. Lastly, we prioritize having selected but deep specializations, allowing us to develop in-depth knowledge and a thorough understanding of our clients' businesses, ensuring tailored and high-quality legal solutions.   Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that? Over the next 12 months we expect significant growth in real estate and construction, corporate M&A transactions, and corporate tech and IT compliance. The increasing demand in these areas has led us to strengthen our teams by bringing in new partners with expertise tailored to market needs. This aligns with our strategy of maintaining selected but broad specializations, ensuring we can provide deep and comprehensive expertise to our clients.   What's the main change you've made in the firm that will benefit clients? The most significant change we have made at NJORD Law Firm to benefit our clients is the addition of more specialists to our team. This expansion enhances our ability to handle more complex and larger cases, ensuring that we can provide even stronger expertise and support to our clients across various legal areas.   Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them? AI is revolutionizing the legal industry, making legal services faster, more accurate, and more efficient. At our law firm, we leverage AI to enhance research, quickly analyze legal documents, and predict case outcomes, ensuring the best possible strategy for our clients. Automated contract drafting and compliance monitoring reduce risks and save valuable time. Additionally, smart tools help us stay ahead of legal changes and optimize case management. With AI, we provide faster responses, improved accuracy, and cost-effective solutions—giving our clients the best legal support.   Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business? A great example of how we have added value to a client’s business is our involvement in a major real estate transaction in Q2 of 2024. My team and I at NJORD Law Firm successfully advised the seller in the largest Danish real estate transaction. This accomplishment highlights our dedication, expertise, and commitment to delivering exceptional legal advice, ensuring the best possible outcome for our client. Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms - where do you see the firm in three years’ time? Clients are increasingly seeking stability and strategic direction from their law firms, and at NJORD, we continue to consolidate our firm, ensuring that stability and specialization go hand in hand. In three years, we expect to have further strengthened the NJORD business platform and expanded our presence across the entire Nordic region, reinforcing our position as a leading law firm in the international market.

What has been your greatest achievement, in a professional and personal capability? As a female lawyer specialized within Shipping- and Transport law, I am proud to have made my way to become a highly trusted and recognized legal adviser for many clients in the industry. I take particular pride in having worked closely together with the industry to obtain the changes in the regulation on driving and rest time, which were so essential for the industry. On a personal level, I am happy having been able to have a family and raise our wonderful children besides having a career. What do you do differently from your peers in the industry? I have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of my client’s business and situation for which reason I have a very good background for reaching the best possible solution to legal issues presented to me by clients. I have drafted the Danish legal commentary to the CMR Convention, which gives me a very solid basis for advising on CMR matters including logistics and project cargo. What advice would you give to your younger self? Do not worry so much – you will be able to become a trusted adviser within your field. Can you give me a practical example of how you helped a client add value to the business? I have advised a client on how to negotiate a balanced logistics contract which resulted in the client winning the contract because they could see possibilities where most of their competitors saw obstacles. Within your sector, what do you think will be the biggest challenge for clients over the next 12 months? Competition is still fierce. The upcoming new EU regulation on, amongst others, Cabotage is expected to create new challenges as it is essential for the transport companies to find hauliers and drivers to carry cargo within Europe.

What has been your greatest achievement, in a professional and personal capability? To win all the cases I’ve litigated before the Court of Justice of the European Union – whether representing the EU Commission, global corporations, or private individuals – has been a welcome reward for the countless hours spent on specializing and keeping up to date in the dynamic field of EU law. Keeping ahead in a field where the finest lawyers from all of Europe compete requires a constant and dynamic interaction with both clients, scholars, and my own team, and to build such relationships has been very rewarding, in each and every case fought over the years. On a personal level, it has been a great pleasure to see pro bono work being rewarded with the Grand Chamber of the CJEU overturning Danish immigration law in 2016, reversing more than 12 years practice of illegally refusing children of migrant workers to live with their parents: All refusals have now been reversed, and the families reunited. What do you do differently from your peers in the industry? Although I have to delegate work to members of my team, I take pride in knowing and understanding every aspect of my clients’ business and situation, keeping in constant close touch. My clients are my friends, and quite a few of them have become personal friends as well. These close relationships constantly provides me with new insights and in-depth knowledge, making me well-prepared to deal with all kinds of legal problems, as a generalist and not just as an extremely focused specialist. What advice would you give to your younger self? To have faith in the fact that dedication, solid expertise, and professionalism will win you the best clients in the longer run: Networks aren’t the only key to winning business. And to specialize early on in an area of law where you are not limited to a small jurisdiction like Denmark in your work as a lawyer: Mastering EU competition law, you can help clients all over Europe and the world. Can you give me a practical example of how you helped a client add value to the business? By limiting parallel imports of pharmaceuticals. Persuading the CJEU to overturn a judgment of the German Supreme Court and ruling against the EU Commission, I succeeded in reminding courts around Europe of the importance of protecting the rights of trademark owners, allowing original manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and medical devices to limit the detrimental re-packaging and re-branding of parallel imported products. The whole industry eagerly welcomed the 2016 judgment. Within your sector, what do you think will be the biggest challenge for clients over the next 12 months? To ensure that the competition authorities, as well as the regulatory bodies of the different Member States, do not become omnipotent, but are constantly reminded to respect the rule of law and the rights and privileges of undertakings. Aiming to please those currently in power, rather than to ensure a correct implementation of EU law, seems to be increasingly important to many enforcers in both the Nordics and around Europe.