Roschier, Attorneys Ltd - The Who's Who Legal 100 2012

What is the Who's Who Legal 100?

Corporate tax emerges as Roschier’s strongest suit with four of its lawyers ranking highly in the corresponding chapter, all of whom are located in the Helsinki office. Mika Ohtonen heads the firm’s tax and corporate structuring practice and is considered a “definite inclusion” by peers. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Ohtonen was a tax manager at a leading accountancy firm and clients commented on his “deep understanding” of the area. Gunnar Westerlund achieves a “stellar performance” in our research with listings across three practice sectors: tax, banking and project finance and is described as a “great asset” to the firm. Completing the set are Vesa Rasinaho and Pekka Talari, both “highly talented” individuals.

The firm’s M&A practice is represented by three lawyer inclusions and the last year has seen the team work on some highly important cases, including advising DENTSPLY International in the €1.25 billion acquisition of Astra Tech AB, and advising Aleris AB on its €121 million acquisition of Proxima Intressenter AB. Head of the firm’s M&A practice in Sweden and recently appointed head of office for Stockholm, Jens Bengtsson features prominently for his “depth of knowledge”. Axel Calissendorff is “highly recommended” and also features in the corporate governance chapter. Based in Helsinki, Jon Unnérus is “excellent”.

Three nominees appear in the real estate chapter, an area where the firm prides itself on being able to offer international clients a seamless service across the Nordic-Baltic region. Mika Alanko, head of the real estate and environment practice, appears in both corresponding chapters. He is “vastly knowledgeable” in different transaction cultures and in property questions surrounding environmental liability. Kaj Swanljung has a diverse practice and is also recognised for his management labour and employment expertise. Completing the trio is Marcus Hedén, who peers describe as “first rate”.

On the contentious side the firm performs equally well. Leading Roschier’s dispute resolution practice, Claes Lundblad demonstrates the firm’s wide offering of services with listings across the arbitration, litigation and product liability sections. Petri Taivalkoski is “well versed” at handling complex international disputes.

Roschier’s competition team is led by Christian Wik, a “very fine practitioner”. Niko Hukkinen is also selected for inclusion in our research and is a “client favourite”. The team has recently been strengthened by the arrival of Lars Johansson who rejoined the firm in January and brings considerable expertise to the practice.

The firm’s further listings emphasise its impressive abilities across a broad range of legal sectors and the outstanding skill sets of its lawyers – as demonstrated by Rainer Hilli who appears in the life sciences, patents and trademarks sections. Overall, Roschier is a true market leading firm that continues to grow in presence and reputation year-on-year.

Roschier, Attorneys Ltd - Professional Notice

Roschier’s main offices are located in Helsinki and Stockholm, with a regional office in Vaasa. Altogether, the firm currently employs some 170 lawyers in Finland and Sweden, 38 of whom are partners.

Roschier is the Finnish member firm of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading network of independent law firms. It is also a member of the RR Alliance, an integrated cross-border operation of premier law firms in the Nordic–Baltic region, specialising in demanding international business law assignments and large-scale transactions. The RR Alliance firms employ approximately 280 lawyers in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Roschier’s main areas of practice:

Corporate Advisory: Main focus is on corporate governance, risk management and board liability for public companies, as well as advice in relation to public company transactions. Main contacts: Finland – Manne Airaksinen, Jan-Anders Wik; Sweden – Ola Åhman, Mattias Friberg.

Dispute Resolution: Main focus is on international arbitration and complex commercial court disputes, including IPR litigation and white-collar crime. Main contacts: Finland – Petri Taivalkoski, Gisela Knuts; Sweden – Claes Lundblad, Henrik Fieber.

Employment & Benefits: Services cover all legal aspects of human resources, including representation in union negotiations, as well as dispute resolution. Main contacts: Finland – Nina Isokorpi; Sweden – Magnus Wallander.

EU & Competition: Full range of competition law services, including cartel and dominance investigation related work as well as proceedings and compliance work. Main contacts: Finland – Christian Wik, Niko Hukkinen; Sweden – Lars Johansson.

Finance & Capital Markets: Services cover a wide range of financing work, including leveraged and structured finance transactions as well as debt and equity capital markets work. Main contacts: Finland – Gunnar Westerlund; Sweden – Fredrik Rydin, Johan Häger, Joakim Wedlund.

Green Economy & Energy: Main focus is on green transactions and renewable energy solutions, including advising on environmental, M&A and competition issues, especially regulatory matters and matters relating to infrastructure investments and energy supply. Main contacts: Finland – Mika Alanko. Sweden – Björn Winström.

Intellectual Property: Services cover tailored solutions for companies in the pharmaceuticals, biosciences, technology, media and brand-intensive industries. Main contacts: Finland – Rainer Hilli; Sweden – Lars Johansson.

M&A: Services cover all aspects of a transaction from initiation to completion. The practice has extensive experience in a wide range of different industries. Main contacts: Finland – Jouni Salmi, Toni Siimes; Sweden – Jens Bengtsson, Mårten Willamo.

Marketing & Consumer Law: Main focus is on regulated industries such as the pharmaceutical, beverage, tobacco and betting industries on EU and national levels. Main contacts: Finland – Mikael Segercrantz; Sweden – Lars Johansson.

Outsourcing: BPO expertise extending to IT, HR, payroll and other outsourcing projects in fields such as telecoms, pharmaceuticals, health care, banking, and pulp and paper. Main contacts: Finland – Mikko Manner; Sweden – Magnus Wallander.

Private Equity: Tailor-made services for structuring and executing private equity transactions, also offering in-depth expertise in structured financing and lending. Main contacts: Finland – Jon Unnérus, Toni Siimes; Sweden – Jens Bengtsson, Malin Leffler, Björn Winström.

Public M&A: Services focus on high-end advice in public takeovers, reorganisations and mergers of public companies. Main contacts: Finland – Paula Linna, Manne Airaksinen; Sweden – Pontus Enquist, Ola Sandersson.

Real Estate & Environment: Services cover real estate acquisitions, property development, fund structuring, finance and environmental liability. Main contacts: Finland – Mika Alanko; Sweden – Marcus Hedén.

Restructuring & Insolvency: Main focus on workouts in connection with leveraged financing structures. Main contacts: Finland – Gunnar Westerlund, Jyrki Prusila; Sweden – Fredrik Rydin.

Tax & Corporate Structuring: Main focus is on tax structuring, public company restructurings and tender offers. Main contacts: Finland – Mika Ohtonen.