Castrén & Snellman appoints Finland’s leading tax expert Janne Juusela as partner

‘Janne is a highly esteemed and recognised tax lawyer in our market. His long and versatile experience as an advisor to businesses and as an active contributor to national discussion in tax issues adds greatly to our capabilities and strengthens our firm’s way forward as the forerunner of demanding legal services. Tax issues are becoming increasingly important to our customers and form one of the key drivers of our firm. With Janne joining our team, the advice we offer to our clients will become even more comprehensive and strategic to our clients,’ says Sakari Lukinmaa, Managing Partner of Castrén & Snellman.

Janne Juusela has been advising companies in matters relating to corporate taxation, international taxation, mergers and acquisitions, and tax litigation for more than twenty years. He has successfully defended clients in several of Finland’s most challenging tax disputes, such as the transfer pricing disputes of the past years. During his long career, Juusela has been advising a wide variety of companies in different industries. He is also a regular author and lecturer on tax issues.

Prior to joining Castrén & Snellman, Juusela headed the tax practice at Borenius Attorneys Ltd. He has previously worked in legislative drafting at the Finnish Ministry of Finance and as a lawyer at an international audit firm.

Mikko Alakare, head of Castrén & Snellman’s Tax & Structuring service, is a former colleague of Juusela: in the past, the two worked together on tax matters for fifteen years.

‘Janne is the absolute leader in our market. His extensive experience is a great complement to our team’s expertise, and our skilled team will now be equipped with even broader shoulders to handle any tax issues our customers may have. I would like to extend a warm welcome to Janne, the third experienced partner of our tax team. It’s great to work together again,’ says Alakare.

Juusela has been following Castrén & Snellman’s progress with interest:

‘Castrén & Snellman’s strong growth has not come unnoticed. The firm is a forerunner in many areas of business law and has clear targets for moving forward. This is an environment that inspires me. The tax team has the potential to take the service to the next level as the strategic partner of our clients. I am highly motivated to join the team in implementing the firm’s long-term strategy on its path to growth,’ Juusela says.

The demand for high-quality tax advice in companies is increasing fast. Juusela sees the changing tax environment as a challenge for businesses:

‘Tax legislation is increasing and becoming more complex. Both the OECD and the EU are introducing new tax regulations at an accelerating pace, and international regulation is being implemented in the home market. In Finland, in turn, fiscal consolidation will put pressure on increasing taxes, and the Finnish Tax Administration seeks to collect taxes from companies as efficiently as possible. Such an operating environment will inevitably cause differences of interpretation and increase the number of disagreements between companies and tax authorities. It will be increasingly important to advocate for taxpayers’ interests,’ Juusela points out.

Janne Juusela obtained his doctorate in law from the University of Helsinki in 1998 and has been acting as an adjunct professor of tax law at the University of Helsinki since 2002. He was admitted to the Finnish Bar Association in 2007. He has authored numerous books on tax law and co-authored, among other things, the renowned ‘Yritysverotus I–II’, a cumulatively supplemented handbook on corporate taxation in Finland.

Our warmest congratulations and welcome to our firm, Janne!

Castrén & Snellman

Castrén & Snellman is a forerunner of demanding legal services in mergers and acquisitions, dispute resolution and the full scope of business law. We are an international law firm seeing rapid growth in the Nordics. What makes us stand out is our straight-forward way of working, our true collaboration across teams and our long tradition of exceeding expectations. When challenges come your way, our globally recognised experts bring clear thinking and innovative solutions to the table.

We are a strategic speaking partner with a comprehensive approach. Our goal is to help our clients shape their market and build their own sustainable success stories.