18.5.2020

Castrén & Snellman Most Popular Law Firm among Students and Third Most Popular Employer in the Legal Sector Overall

Castrén & Snellman broke into the top three most desirable legal sector employers behind only the courts and the Ministry of Justice in the 2020 Universum student survey. The survey is conducted every year to evaluate the image of various employers among students.

For the past few years, the three most popular employers have been in the public sector, but this year, C&S took third place, passing last year’s third, the European Union. Our firm is the most popular private sector employer in the legal sector for the twelfth year running.

‘We have been systematically developing our work with students and universities for a long time. Our goal is to help students lay the groundwork for a career as a legal expert while they are still studying. Our role as a responsible employer is also becoming increasingly important, and we feel it is our task to support aspiring legal experts and give them a positive picture of the field from the very start of their careers’, said HR Director Outi Ruohola.

‘We put a great deal of effort into the trainee experience and in the continual development of the applicant experience, and it is wonderful to see this work bear fruit. The students in our trainee programmes not only get to develop their skills, but also meet new people and build their professional networks. In addition to the Universum survey, we collect feedback from students for each trainee period, and trainees also take part in our annual personnel survey. According to our feedback, our trainees are happy to recommend us as an employer’, Ruohola said.

Generation Entering the Workforce Appreciates both Hard and Soft Values

In addition to ranking the most popular employers, the Universum survey also charted student attitudes to working life. Among most groups of students, pay, esteem and development opportunities—in addition to diverse work duties—were important features of an ideal employer. However, students also value respect and a friendly work environment. According to the survey, the values of the generation that is now entering the workforce is a hybrid: alongside traditional working life values, employers are expected to take of people and the workplace culture.

The results of the survey were published on 14 May. A total of 14,109 students and 512 law students participated in the survey this year. In addition to law students, Universum surveys students in the engineering, health/medicine, business and IT sectors.

We’d like to thank the students for this recognition!

Latest references

We advised Neoen Renewables Finland Oy, part of the French Neoen Group, in its sale of a data centre project to a consortium consisting of international data centre developers and operators. This marked Neoen’s first data centre development project in Finland. Founded in 2008, Neoen is one of the world’s leading independent renewable energy producers. The company operates in 15 countries. It develops, finances, builds, owns, and operates solar power plants, wind farms, and battery storage systems. Neoen Group is owned by global alternative asset manager Brookfield Corporation.
Case published 17.9.2026
We advised Jolt Capital and Tesi in connection with their investment in VEV, a leading provider of commercial fleet electrification solutions. The investment, led by Jolt Capital with Tesi as co-investor, will support VEV’s next phase of growth and expansion across Europe. As part of the transaction, VEV became an independent company following the acquisition of Vitol’s stake in the business. Founded by Vitol, VEV provides integrated fleet electrification solutions combining fleet strategy, charging infrastructure, energy supply and operational services. Through its VEV IQ platform, the company supports more than 6,000 commercial electric vehicles across Europe and has been deployed across more than 600 sites spanning the transport, logistics and waste sectors. Jolt Capital is a private equity firm focused on growth investments in European deeptech companies. Tesi is a Finnish state-owned investment company that promotes Finnish business and economic growth through investments. We advised Jolt Capital and Tesi on the equity financing and structuring aspects of the transaction. International law firm Goodwin advised the investors on the acquisition of VEV.
Case published 10.9.2026
VR-Group Plc is a transport and logistics group owned by the Finnish State, operating passenger and freight rail transport in Finland with activities also in the Swedish market. VR Group provides passenger, logistics and maintenance services with over 160 years’ experience in developing responsible transport of the future. We advise VR Group in intellectual property matters as part of the company’s wider brand protection efforts. Our assignments have included advice on copyright, design rights and trademarks, focusing on the protection of the company’s visual identity – including its distinctive green colour – in connection with transport services as part of a comprehensive IP protection strategy. VR Group’s consistent brand building has also received recognition, including the Finland Chamber of Commerce’s Brand of the Year award in 2026. In the competition, brands were viewed comprehensively from various perspectives, including their story, strategic role, brand renewal ability and intellectual property protection. The jury found that VR had understood the importance of the protection of its brand as part of a comprehensive business strategy. 
Case published 9.9.2026
We advised NoHo Partners Plc on the issuance of EUR 50 million senior secured floating rate notes. The notes have a tenor of four years and mature on 10 September 2030. The notes bear interest at a rate of three-month EURIBOR plus a margin of 4.375 per cent. per annum. The notes were allocated to a mix of domestic and international investors. We also advised NoHo Partners on the negotiation of its new senior facilities agreement. The facilities agreement comprises a EUR 60,000,000 term loan facility, a EUR 10,000,000 capex facility and a EUR 27,000,000 revolving credit facility. “We are delighted by the interest investors have shown in the company’s Notes, which reflects confidence in our strategy. The successful issuance of the Notes, together with the new loan agreement, extends the maturity profile of our financing and enables the company to continue executing its growth strategy going forward. I would like to thank all investors for their participation, as well as our partner bank for the excellent execution of the Notes issuance”, says Jarno Suominen, CEO of NoHo Partners. OP Corporate Bank plc acted as the sole lead manager and bookrunner for the issue of the notes. NoHo Partners Plc is a Finnish group established in 1996, and it specialises in restaurant services being the creative innovator of the Northern European restaurant market. The company was listed in Nasdaq Helsinki in 2013 becoming the first Finnish listed restaurant company, and it has continued to grow strongly throughout its history. NoHo Partners’ vision is to be the leading restaurant operator in Northern Europe.
Case published 4.9.2026