Lexology Index Awards (previously known as Who’s Who Legal Awards) has named Castrén & Snellman Finland’s Law Firm of the Year 2024 on 7 November in London. Our firm won the award for the fourth year in a row.
8.11.2024
Castrén & Snellman named Law Firm of the Year in Finland at the Lexology Index Awards 2024
Lexology Index announced awards for the leading firms in over 70 jurisdictions to the leading firms and individuals that have performed exceptionally well in their research.
29 of our experts received high individual rankings in various practice areas this year. Thought Leaders are those individuals who have performed exceptionally well in Lexology Index’s research, with only a small proportion of those considered selected. Only around 5% of all nominees are selected as Index Global Elite Thought Leaders.
Index Global Elite Thought Leaders at Castrén & Snellman
- Pekka Jaatinen: Restructuring & Insolvency
- Tomi Kemppainen: Labour & Employment
- Jussi Nieminen: Competition Future Leaders
- Sakari Salonen: IP – Patents; IP – Trademarks
- Outi Tähtinen: Labour & Employment
- Eija Warma-Lehtinen: Data – Data Privacy & Protection; Data – Data Security
Index Thought Leaders
- Anders Forss: Commercial Litigation
- Tuomas Lehtinen: Construction
- Carola Lindholm: Energy – Power/Electricity; M&A
- Sakari Lukinmaa: Firm Management
- Nina Mikander: IP – Trademark Agents & Attorneys
Index Recommended and Future Leader
- Marko Hentunen: Arbitration; Commercial Litigation
- Merja Kivelä: Capital Markets – Debt & Equity
- Mikko Alakare: Corporate Tax – Advisory; Corporate Tax – Controversy
- Janne Juusela: Corporate Tax – Advisory; Corporate Tax – Controversy
- Samuli Tarkiainen: Energy – Power/Electricity
- Kim Parviainen: Data – Data Privacy & Protection
- Anna Kuusniemi-Laine: Government – Government Contracts
- Johanna Lähde: Government – Government Contracts
- Hanna Paloheimo: Life Sciences – Patent Litigation; Life Sciences – Regulatory
- Suvi Kettunen: Labour & Employment
- Jutta Nieminen: Labour & Employment
- Hilma-Karoliina Rozell (nee Markkanen): IP – Copyright
- Teresa Kauppila: Corporate Governance
- Elina Pesonen: Restructuring & Insolvency
- Vesa Rasinaho: Corporate Governance
- Pauliina Tenhunen: Corporate Governance; Restructuring & Insolvency
- Jan Örndahl: M&A
- Jerker Pitkänen: Future leader – Arbitration
See all the winners on the Lexology Index website.
Latest news
Latest references
eQ Community Properties Fund – Sale of two healthcare properties
We assisted eQ Community Properties Fund in the sale of two healthcare properties to a fund managed by Northern Horizon. The properties have a total floor area of approximately 3,500 square meters. The two properties are located in Espoo and Lahti. The Espoo asset was completed in 2018 and the Lahti asset was completed in 2023. Both assets are operated by Attendo, the leading care provider in the Nordic region.
Case published 9.5.2025
BMW AG – Enforcement of BMW’s trademark and design rights
We successfully represented BMW in an exceptionally long dispute over whether the spare rims sold by the defendant and the hub caps included in them infringed BMW’s trademark and design rights. The Market Court found that the sign used by the defendant caused a likelihood of confusion with BMW’s trademarks. The defendant had used the sign on the hub caps and in the marketing of the hub caps and rims, leading the Market Court to find that the defendant had infringed BMW’s trademark rights. The defendant admitted to infringing BMW’s Community design but denied the related injunction claim. However, the Market Court found that there was no particular reason to refrain from issuing an injunction. The Market Court prohibited the defendant from continuing to infringe BMW’s trademarks and Community design and ordered the defendant to alter or destroy the products and marketing materials that infringed BMW’s rights. Furthermore, the Market Court ordered the defendant to pay BMW EUR 70,000 in reasonable compensation and EUR 80,000 in damages for the trademark infringements, as well as EUR 7,000 in reasonable compensation and EUR 8,000 in damages for the design right infringement. The amounts can be considered exceptionally high in Finland. Additionally, the Market Court ordered the defendant to pay a significant portion of BMW’s legal costs with interest on late payment. In its decision of 11 March 2025, the Supreme Court of Finland did not grant the defendant leave to appeal, and also decided that there was no need to seek a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union. Thus, the Market Court’s judgements (MAO:494/18 ja 517/2023) are final. In addition to the main dispute, BMW demanded in a separate proceeding that one of the defendant’s trademark registrations be revoked. A total of three separate legal proceedings were conducted in the Market Court regarding the revocation. The defendant’s trademark registration was ultimately revoked.
Case published 9.5.2025
DNA – Global brand portfolio management and IP enforcement
We are advising DNA Plc in brand protection and intellectual property enforcement matters globally. Our intellectual property team manages DNA’s global trademark portfolio, including registration, prosecution, opposition and enforcement. We also advise DNA in questions concerning consumer and marketing law, unfair competition, social media, domain names and cybersquatting. DNA Plc is one of Finland’s leading telecommunication companies. DNA offers connections, services and devices for homes and workplaces, contributing to the digitalisation of society. The company has approximately 3.7 million subscriptions in its fixed and mobile communications networks. In 2024, DNA’s total revenue was EUR 1,100 million, and the company employs about 1,600 people around Finland. DNA is part of Telenor Group.
Case published 7.5.2025
Foodiq – Restructuring proceedings
Castrén & Snellman’s Attorney Christer Svartström acted as the administrator in the restructuring proceedings of Foodiq Oy, which began on 11 March 2024. Foodiq is a unique future food focused company that develops and produces plant and milk-based products for both the private and public sectors. The company’s largest shareholder is a Swedish investment company focusing on FoodTec, Nicoya AB. The majority of creditors approved the draft restructuring programme in expedited proceedings after restructuring proceedings that lasted just under a year. The District Court of Helsinki affirmed the restructuring programme including the one-day payment programme on 10 March 2025 and appointed Attorney Christer Svartström as the supervisor of the programme. In cooperation with the parties, they found an effective and quick restructuring solution for the company, avoiding a long-term programme and allowing the company to focus on its core business. The restructuring programme was financed by investments made by the company’s investors. At the same time, the one-day programme provided a better outcome for creditors compared to a longer programme. The implementation of the restructuring programme ended successfully on 28 March 2025.
Case published 6.5.2025