12.5.2023

Castrén & Snellman the most popular legal sector employer in Universum’s student survey

Castrén & Snellman emerged as the most attractive employer in the entire legal sector in the most recent Universum Student Survey. We have been the most popular private sector employer among law students for fifteen years running, ever since the survey was first conducted in 2008. This is the second time we are number one in the entire legal sector.

The annual survey charts the employer image of companies in various fields among students. This year, 28% of law students chose Castrén & Snellman as the most desirable employer.

‘We are grateful and proud to receive such recognition from students! We wish to enable students and support their growth as experts during their studies, and we have made long-term, systematic efforts to develop our trainee programmes and to foster our company culture.  We aim to be the best workplace in our field not only for students but also for more experienced experts,’ says HR Director Outi Ruohola.

Genuine cooperation and interesting assignments

During our 135 years of history, we have provided advice in socially important cases and created excellent opportunities for growth for promising young people. Interesting assignments and our culture of encouragement support trainees in developing their expertise and becoming part of the community.

‘Trainees are very valuable to us, which is why we offer over one hundred trainee positions each year. Trainees get to assist our teams in handling some of the most challenging assignments in the Finnish market and learn about the various aspects of business law. This helps them in becoming experts. I believe that our culture and straightforward atmosphere as well as the genuine cooperation across the entire firm create an environment where trainees can thrive and where they want to stay after their traineeship,’ summarises Managing Partner Sakari Lukinmaa.

The results of the survey were published at the Universum Awards on 11 May 2023. A total of 13,424 students from 37 institutes of higher education, 322 of whom were law students, participated in the survey this year. In addition to law students, Universum surveys students in engineering, health/medicine, business and IT.

We want to thank students for showing their support!

Latest references

We acted as Finnish law legal adviser to the lenders and the export credit agencies in connection with the EUR 514.4 million green project financing for the development and construction of Easpring Finland New Materials Oy’s cathode active material (CAM) manufacturing plant in Kotka, Finland. The borrower, Easpring Finland New Materials Oy, is a joint venture owned by Beijing Easpring Material Technology, Finnish Minerals Group and LG Energy Solution. The financing was provided by six international commercial banks, with Société Générale acting as financial adviser and mandated lead arranger together with Natixis as co-mandated lead arranger, and DNB, ICBC, ING and Standard Chartered participating as lenders, with support from the export credit agencies Finnvera and Sinosure. The project represents a significant milestone for Finland and the European battery value chain by strengthening Europe’s domestic supply of cathode active materials, a key component in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage applications. Once the first phase of the project is operational, the Kotka facility is expected to produce approximately 60,000 tonnes of cathode active material annually, making it one of the largest CAM production plants in Europe and supplying leading battery manufacturers across Europe. 
Case published 21.7.2026
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We advised Swedbank AB (publ) on the refinancing of a large Finnish retail real estate portfolio owned by Trophi’s Finnish subsidiaries. Trophi is the leading Nordic real estate company focusing on grocery anchored retail properties, with 278 properties across Sweden and Finland. Finland is a market that continues to develop and is also strategically important for Trophi, accounting for approximately 30% of Trophi’s letting and property value.
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We are acting as Finnish legal advisor to HANZA in connection with its acquisition of Fortaco Finland’s heavy mechanics and assembly business. The transaction is structured as a combined asset and share acquisition and includes Fortaco Finland’s heavy mechanics and assembly operations in Finland, as well as shares in two Estonian and two Polish subsidiaries. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Founded in 2008, HANZA is a Swedish mechanical engineering and electronics contract manufacturing company listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm main list. HANZA has approximately 5,000 employees and annual sales of SEK 10 billion. We advise HANZA on this transaction in collaboration with the Swedish law firm Lindahl.
Case published 15.7.2026