28.3.2024

Castrén & Snellman top ranked in the Legal 500 EMEA 2024: ‘C&S is truly a full-service law firm’

The Legal 500 EMEA 2024 edition has ranked nine of Castrén & Snellman’s services in Tier 1: 

Banking and finance, Capital markets, Commercial, corporate and M&A, Dispute resolution, Employment, EU and competition, Intellectual property, Real estate and construction and TMT. Our Tax and Maritime & Transport services were placed in Tier 2.

A total of 32 of our experts were recognised for their exceptional work in their own fields. Our clients were especially impressed by our deep expertise and collaborative, pragmatic and solution-oriented way of working. The Legal 500 ranks law firms and lawyers throughout the world and is one of the most prestigious publications in our line of business.

Clients praise our legal expertise and teamwork

The rankings are largely based on interviews with clients. Here are some quotes from our clients:

Commercial, Corporate & M&A: 

A solid team working very well together. Quick turnaround in challenging questions, pragmatic and solution oriented.

Banking & Finance: 

The team has resources to advise on the most challenging finance transactions.

Dispute Resolution: 

I find this to be the best disputes team in Finland. Very knowledgeable in procedure, including international arbitration, and with a distinct focus on quality in every aspect. Detailed and strategic at the same time, structured and pragmatic. A pleasure to work with.

Capital Markets: 

Deep competence in capital markets laws, helpful and friendly attitude.

Employment: 

Castren’s employment law team are the strongest employment law team in Finland. They solve the client’s problems in the best way. The collaboration with the client and other law firms on multi-jurisdictional projects is excellent.

EU & Competition: 

They provide pragmatic legal advice without taking any shortcuts, extremely knowledgeable within their legal fields, of the firms’ different practice areas, and about the Finnish and Nordic market.

Real Estate & Construction: 

C&S has one of the leading real estate practices in Finland. They have a strong position especially in demanding real estate transactions and development projects.

TMT: 

Excellent lawyers. Great litigators and legal advisors. Extremely good knowledge about the market and our specific business needs. Proactive.

Tax: 

Relevant high-quality experience and straight forward thinking – no nonsense in approach, wide variety of knowledge in all tax areas.

Castrén & Snellman is also a recommended firm in the Green Guide EMEA 2024. Click here to learn more about this recognition. 

The Legal 500 highlighted five C&S lawyers in the Finnish Hall of Fame:

Mikko Alakare, Marko Hentunen, Janne Juusela, Anna Kuusniemi-Laine, Rickard Langenskiöld

10 C&S lawyers were recognised as Leading Individuals:

Anders Forss, Tomi Kemppainen, Merja Kivelä, Janne Lauha, Tuomas Lehtinen, Sakari Lukinmaa, Sakari Salonen, Tero Tuomisto, Outi Tähtinen and Jan Örndahl

Eight were recognised as Next Generation Partners:

Benjamin Bade, Antti Kaakkola, Ilona Karppinen, Minna Korhonen, Jussi Nieminen, Kim Parviainen, Jerker Pitkänen and Eija Warma-Lehtinen

For a more detailed look at the rankings, please visit the Legal 500 website.

Latest references

We successfully advised the Finnish Broadcasting Company, Yleisradio Oy, and its Editor in Chief in a defamation case before all levels of the Monegasque judiciary. The case concerned four articles published by Yleisradio in 2022, two of which were in Finnish and two in English. The counterparty was of the opinion that the claims made in the articles violated his honour and brought defamation charges against Yleisradio and its Editor in Chief in Monegasque courts. In addition, he claimed damages totalling EUR 100,000 and demanded the removal of all allegedly defamatory content under penalty of a fine. We challenged the jurisdiction of the Monegasque courts in the matter, as the articles were not directed at a Monegasque audience and, contrary to what the counterparty claimed, jurisdiction could not be based solely on the fact that the articles were published in English on the internet where they were available for all and could be translated into French using a browser functionality. Furthermore, we presented comprehensive arguments stating that the facts presented in the articles were truthful, presented in good faith as required by Monegasque legislation, and based on thorough research. We also highlighted that the counterparty’s actions constituted so-called forum shopping, i.e. the desire to have the case heard in a court he believed would be most favourable to him. The claim was heard by all three levels of Monegasque courts, as the counterparty appealed the judgments of the lower courts. The courts of first and second instance had deemed that the Yleisradio articles in question were not directed at a Monegasque audience, and the Monegasque courts were therefore not competent to hear the case. The Supreme Court of Monaco (Cour de Révision) stated that there were no grounds to link the allegedly defamatory claims to the country. Even though it was possible to access the online articles from Monaco as well, this did not mean that the articles were published in Monaco. This being the case, the Supreme Court of Monaco deemed that the local courts did not have jurisdiction to rule on the case and dismissed the counterparty’s appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision. The Supreme Court’s decision is fundamental in upholding the freedom of expression in Europe. The opposite outcome would have encouraged similar intimidation lawsuits in countries favourable to the plaintiff, with the purpose of restricting dialogue and silencing critical voices. The unpredictability of judicial power and the risk of extensive – and expensive – trials could create an atmosphere of fear and increase self-censorship of those exercising their freedom of expression, especially journalists, other media professionals and researchers. The decision also reinforces the principle that forum shopping is not allowed. The Supreme Court’s decision is final. 
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