26.3.2025

Castrén & Snellman top-ranked in the Legal 500 EMEA 2025: ‘Top expertise, straightforward approach to essential issues, no legal jargon.’

The Legal 500 EMEA 2025 edition has ranked all the researched Castrén & Snellman’s services in Tier 1 and 2.

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

A total of 38 of our experts were recognised for the exceptional work they do in their own fields. The Legal 500 ranks law firms and lawyers throughout the world and is one of the most prestigious publications in our line of business.

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

Dispute resolution, Tier 1

The practice is extremely client-focused, and they deliver an exceptional approach to solving difficult project issues. They offer clear advice which clients can readily understand and direct their course of actions with confidence.

Employment, Tier 1

The team has a wide practice and covers almost all aspects of employment relationships. We have worked with the team for years and never encountered a situation in which the team has not been able to help us. Skilled, responsive and creative are words that come to my mind when I think of Castrén’s employment team.

Banking and finance, Tier 1

The C&S team has the relevant capabilities when it comes to financing agreements. The team consists of people with different types of knowledge in varying industries. In my opinion they have the best team in town.

EU & Competition, Tier 1

Top expertise, straightforward approach to essential issues, no legal jargon. Cooperation and communication is uncomplicated. Atmosphere is friendly, with a good sense of humour.

Tax, Tier 2

The team is very responsive and equipped with versatile experience. Especially the tax litigation work provided by the team has been consistently excellent.

TMT, Tier 1

Eija Warma-Lehtinen and Kim Parviainen are both excellent in what they are doing, and you can feel the experience right away. They can understand the client’s business and the special questions related to it, including questions outside of legal matters. They work as a team with the client, and as a client, you can always be confident that the matter will be handled with excellent experience and on time.

Intellectual property, Tier 1

It is very easy to work with the Castrén team. They respond very quickly and offer the best expertise in relation to all the questions we might have.

Real Estate and Cosntruction, Tier 2

C&S’s real estate practice itself provides legal services with exceptional quality. The practice is the best choice for anyone requiring legal advice on complex real estate transactions or development projects with difficult substance law questions. They can do it.

Capital Markets, Tier 2

They have a no-nonsense approach which is based on extensive experience dealing with their counterpart on an almost weekly basis.

Maritime and Transport

Rickard Langenskiöld and Jerker Pitkänen both display tremendous experience and problem-solving skills in complex shipping and maritime law issues.

Latest references

We advised Suominen Corporation in connection with its rights issue. The offering was oversubscribed, and the company raised gross proceeds of approximately EUR 28 million. We also advised Suominen in connection with the renegotiation of the terms of the company’s three-year EUR 100 million syndicated credit facility, under which the maturity was extended and headroom was added to the financial covenants. “I would like to thank our shareholders for their support and confidence in Suominen’s future. The completion of the Offering will enable us to accelerate the implementation of our Full Potential Program while strengthening our capital structure. Our transformation particularly focuses on enhancing the reliability and efficiency of our production and supply, and on reinforcing our commercial capabilities, allowing us to better meet the expectations of our customers and shareholders”, comments Charles Héaulmé, President and CEO of Suominen. Suominen is a nonwovens manufacturer operating in global markets. Suominen creates value by taking fiber raw materials and turning them into nonwovens that the company’s customers convert into both consumer and professional end products. Suominen’s vision is to be the frontrunner for nonwovens innovation and sustainability. Suominen’s net sales in 2025 were EUR 412.4 million and the company has almost 700 professionals working in Europe and in the Americas. Suominen’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
Case published 6.7.2026
We acted as joint legal advisor for Nordea Bank Abp and Avain Yhtiöt in an approximately EUR 48 million financing arrangement which included facilities for refinancing of an existing real estate portfolio and also for acquisition and property development purposes. The financing arrangement strengthens Avain Yhtiöt’s objective to build and maintain a functional, safe and environmentally friendly living environment, as well as to develop the overall quality of housing and construction. Avain Yhtiöt is a Finnish group specialising in housing and housing-related services, construction contracting and new construction. Its goal is to build 1,000 new apartments per year in key growth areas in Finland.
Case published 2.7.2026
We advised the shareholders of Suomen Autohuolto Oy in connection with the sale of the company’s entire share capital, to SAKA Finland Group Oy. Suomen Autohuolto Group is one of Finland’s largest companies specializing in brand-specific automotive maintenance and has locations in Oulu, Tampere, and from July, also in Järvenpää. The transaction is subject to final approval by the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (KKV).
Case published 26.6.2026
AI training
We delivered two tailor-made AI workshops for the lawyers at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). We discussed the AI revolution and its impact on lawyers’ ways of thinking and working, and left the participants with practical solutions for enhancing and streamlining their work with Legora. Our AI-specialist lawyers prepared use cases tailored to Luke and the needs of public administration, which Luke received for its own use following the workshops. These use cases covered topics such as: utilising legal sources and the organisation’s own data to maximise AI results building and leveraging AI workflows AI-enhanced contract drafting based on a large volume of documents. The workshops sparked wide-ranging discussion on the role and benefits of AI in legal work. Participants appreciated how clearly and comprehensively our experts were able to present the nature and benefits of AI specifically within a legal context. ‘The workshops provided excellent support for Luke’s goal of leveraging AI responsibly and gave us concrete and ready-to-use practical takeaways,’ says Hannu Laitinen, Luke’s Senior Vice President, Administrative Affairs.
Case published 26.6.2026