25.3.2026

Castrén & Snellman top-ranked in the Legal 500 EMEA 2026: ‘The team possesses the full range of capabilities required to act as a first-class transactional advisor.’

The Legal 500 EMEA 2026 edition has ranked all the researched Castrén & Snellman’s services in Tier 1 and 2. The research assesses the competence of law firms and lawyers, focusing on client satisfaction.

All of our services reviewed in the Finland guide were ranked in the two highest tiers: Dispute resolution, Employment, Banking & Finance, TMT and Intellectual Property were placed in Tier 1. Our EU & Competition, Tax, Commercial, corporate & M&A, Real Estate and Construction, Capital Markets and Maritime & Transport services were placed in Tier 2.

A total of twenty‑eight of our experts were recognised for the exceptional work they do in their own fields: Marko Hentunen, Anna Kuusniemi-Laine, Rickard Langenskiöld, Janne Juusela and Mikko Alakare as Hall of Fame lawyers, thirteen as Leading Partners, five as Next Generation Partners and five as Leading Associates.

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

Castrén & Snellman’s dispute resolution practice stands out for its exceptional combination of legal precision and strategic insight. What makes the team unique is not just their ability to master complex legal issues, but also their commitment to understanding the business context and broader implications of each dispute. The team members are also highly communicative.

Employment, Tier 1

Castrén Snellman is in my view the strongest employment law team in Finland. They are very knowledgeable, pragmatic, timely and a trusted partner every time we have the need of involving a Finnish employment counsel.

Banking and finance, Tier 1

Castren’s banking and finance team is very experienced, solution-oriented and committed to providing excellent legal services. Resourcing is always great and appropriate for the task at hand.

TMT, Tier 1

The team combines strong industry knowledge with a breadth of skills across commercial and IT law. They provide consistently reliable advice, are responsive to our needs, and demonstrate a clear understanding of the commercial context in which we operate.

Commercial, corporate & M&A, Tier 2

You can always trust that Castrén & Snellman has done its homework. Sound, balanced advice in every situation. Castrén & Snellman always seem to have a good, collaborative spirit, whether sitting on the same or opposite sides of the table, both internally and externally, but can be tough when need be.

Intellectual property, Tier 1

There are no unnecessary questions once it has been agreed how things will be handled. All the IP matters will be handled with great expertise.

EU & Competition, Tier 2

Excellent team with a high standard of expertise combined with a practical understanding of the client’s operating environment. The team focuses on essential issues, gives practical advice and listens to the client’s needs. Collaboration is easy and fluent.

Tax, Tier 2

The team has always been very responsive and easy to work with. Especially the tax litigation part of the team’s work has consistently been a pleasant experience.

Real Estate and Construction, Tier 2

They have a very business-oriented mindset. The partners are very experienced real estate professionals. They recognise what truly matters to the client and know when to let go of less important details.

Capital Markets, Tier 2

We have experienced exceptional cross-border capability. The team led our multijurisdictional mandate across the EU, carried it out under a single commercial strategy and delivered on a matter with no established playbook. Most impressively, they designed and executed the re-domiciliation of our publicly listed company, achieving an outstanding outcome for our business.

Maritime and Transport, Tier 2

The maritime and transport team of Castrén & Snellman are very well equipped to advise on complex international maritime-related deals and transactions, for example, in negotiating acquisitions of vessels and drafting charter party agreements, as well as providing hands-on advice in transport and maritime-related matters.

View the results in detail on the Legal 500 -website.

Latest references

We advised Neste as it signed a EUR 250 million 10-year loan with NIB. The loan will finance Neste’s investments related to research and development (R&D) in processing lower-quality feedstocks into high-quality renewable products; as well as the liquefied waste plastics (LWP) investment at Neste’s refinery in Porvoo, Finland. The R&D activities supported by the loan focus on the development of renewable solutions. These include, for example, expanding feedstock capabilities and technologies that enable the processing of new and lower-quality waste and residues into high-quality renewable end products. Part of the financing supports Neste’s liquefied waste plastics investment in Porvoo, related to upgrading low-quality plastic waste into high-quality feedstock at an industrial scale. The investment contributes to advancing circular economy solutions by enabling the use of hard-to-recycle plastic waste as a replacement for virgin fossil raw materials. The unit has an annual capacity to process up to 150,000 tonnes of liquefied waste plastic. Production ramp-up commenced in 2026.
Case published 19.8.2026
We advised Aspo Plc, ESL Shipping Ltd and AtoBatC Shipping AB in relation to finance matters in connection with the demerger of Aspo, by which all the shares in ESL Shipping Ltd held by Aspo, together with the related assets and liabilities, will be transferred to a new independent company to be named ESL Shipping Group Plc. Aspo intends to apply for the shares of ESL Shipping Group to be admitted to trading on the regulated market of Nasdaq Helsinki. It is further intended that Aspo be renamed Telko Group Plc. 
Case published 19.8.2026
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Case published 21.7.2026
We acted as Finnish legal advisor to Delta Capacity in connection with its acquisition of the ready-to-build Karppio battery energy storage system (BESS) project from Helios Nordic Energy. The acquisition was made and the project will be implemented together with Strioga Family Foundation. The Karppio BESS project is located in Teuva, Finland, and has a capacity of 125 MW / 300 MWh. Delta Capacity will lead the remaining development of the project through to commissioning, planned for 2027, and will serve as long-term asset manager. Delta Capacity is a Swiss-based developer of utility scale battery storage systems. The acquisition adds to Delta Capacity’s growing Nordic portfolio. 
Case published 20.7.2026