Castrén & Snellman was selected as Scandinavian Firm of the Year at the Women in Business Law Awards EMEA for the third year running. In addition, our firm received the Work-Life Balance National Firm of the Year and Diverse Women Lawyers National Firm of the Year awards for the first time.
29.6.2023
Four wins for Castrén & Snellman in Women in Business Law Awards EMEA 2023
Partner Pauliina Tenhunen, who has been with Castrén & Snellman for over 30 years, received the Outstanding Achievement award. The recipients of personal awards are decided based on their professional accomplishments as well as advocacy and influence within their field.
‘These acknowledgements mean a great deal to us, as equality has been a key target for us for a long time. My younger colleagues are always amused when I tell them how I was the only woman lawyer at Castrén & Snellman in the early 90s. That seems like a very distant past now that over half of our lawyers and a third of our partners are women,’ says Tenhunen.
A Forerunner in Equality
For Castrén & Snellman, equality is not just equality between genders. As part of our equality work, we have continued our diversity training for the entire personnel, and all of our new employees take part in an induction course on diversity.
The Women in Business Law EMEA awards are granted to law firms as recognitions of their efforts in helping women to advance in the legal profession in the EMEA region. In addition, the awards highlight the most ground-breaking achievements by leading women lawyers. The WIBL Awards are organised in cooperation with IFLR, ITR, Managing IP, Benchmark Litigation and Euromoney Legal Media Group Expert Guides. To read more, visit the Women in Business Law Awards EMEA 2023 web page.
Latest news
Latest references
Suominen Corporation – Rights Issue
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
Nordea Bank Abp and Avain Yhtiöt – A financing arrangement of a real estate portfolio
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
Shareholders – Sale of the Suomen Autohuolto Group
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
Natural Resources Institute Finland – 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