Castrén & Snellman’s full-service strategy has once again earned accolades from our clients: Chambers Europe has recognised our firm as one of the leading law firms in Finland in its latest annual report.
14.3.2024
Top rankings for Castrén & Snellman’s services in Chambers Europe 2024
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Our services achieved top rankings in 12 different categories, and 27 of our experts were acknowledged as leaders in their fields.
This acknowledgment reaffirms Castrén & Snellman’s position as a trailblazer in delivering exceptional legal services, spanning corporate transactions, dispute resolution, and the entire spectrum of business law. Moreover, we are honoured to be shortlisted once again for Finland Firm of the Year in the Chambers Europe Awards 2024.
Here are some excerpts from the feedback we received:
Banking & Finance – Band 1:
‘The lawyers are good at finding ways to proceed in situations where it seems that no way out will be found. They always have time to discuss and give guidance on matters.’
Capital Markets – Band 2:
‘The team has excellent knowledge. The lawyers always put the client’s interests first and are fully aware of the current market situation.’
Competition/European Law – Band 2:
‘The team provides pragmatic legal advice without taking any shortcuts, and is extremely knowledgeable within the legal fields.’
Corporate/M&A – Band 2:
‘Castrén & Snellman provides pragmatic legal advice without taking any shortcuts. The lawyers are extremely knowledgeable within their legal fields, about the different practice areas and about the Finnish and Nordic market.’
Dispute Resolution – Band 1:
‘The dispute resolution team at Castrén & Snellman are highly qualified and skilled, and able to handle complex matters while also taking into account the strategic and business aspects.’
Employment – Band 2:
‘The practice is extremely responsive, providing very direct and business-like advice.’
Energy & Natural Resources – Band 1:
‘Castrén & Snellman has a strong team with versatile competence which enables them to handle complex cases. The needed expertise is always there.’
Intellectual Property – Band 2:
‘Castrén & Snellman are amazing. Their advice is very pragmatic and adapted to our business needs. It comes with additional information and is detailed.’
Real Estate – Band 2:
‘The firm has broad expertise and the ability to serve clients on basically any legal topic, including complex situations.’
Restructuring/Insolvency – Band 1:
‘Castrén & Snellman is one of the highest quality law firms in Finland.’
Tax – Band 3:
‘Castrén & Snellman has wide-ranging expertise in cross-border tax planning and transactions. The law firm offers a full-service approach to clients through integration with other practice groups, including its well-reputed finance and corporate teams.’
TMT – Band 2
‘Castrén & Snellman has a respected practice with noteworthy expertise in data privacy and protection issues.’
The rankings are based on client feedback, supplemented by background information provided by law firms. For a more detailed look at the rankings, please visit the Chambers and Partners website.
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Latest references
Fingrid – Update of EMTN Programme
We advised Fingrid Oyj on the Finnish law aspects in the update of a EUR 3,000,000 Euro Medium Term Note programme (EMTN). Notes issued under the programme may be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. Fingrid operates Finland’s main electricity transmission grid and all significant cross-border transmission connections. The main grid is the backbone of the electricity transmission network, to which major power plants, industrial plants and regional electricity distribution networks are connected.
Case published 17.3.2026
Jensen-Group – Acquisition of Vestek
We advised Jensen-Group with its acquisition of Oy Vestek Ab, the long-standing distributor of Jensen solutions in Finland. The strategic step underlines Jensen-Group’s long-term commitment to the Nordic region and its ambition to further expand sustainable and future-oriented laundry automation solutions in Finland. Jensen-Group, listed on Euronext Brussels, is a global leader in heavy‑duty laundry technology, known for designing and manufacturing industrial laundry machines, systems, and turnkey automation solutions. Oy Vestek Ab is a Finnish import company founded in 1961. The company’s main activity is to import supplies and machinery, including providing products and services for the health care and laundry industries, from Europe and the USA and to act as a wholesale dealer on the Finnish market.
Case published 16.3.2026
Fortum – AI workshop
We delivered two AI workshops for Fortum Corporation’s Mergers and Acquisitions team, with both legal and business professionals participating. The sessions combined fundamental AI principles with custom use cases for commercially available AI tools tailored to Fortum’s needs. We also presented a bespoke solution merging AI with a script-based tool developed by our Legal Tech team, enabling a more automated way of working. Our experts conducted the training drawing on their legal background and leading experience in this emerging field of legal technology. Participants particularly appreciated the clarity and relevance of the implementations demonstrated. ‘C&S delivered an excellent, well-structured series of workshops, with directly applicable takeaways,’ says Sabina Hautaviita, Legal Counsel for M&A at Fortum.
Case published 9.3.2026
VR – Supreme Court decision clarifies working time practices
We successfully represented VR Group before the Supreme Court in a case concerning the meal break practice of commuter train drivers. On 6 February 2026, the Supreme Court ruled in VR’s favour (decision KKO:2026:12), confirming that VR had the right to amend the commuter train drivers’ meal break practice in 2021 by rendering the break unpaid in accordance with the applicable collective agreement. This decision clarifies the interpretation of collective agreements and employment legislation as well as the limits of the employer’s right to direct work. Over 250 commuter train drivers challenged the unpaid meal break practice which VR introduced in April 2021. Before the change, meal breaks had a long history of being paid. The change was based on the train drivers’ collective agreement, which allows for meal breaks to be organised either as paid or unpaid time. The Supreme Court ruled that the scheduling and managing of breaks falls within the core area of the employer’s right to direct work. This increases the threshold for an established practice becoming a binding condition for the parties. Merely following a practice consistently and over a long period of time does not make the practice binding; instead, the employer’s intent to commit to the practice must be clearly evident from the employer’s conduct or other circumstances. As both alternatives – paid and unpaid – for organising meal breaks had been retained in the collective agreement despite other amendments over the years, it could not be considered that VR had intended to commit to the paid break practice and waive its right to direct work as regards break scheduling. It was also significant that the employment contracts explicitly referred only to the collective agreement as regards working time. The Supreme Court deemed that the employees’ paid meal break was not an established term of employment and that VR was entitled to change the practice based on the collective agreement. The employer had the right, by virtue of its right to direct work, to unilaterally change the meal break practice by choosing to apply the other arrangement permitted by the collective agreement.
Case published 3.3.2026