28.6.2021

Women in Business Law Awards Europe 2021: Castrén & Snellman Scandinavian Law Firm of the Year

Castrén & Snellman received the award for Scandinavian Law Firm of the Year at the Women in Business Law Awards Europe 2021. In addition, the firm was awarded as the best national firm in the Mentorship Programme category, and Partner Merja Kivelä received the award for Equity Capital Markets Lawyer of the Year.

Castrén & Snellman is committed to promoting gender equality, and over half of our lawyers are women. Our work to promote diversity and support personnel’s work-life balance are part of our overall sustainability programme, which took some major steps forward in 2020.

‘Gender equality is a core principle at C&S. We are very proud of these achievements, but it is important that we not rest on our laurels and also remember that equality goes beyond equality between the genders. It is vital that we treat everyone equally and ensure all of our employees have equal opportunities to advance in their careers and develop their expertise’, says Managing Partner Sakari Lukinmaa.

The Women in Business Law Awards Europe celebrates the efforts and achievements of law firms across Europe in helping women to advance in the legal profession and spotlight the most impressive achievements by women lawyers.

Best Mentorship Programme – Easing Day-to-Day Family Life

We support our employees in balancing family life and work, for example, by offering mentoring to employees’ returning from parental leave. This mentoring takes the form of peer support and sharing of best practices on how to balance the demands of work and family. The mentors are mothers or fathers who have also recently returned to work from parental leave.

Our firm also supports personnel in continued academic study, professional training, work-experience and through a wide-range of internally organised training, mentoring and coaching opportunities.

Merja Kivelä – Equity Capital Markets Lawyer of the Year

One of the Finland’s most experienced capital markets lawyers, Partner Merja Kivelä, received the Equity Capital Markets Lawyer of the Year award. Merja was recently recognised as one of the Women Leaders 2021 by IFLR1000. One of the most significant cases that Merja has led recently is the merger of Cargotec and Konecranes, where C&S acted as advisor to Cargotec.

See all the winners on the IFLR website.

The awards are organised by Legal Media Group, which contains IFLR, ITR and Managing IP. The winning individuals and firms are decided by senior Euromoney Legal Media Group editorial staff following an extensive research process.

Latest references

We advise Fingrid Oyj in a transaction in which Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company is selling its holding of approximately 20 per cent of the shares in Fingrid to the Finnish State and OP Pohjola Kantaverkko Holding Ky. Fingrid owns 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 11.2.2026
We advised Metsäkonepalvelu Oy in its acquisition of the entire share capital of PJP Metsäexpertit Oy. PJP Metsäexpertit is a Pirkanmaa-based company specialising in forest management and logging. The acquisition will strengthen Metsäkonepalvelu’s operations, particularly in the Pirkanmaa region, and expand its operations. Metsäkonepalvelu is a portfolio company of A. Ahlström Oy, a Finnish family-owned industrial owner. Metsäkonepalvelu provides mechanical timber harvesting services to forest companies, large private forest owners, and the public sector in Finland and Sweden. Metsäkonepalvelu Group employs nearly two hundred forestry professionals.
Case published 6.2.2026
We acted as legal adviser to EcoUp Oyj in a directed share issue, through which EcoUp raised a total of approximately EUR 3 million in gross proceeds to strengthen the company’s capital structure and finance its growth. The share issue was directed to a limited group of domestic investors, deviating from the shareholders’ pre-emptive subscription right. EcoUp’s shares are traded on the First North Growth Market Finland marketplace maintained by Nasdaq Helsinki.  EcoUp promotes the green transition of the construction industry by producing carbon-neutral, energy-efficient and circular economy-based materials, services and technologies that help construction industry players reduce their environmental impact. The company has over 40 years of experience in developing and delivering circular economy solutions to customers.
Case published 29.1.2026
We advised a leading global investment firm Brookfield, alongside a global sovereign wealth investor, on the Finnish law aspects of a EUR 1 billion holdco financing for DayOne Data Centers, a Singapore-headquartered developer and operator of hyperscale data centres. Structured as a seven-year secured holdco financing facility of €500 million, expandable to €1 billion – and secured by DayOne’s Finland platform – the financing will support the rollout of hyperscale developments in Lahti and Kouvola, providing nearly 300MW of planned capacity across Finland. The proceeds will also support DayOne’s global expansion across the EU and APAC, with flexibility to allocate to other key growth markets as required.
Case published 29.1.2026