Johanna Lähde

Senior Counsel, Head of Public Procurement, Member of the Finnish Bar, LL.M.

Services

  1. Competition & Procurement
  2. Publicity of Documents and Business Secrets

Contact details

Public procurement procedures are regulated to promote the efficient use of public funds in high-quality, sustainable and innovative procurement. Tendering procedures need to be open and transparent to allow as many enterprises as possible to participate equally in the procedures. These are, in a nutshell, the reasons why I became interested in public procurement more than 20 years ago.

I joined our Castrén & Snellman team in 2014. Before that, I worked for many years in law drafting in the Ministry of Employment and the Economy and as a judge in the Market Court. I also have practical experience in arranging tendering processes for contracting authorities.

I advise both enterprises and contracting authorities on questions related to procurement procedures during tender processes and on procurement appeals in the Market Court. I believe our clients particularly benefit from my experience when they need to find a solution that follows the procedural rules as those rules are applied in the legal praxis.

The world is changing; likewise the needs in the field of public procurement. I gladly discuss with clients how the procurement rules should be applied when facing new challenges and opportunities. It is vital to find the best alternative to support clients’ variable businesses and needs.

I also enjoy discussing procurement issues on a more general level. I regularly lecture, blog and tweet about topical procurement matters. I have also co-authored a textbook on the publication of procurement notices.

Building upon my strong and diverse experience in state administration I also regularly advise our clients on legal issues that relate to general public administration, such as the publicity of documents, state aid regulation and administrative legislation.

Latest references

3stepIT – Significant cooperation agreement between Hansel and 3stepIT
Our client 3stepIT Oy was chosen as the IT leasing services supplier for the Finnish State in a competitive tender procedure organised by Hansel Oy, a central purchasing body for the public administration in Finland. 3stepIT, a Finnish company specialised in IT lifecycle management, has signed a significant framework agreement with Hansel on leasing services. The framework agreement covers the leasing financing of IT equipment, the management of financed leasing assets, the handling of leasing assets after the lease term and other services to be ordered separately. The framework agreement between 3stepIT and Hansel allows Hansel’s clients to manage their IT assets under a proven and sustainable model for technology lifecycle management, enabling a uniform and controlled device environment. For example, the model facilitates the budgeting and cost-efficient management of ICT equipment, healthcare technology and other capital goods, making long-term acquisition planning more effective. Over 100 public administration clients have acceded the framework agreement, which will be in force for a two year term, 2023–2024, with an option to extend the agreement for another two years. The value of the agreement is EUR 200–275 million during the agreement term.
Case published 23.3.2023
VR FleetCare – Public procurement of refurbishment of trains
Our client VR FleetCare was selected as the contractual supplier in a public procurement concerning the refurbishment of Flirt electric train bogies of Metropolitan Area Rolling Stock Ltd. We advised VR FleetCare in the competitive tender process which was conducted as a negotiated procedure in accordance with the Utilities Procurement Act (1398/2016). The Flirt trains operate as commuter trains in the Helsinki area. The object of the agreement is the periodic refurbishment and general repairs of the bogies of 81 trains according to the kilometres travelled between 2024 and 2030. The agreement also includes a four-year extension option.
Case published 24.1.2023
VR Group – Procurement of rolling stock
We advised VR-Group Plc in the procurement of rolling stock for commuter train service which was conducted as a negotiated procedure in accordance with the Utilities Procurement Act (1398/2016). VR Group selected Stadler as the contractual supplier to deliver 20 SmX train units. The procurement also includes the options to order 50 more trains as well as maintenance services for the trains. The new commuter trains are 50% more energy-efficient than the existing rolling stock. The value of the rolling stock procurement is approximately EUR 250 million, excluding the options. The new trains will begin operating in the spring of 2026.
Case published 24.1.2023
Finnish Mutual Patient Insurance Company – Discretionary Asset Management Services
We assisted Finnish Mutual Patient Insurance Company (FMPIC) in its procurement of discretionary asset management services. The procurement was conducted as an open procedure in accordance with the Public Procurement Act (1397/2016). In the procurement, FMPIC selected two asset managers to whom its assets are to be allocated. The terms of the tendered agreements are indefinite, and they are intended to be in force as of the beginning of 2023. Based on the tender procedure, OP Varainhoito Oy and Nordea Bank Oyj were selected as the suppliers of the services.
Case published 27.9.2022
Finnish Mutual Patient Insurance Company – Procurement of an Insurance Platform
We assisted Finnish Mutual Patient Insurance Company (FMPIC) in its procurement of a SaaS-based insurance platform. The procurement was conducted as a negotiation procedure with Swedish iFACTS Ab selected as the supplier of the platform. The new platform is expected to be launched already in autumn 2022. With the procurement of the insurance platform, FMPIC aims for better and more reliable management and processing of customer relations and insurance policies. The goal is to reduce the risks associated with managing customer relations and policies, to improve the data security and data protection of customer and insurance information and to meet regulatory requirements. FMPIC was assisted in the procurement and contract negotiations by our public procurement experts Johanna Lähde and Atte Andersin, Pia Ek and Miika Junttila from the data and technology team and by our insurance expert, Sami Lommi. 
Case published 31.5.2022
City of Pori – Assisting in a Matter Concerning Transfer of Competences and In-House Procurement in the Court of Justice of the European Union and in the Supreme Administrative Court
We successfully represented the City of Pori in a procurement case before the Supreme Administrative Court (KHO 2020:146) and in a related procedure concerning a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice (C-328/19) that concerned the procurement of transport services for disabled people from an in-house entity of the City of Pori on the basis of a cooperation agreement in the health care area formed by Pori and its neighboring municipalities. This decision is a very important guideline concerning the nature of the cooperation agreement between municipalities under procurement rules and the forming of the position of an in-house entity in a situation where competences have been transferred to one contracting authority. The Supreme Administrative Court submitted a reference for a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice that gave a preliminary ruling on 18 June 2020. The Court of Justice approved that municipalities can transfer powers to produce transport services for disabled people to a responsible municipality. Furthermore, the Court of Justice approved that the City of Pori can procure the transport services for disabled people in their entirety from its own in-house entity. According to the court, in-house procurement is not prevented by the fact that the municipalities that transferred their powers to Pori do not own shares in the City of Pori’s in-house entity. In addition to disabled transport services, public transport services were also purchased from the in-house entity owned by the City of Pori. A cooperation arrangement was also established between Pori and certain other municipalities for these purchases. The turnover was not considered sales to other parties than contracting entities under this agreement. This decision is important when planning cooperation arrangements between municipalities in accordance with Chapter 8 of the Local Government Act and other structural cooperation arrangements between authorities.
Case published 22.12.2020
VR-Group – Tender for HSL Commuter Train Traffic
We represented VR Group Ltd in the first HSL commuter train traffic tender in history. VR Group won the tender and will continue HSL commuter traffic operation and train fleet maintenance until 2031. The contract value is approximately 400 million euros. The contract for commuter train traffic covers all of HSL’s traffic on the Ring Rail Line, on the Coastal Railway from Helsinki to Siuntio and on the main line all the way to Kerava. This means more than seven million train traffic kilometres and more than 70 million journeys a year. VR Group is a responsible service company operating in the field of travel, logistics and maintenance. The group employs 6,000 professionals, with annual net sales of approximately one billion euros. The group primarily operates in Finland, but it also has operations abroad, especially in Russia. VR Group is owned entirely by the Finnish state.
Case published 13.5.2020
Fortum Power and Heat – Decommisioning of FiR 1 nuclear research reactor
We advised Fortum Power and Heat Oy in Finland’s first nuclear reactor decommissioning project. Fortum will decommission the FiR 1 research reactor located in Otaniemi, Espoo, together with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. The decommissioning works include planning, preparatory measures, dismantling of the reactor as well as waste management.
Case published 21.4.2020
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