Mari Kulmakorpi

Associate, Master of Laws

Services

  1. Employment

Contact details

I work as an associate in our Employment service. I regularly advise our domestic and international clients in various employment-related matters.

Prior to joining Castrén & Snellman, I worked as a legal counsel for an employer association and advised in various employment law related matters. I have expertise, for example, in questions related to temporary agency work. I have also previously worked in a Nordic food company as an HR lawyer. During my studies, I worked as an in-house legal trainee and in an international audit firm.

I have a Master of Laws degree from the University of Helsinki. In addition, I studied one semester at the University College Cork in Ireland.

I am currently on family leave.

Latest references

Reka Industrial – Sale of Reka Cables to Nexans Group
We are acting as the legal advisor to Reka Industrial Plc in the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary Reka Cables Ltd, which operates the cable business of Reka Industrial. The purchase price of the shares is EUR 53 million and will be paid in cash. According to the Finnish Accounting Standards, the net debt of Reka Cables at the end of September 2022 was EUR 6.5 million. The completion of the transaction, conditional on the approval of the Extraordinary General Meeting of Reka Industrial and approvals by competent regulatory authorities, is expected to take place during the first half of 2023. Reka Oy, representing in aggregate 65.36% of the voting rights in Reka Industrial, has irrevocably undertaken to vote in favour of the transaction at the Extraordinary General Meeting. Reka Cables is the largest Finnish-owned cable manufacturer, which has been at the forefront of the cable industry for more than 60 years. Reka Cables provides durable, high-standard cable solutions for renewable energy production, network construction and industry as well residential and office construction. Reka Cables has approximately 270 employees, and the turnover in 2021 was EUR 134 million. 
Case published 10.11.2022
CapMan Growth – Investment in Fennoa
We advised CapMan Growth in its investment in financial management software company Fennoa Oy. Fennoa Oy is a rapidly growing software company that develops and offers cloud-based financial administration solutions. The company’s turnover and profitability have increased tenfold over the past few years. Fennoa Oy was founded in 2014, and it employs 32 people and serves approximately 500 accounting firms, as well as tens of thousands of their client companies. CapMan Growth is a leading Finnish growth investor that makes significant minority investments in companies aiming for strong growth and internationalisation. CapMan Growth is part of CapMan, which is a leading Nordic capital investor engaged in active value creation. CapMan has been listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange since 2001.
Case published 21.10.2022
Körber – Majority stake in AI consulting company DAIN Studios
We advised Körber, an international technology group in strengthening its Business Area Digital by acquiring a majority stake in DAIN Studios, a Finnish-German based company which provides data and AI consultancy. ‘AI First is a key strategic initiative for Körber. With DAIN Studios, we strengthen our position globally as innovation leader in the future-oriented field of AI’, says Dr Christian Schlögel , Chief Digital Officer and Member of the Körber Group Executive Board. ‘With the consulting expertise of DAIN Studios, we expand our possibilities to leverage the power of AI to create a visible business value on the side of the customer.’ Körber was established in 1946 and today has about 10,000 employees and more than 100 locations worldwide. Körber Business Area Digital offers and develops digital products, services and solutions with experts, science and partners from multiple industries within logistics, pharma, tissue and tobacco to transform global manufacturing. Körber AG is the holding company of the Körber Group. DAIN Studios is a Finnish-German data and AI consultancy business established in 2016, which offers artificial intelligence solutions. DAIN Studios’s clients come from a variety of industries such as telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, banking, insurance and media.
Case published 25.1.2022
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
CapMan Growth – Investment in Kuntokeskus Liikku
We are assisting CapMan Growth in its significant investment in Kuntokeskus Liikku, a Finnish gym chain known for its high-quality self-service facilities and excellent value for money. The investment will further strengthen Liikku’s position as a market leader and support the continued execution of its growth strategy. Liikku is one of Finland’s leading fitness chains, with more than 70 locations across the country serving nearly 90,000 members. The company’s concept is to offer high-quality self-service gyms at an exceptionally competitive price point which, combined with strong operational efficiency, provides a solid foundation for profitable growth. The company’s main shareholder is COR Group, a long-time partner of CapMan Growth, and a Finnish health and wellness conglomerate known for active ownership and long-term value creation. CapMan Growth is a leading Finnish growth investor that makes significant investments in entrepreneur-led growth companies with a turnover of €10–200 million. CapMan Growth is part of CapMan, which is a leading Nordic private equity investor engaged in active value creation work. CapMan has been listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange since 2001.
Case published 27.2.2026

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