Sofia Seppänen

Senior Associate, Member of the Finnish Bar

Services

  1. Employment

Contact details

As part of our Employment team, I advise both our domestic and international clients in various assignments relating to employment law.

Prior to my graduation, I worked as a trainee at Castrén & Snellman and at another business law firm. I have also worked as a trainee at a district court.

I have a Master of Laws degree from the University of Turku. I have also gained international experience by studying law at Lund University, Sweden.

Latest references

Aurevia and Labquality – Strategic reorganisation
We advised Aurevia Oy, a portfolio company of French private equity sponsor Mérieux Equity Partners, in a strategic reorganisation that involved splitting Aurevia and its parent companies into two independent groups of companies and reorganisation of its existing debt-financing arrangements. Following the reorganisation, the newly formed Aurevia continues as a leading provider of Contract Research Organization (CRO) and Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs (QARA) services, while the newly formed Labquality focuses on delivering External Quality Assessment (EQA) services. Aurevia serves operators in the medical devices, in vitro diagnostics and pharmaceutical sectors. Labquality’s customers include clinical laboratories and social and healthcare organisations. The reorganisation positions Aurevia and Labquality to allocate investments more effectively, accelerate growth within their respective customer segments, and respond to evolving market and client needs. The transaction was implemented through multiple parallel demergers and required comprehensive legal and tax structuring across several jurisdictions. Our team supported Aurevia throughout the planning and implementation phases, covering corporate, tax, employment law, and regulatory matters, as well as the optimisation of each group’s financing structure.
Case published 7.4.2026
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
HANZA – Acquisition of Milectria
We acted as Finnish legal advisor to HANZA AB in connection with its acquisition of the contract manufacturing division of Milectria, a group of companies specialising in electrical systems for the defence industry.  The transaction comprises 100% of the shares in Milectria Oy (Finland), Milectria OÜ (Estonia), and the real estate company Kiinteistö Oy Kanungin Karhu. The transaction is expected to close in September 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.  Founded in 2008, HANZA is a Swedish mechanical engineering and electronics contract manufacturing company listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm main list. The company operating in seven countries currently has annual sales of approximately SEK 6 billion and approximately 3,100 employees. Milectria is a Finnish contract manufacturer of electrical systems for the defence industry.
Case published 21.7.2025
Milexia Group –  Acquisition of business of Alpha Positron
We advised Milexia Group, a portfolio company of the French PE sponsor Crédit Mutuel Equity, on its acquisition of the activities of Alpha Positron Oy, a Finnish distributor specializing in GPS/GNSS, time and frequency solutions for the electronics industry, process automation, corporate IT, defense, and other demanding markets. Milexia Group is one of the world’s leading European suppliers for high-quality electronic components, systems and scientific instruments technology. It has offices, warehouses and technical centres in France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, Nordics and Hong Kong. The acquisition aligns with Milexia’s strategy to expand its presence in the Nordic region and enhance its portfolio of communication solutions.
Case published 24.4.2025
Savings Banks Group – Sale of Sb Life Insurance
We advised the Savings Banks Group on an arrangement whereby the shares in Sp-Henkivakuutus Oy were sold to Henki-Fennia and at the same time the parties agreed on a long-term distribution cooperation for insurance savings and loan protection products. The closing of the transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals. Sb Life Insurance is a domestic life insurance company, established in 2007, offering insurance savings and risk insurance products to private customers and companies. The Savings Banks and Oma Säästöpankki Oyj act as agents for Sp-Life Insurance. Henki-Fennia is a subsidiary of Keskinäinen Vakuutusyhtiö Fennia, specialising in voluntary life, pension and savings insurance.
Case published 11.4.2025
Sanok Rubber Company – Acquisition of Teknikum Group
We are advising Sanok Rubber Company S.A. on the acquisition of Teknikum Group Ltd. Teknikum Group is a European polymer technology company serving industrial customers in need of reliable rubber, plastic, silicone, polyurethane, and foam solutions. The group has approximately 600 employees and operates four production plants in Finland and one in Hungary, and a sales office in Germany. Sanok Rubber Company S.A. is the European leader in the field of rubber products, rubber-to-metal articles and combination of rubber with other materials for the automotive, construction, agriculture, pharmacy and household appliances. Sanok Rubber Company S.A. is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and employs more than 3,000 people in Europe and North America. The completion of the transaction, conditional on regulatory approval, is expected to take place in the first half of 2024.
Case published 20.12.2023
Mérieux Equity Partners – Acquisition of Labquality
We acted as the legal and ESG advisor to Mérieux Equity Partners on the acquisition of a majority stake in Labquality through a leveraged buyout by its buyout fund, Mérieux Participations 4. Existing shareholders of Labquality, including Cor Group and the management, will reinvest a portion of their proceeds into the company in connection with the transaction. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Labquality is a Nordic player specialized in EQA, CRO activities and regulatory affairs, with a strong local presence in Central and Eastern Europe. The company provides a comprehensive array of services for the healthcare, medical technology, and pharmaceutical industries. The company, employing over 120 professionals and supported by a network of more than 150 external experts and consultants across its offices in Finland, Germany, and Poland, serves a diverse clientele of over 8,000 customers, including major pharmaceutical companies in over 60 countries. Mérieux Equity Partners (MxEP) is an AMF-accredited management company dedicated to equity investments in the Healthcare and Nutrition sectors. MxEP actively supports entrepreneurs and companies with differentiated products and services, giving them privileged access to its sector expertise and international network. The transaction will enable Labquality to pursue its buy & build strategy in Europe to accelerate its CRO activities while continuing strong and recurring growth in the EQA segment. Labquality will benefit from MxEP’s sector expertise and financial resources to achieve its ambition of becoming a leading European CRO and EQA platform, with fully integrated regulatory consulting capabilities to serve major customers across Europe.
Case published 4.12.2023
Voisin Consulting Life Sciences (VCLS) – Acquisition of MedEngine
We advised Voisin Consulting Life Sciences (VCLS) on the acquisition of MedEngine, a leading medical science agency in the Nordics. MedEngine is a digitally minded, premium service provider for the pharmaceutical industry, built upon extensive academic expertise and years of experience in the industry. Founded in 2014, MedEngine has a strong presence across the Nordic countries with offices in Helsinki (Finland), Copenhagen (Denmark), and Stockholm (Sweden). Founded in 1997, VCLS provides end-to-end HealthTech solutions to support biotechnology, pharmaceutical and MedTech manufacturers throughout their product development. With offices in the US, France, UK, Switzerland, Denmark, Madagascar, India, and China, VCLS serves a broad range of developers and investors in HealthTech.
Case published 7.11.2023
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