Ella Mäkijärvi Elected Member of the Board of the Young Arbitration Club Finland

Senior Associate Ella Mäkijärvi from Hannes Snellman’s Dispute Resolution Team was elected as a member of the board of Young Arbitration Club Finland (YACF) at the association’s annual meeting on 19 March 2025.  

YACF is a Finnish non-profit association for lawyers and other professionals aged 40 or under who are interested in arbitration and alternative dispute resolution. The purpose of YACF is to promote knowledge of Finnish and international arbitration, especially among lawyers under 40 years of age, and to make Finnish arbitration known in Finland and abroad. YACF fulfils its purpose by organising seminars, discussion forums, and other events, by creating cooperations with other organisations working in arbitration and, as far as possible, by promoting research and other informative actions.

Besides YACF, Ella has also been busy lately with the Vis Moot competition, with the finals looming in just two weeks. Ella is part of Hannes Snellman’s Vis Moot coaching team, and we recently published her career story, in which she reflected, among other things, on her own past moot court experiences. Ella’s career story can be read here.

Ella advises clients on business disputes, including domestic and international arbitration, commercial litigation before state courts, settlement negotiations, and mediation. Ella has gained experience in complex and high-stakes international arbitration and litigation proceedings. She has acted as counsel in arbitrations administered under major institutional rules (including FAI, SCC, and ICC) and being subject to the laws of various jurisdictions. In addition, Ella has experience of precautionary measures and court-assisted mediation. Due to her training on the bench at the District Court of Helsinki and acting as counsel in complex litigation proceedings in several instances of national courts, she has an in-depth understanding of Finnish court proceedings.