Anna-Maria Tamminen works as a partner in Hannes Snellman’s Dispute Resolution Team. She focuses especially on complex, international disputes. Furthermore, Anna-Maria is experienced in arbitration proceedings under various rules, both representing clients and acting as an arbitrator.
When did you start working at Hannes Snellman?
I started to work at Hannes Snellman in September 2011 when I moved back to my native Finland after seven years spent working and studying abroad in Vienna, London, and New York.
What is included in a “normal” working day?
Luckily, my working days here vary greatly from one another, but I do not think that there is a day when I do not write emails or talk to people. Obviously, as a litigator, the days when we go to trial or have arbitration hearings are very exciting highlights. But I also enjoy drafting legal argument and digging into the facts of a case. As I often speak at seminars abroad, I also travel quite a bit for work.
I am a people person and enjoy working in a team, so I am glad to be surrounded by great professionals both on the client’s side and here in the office. I am also involved in numerous arbitral organisations and working groups both in Finland and abroad and so most weeks are also partly filled with drafting or reviewing submissions for publication or preparing for speaking engagements.
Can you describe your working group?
For each case, we form smaller teams of people ranging from just two people for small matters to five or six of us for larger matters, including everyone from partners to assistants. We often also work across business areas within the firm to ensure that we have all the necessary expertise to handle a matter well.
What do you like about your job? What do you wish could be improved?
As counsel, what I like best about my job is oral advocacy and arguing cases. The most rewarding part of this job is when a case is a mess when one first takes a look at it and then the tribunal or court awards our client the relief we have asked for because we have been able to present the case in a clear and logical way. It is a bit like putting together a puzzle from thousands of separate pieces and seeing it come together. I also greatly enjoy deciding cases as an arbitrator as it allows me to change perspective. Because of my background and the years spent abroad, international work is closest to my heart. I enjoy resolving cultural conflicts within the law and between people. My dream is to make sure that both local and foreign clients get world-class dispute resolution representation in the Nordics in international matters, and I am working hard towards achieving that goal.
Can you describe the Hannes Snellman culture?
To me, the Hannes Snellman culture is very encouraging and no-nonsense. By that, I mean that initiatives are welcome, but there is not a lot of hierarchy or processes to jump through to get things done. We strive to do the best possible work in an efficient way, but we also understand that there is always room for development.
This year’s Vis Moot competition will operate under the Arbitration Rules of the Finland Chamber of Commerce. Based on your extensive experience, what advice would you give to the students who are participating in the competition?
I have two pieces of advice: first, in relation to the FAI, my predecessor at Hannes Snellman, now an indepedent arbitrator, Mika Savola, has written an extensive commentary on the FAI Rules. I recommend anyone dealing with the FAI Rules to get their hands on a copy and to attend digital workshops organised by the FAI. My more general piece of advice is to enjoy the experience. The more one puts time and effort into the Vis Moot, the more one will gain from the experience. The differences between the top teams are small, and one also needs to get lucky to prevail all the way, but nobody who will make the podium will make it without hard work. But everyone will be able to enjoy the learning experience as well as the connections made during the Moot. Part of my professional network dates back 20 years to the Moot — these are people who I work with today but whose company I still enjoy as much as back then. As the motto goes, once a mootie, always a mootie.
Want to know more about working at Hannes Snellman? Please pay a visit to our Careers section.
