Mikko advises Finnish and international companies on all aspects of competition law, including merger control, compliance, investigations, proceedings before the competition authorities and courts, and state aid. He also advises companies on a range of regulatory issues relating to regulated markets, such as energy and telecoms, sanctions, and internal market issues, as well as foreign direct investment (FDI) screening.

Mikko has consistently advised numerous major Finnish corporations in several leading merger control, competition law advisory, and state aid cases during the past decade. Prior to joining private practice, Mikko gained several years of experience of investigating competition law infringement cases and actively participating in the networks of competition authorities.

Rankings

  • Clients say: "Mikko Huimala is a top lawyer in the Finnish market. Easy to work with, has excellent industry knowledge and is always available.", "Mikko Huimala is ready to jump in a call on short notice and can give practical advice within a short period.", "Mikko Huimala is a pleasant person to work with, and the service has always been exceptional.", EU and Competition, Legal 500, 2025
  • "He has an excellent way of summarising key issues and provides to-the-point advice in complex situations.", Competition/European Law, Chambers Europe 2025
  • "Mikko Huimala provides practical and exact legal advice in the field of competition law in a pragmatic and cost-efficient way. He communicates efficiently, is easy to reach and reacts very quickly.", Competition/European Law, Chambers Europe 2025
  • "He is very knowledgeable and exceptionally business-minded, as well as being a pleasure to work with.", Competition/European Law, Chambers Europe 2025
  • "Mikko Huimala is very pleasant to work with and very adaptable to clients' needs.", Competition/European Law, Chambers Europe 2025
  • "He has broad knowledge of many fields of business and is able to have a business-oriented mindset in his services.", Competition/European Law, Chambers Europe 2025
  • Leading Individual, EU and Competition, Legal 500, 2024
  • "Mikko Huimala and his team are the best, deep knowledge, straightforward approach, no unnecessary “whisking”, ability to provide the risk assessment in very understandable form.", EU and Competition, Legal 500, 2024
  • "Mikko Huimala is very pragmatic and solution-driven lawyer who provides pragmatic advice instead of concentrating on disclaimers in the final products. We especially appreciate him being able to make complex competition law concepts more approachable to our non-lawyer colleagues.", EU and Competition, Legal 500, 2024
  • “It is always pleasant when he is involved”, “Mikko Huimala is very pleasant and it is easy to find a common understanding with him”, Chambers Europe 2024
  • Ranked among the world's leading practitioners in Competition, Who's Who Legal 2023
  • "He always provides added value with his excellent attitude. He is efficient and responsive.", Competition/European Law, Chambers Europe, 2023
  • "Mikko Huimala is very experienced and knowledgeable. He finds the convincing arguments and has a solution oriented approach to all problems.", EU and Competition, Legal 500, 2022
  • "Mikko Huimala is excellent, business minded, great communication skills and capable for quick understanding of the issue to be solved.", EU and Competition, Legal 500, 2022
  • "I’m glad to provide my view on Mikko Huimala: in my opinion what makes him to stand out from other competition law partners is his straightforward and pragmatic approach to complex matters. He is fast and is on the same page with the client from the beginning thinking about the goals and optimal way of achieving those. You are able to fully rely on Mikko that every task done is efficiently and the output is impeccable. This all makes him a valuable sparring partner in any competition law matters.", EU and Competition, Legal 500, 2022
  • "He is able to easily put matters into the correct context and provide high-quality advice, recognising the client's business goals," Competition/European Law, Chambers Europe, 2022
  • Ranked as 2021 exclusive winner of Client Choice’s Competition category in Finland
  • "Mikko’s commercial awareness and ability to connect the finer details of law and his client’s business are outstanding. With concise and clear opinions and advice he gives his client clear options and routes forward.", Competition, Client Choice, 2021
  • "Mr. Huimala is one best lawyers I have ever worked with: quality of service (including his team), value for money, communication skills, commercial awareness and very pleasant to work with.", Competition, Client Choice, 2021
  • "Mikko is fast and is on the same page with the client from the beginning thinking about the goals and optimal way of achieving those.", Competition, Client Choice, 2021
  • "Mikko's advice is always on point. He has an amazing grip on various industries enabling him to provide practical industry specific advice with an excellent value for money.", Competition, Client Choice, 2021
  • "Mikko Huimala is an outstanding competition law attorney. Moreover he’s a very nice guy, and he takes good care of a client. He gets a grip of the market and the issue at hand quickly and knows how to raise the right questions. His advice is balanced and practical going forward." EU and Competition, Legal 500, 2021
  • '"He is heavily involved in many big-ticket cases at the moment," remarks one interviewee. He is particularly well regarded for the breadth of his practice, with sources stressing that "he has extremely wide knowledge on different aspects of competition law," and going on to note: "He applies a business perspective to the legal environment."', Competition/European Law, Chambers Europe, 2021
  • 'Superb. Analytical but very practical at the same time. Easy to work with.', EU and Competition, Legal 500, 2020
  • 'A client highlights that he is "easy to work with."', Competition/European Law, Chambers Europe, 2020
  • 'Mikko stands out for being "very engaged and analytical"' , EU and Competition, Legal 500, 2019
  • 'Sources describe him as "a great expert in competition law, who offers a proactive approach."', Competition/European Law, Chambers Europe 2019
  • Ranked as one of the world's leading competition lawyers by Who's Who Legal 2019
  • 'One client praises his ability to communicate, noting: "He quickly understood the nature of my needs and prepared exactly what I needed, including the legal conclusions, without using too much space for detailed legal complexities." ', Competition/European Law, Chambers Europe 2018
  • Ranked in the 2018 edition of Best Lawyers (Competition Law)
  • Ranked as notable practitioner in the 2017-2022 editions of Chambers Europe (Competition/European Law)

Memberships and Positions of Trust

  • Member of the Finnish Bar Association
  • Member of the Finnish Competition Law Association, Chair (2016–2018) and Vice Chair (2014–2016)
  • Member of the Competition Law Expert Team of the Finnish Bar Association (2016–2020)
  • Member of the American Bar Association

Professional Background

  • Partner, Head of Competition and Regulatory, Hannes Snellman, 2017–
  • DLA Piper, 2016–2017
  • Castrén & Snellman Attorneys Ltd, 2006–2016
  • Finnish Competition Authority, 2003–2006

Education

  • Post-Graduate Diploma in Economics for Competition Law, King’s College London, 2011
  • Master of Laws, University of Helsinki, 2002

Publications

  • Vertikaalisten sääntöjen päivittäminen nykyajan markkinatodellisuuteen, Finnish Competition Law Yearbook 2021 (co-author)
  • The Public Competition Enforcement Review, 2022
  • The Public Competition Enforcement Review, 2021
  • Vastuullisuus osana tehokkuuspuolustusta EU:n kilpailuoikeudessa, Defensor Legis 4/2020 (co-author)
  • The Public Competition Enforcement Review, 2020