Hannes Snellman successfully represented Kesko Oyj and several K-Citymarket stores in multiple administrative court proceedings where Regional State Administrative Agencies had introduced restricting conditions to the alcohol retail trade licences of the K-Citymarket stores. 

Kesko and the K-Citymarket stores appealed the decisions of the Regional State Administrative Agencies, and in its first four decisions, the Administrative Court of Northern Finland ruled in favour of the appellants by revoking the conditions of the alcohol retail trade licences to a large extent and ordering the authorities to compensate for part of the legal costs incurred by the appellants.

The decisions of the Administrative Court of Northern Finland were appealed by the Regional State Administrative Agencies and the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health. On 19 June 2024, the Supreme Administrative Court handed down a precedent ruling (KHO:2024:90), where the Court ruled in favour of the K-Citymarket stores. The Supreme Administrative Court confirmed that the Alcohol Act does not require that only the licence holder or their staff could hand over alcoholic beverages to the customers. Neither does the Alcohol Act require that the payment for an alcoholic beverage could only be received by the holder of the alcohol retail trade licence or an entity legally authorised to process payments. Therefore, the Regional State Administrative Agency could not impose the conditions in the retail trade licence based on the grounds it had asserted. The Supreme Administrative Court held that there was no reason to change the outcome of the decision of the Administrative Court of Northern Finland. 

In the three other cases, the Supreme Administrative Court rejected the authorities’ applications for leave to appeal, wherefore the outcome of the decisions of the Administrative Court of Northern Finland was not changed in these cases either.

The Supreme Administrative Court ordered the Regional State Administrative Agencies and the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health to compensate EUR 15,000 of the legal costs incurred by the K-Citymarket stores in each decision.

Parties

Sampo plc and Topdanmark A/S

Transaction

Sampo plc's recommended public exchange offer for the shares in Topdanmark A/S

Deal Value

DKK 33 billion

Role

Counsel to Sampo plc

Hannes Snellman successfully defended Continental Automotive GmbH (“Continental”) in an action brought by Nokia Technologies Oy (“Nokia”) concerning the right to claim priority for a patent. The Market Court held that the matter did not concern the registration or validity of a patent. The Market Court also held that Nokia lacked declaratory interest. Consequently, the Market Court found that it lacked jurisdiction and dismissed the action without considering the merits as requested by Continental.

The Market Court ordered Nokia to compensate EUR 500,000 with legal interest to Continental for the legal costs incurred.

The decision is not final.

Counsel to a building materials manufacturer in a dispute concerning product quality against a property developer company.

Counsel to a Finnish public transport infrastructure company in a dispute concerning supply of public transport equipment.

Counsel to an international consortium in arbitral proceedings concerning the redemption of minority shares in a Finnish listed software company following a public tender offer.

Counsel to a sports federation in a disciplinary matter concerning unethical and inappropriate behaviour by an individual.

Counsel to a client in multi-million euro appeal proceedings regarding the redemption of minority shareholders of a major Finnish company, successfully overturning the arbitral award.

Successfully represented a client in court proceedings against a multi-million arbitral award enforcement request.

Represented several energy sector companies in a dispute (including an eventual complex settlement) over abuse of influence by a shareholder, share redemption, and related matters.

Counsel to a creditor in a dispute over the repayment of a shareholder loan in the energy sector.

Counsel to a Finnish company in a dispute concerning the interpretation of a service agreement against a Nordic logistics company where the dispute was settled in mediation.

Counsel to a major Finnish listed corporation in an international multi-million ICC arbitration concerning alleged defective supply of machinery as well as related injunction and damages claim proceedings in several instances of national courts.

Counsel to a major Finnish listed corporation in an international multi-party ICC arbitration involving damages claims and counterclaims amounting to billions of euros.

Represented a global listed company in two related multi-million-euro damages disputes relating to agreements and deliveries to another company. Successfully assisted in settling both matters on terms favourable to the client, following an extensive court-assisted mediation hearing.

Hannes Snellman acted as counsel to NYAB Finland Oy in court proceedings to contest the termination of two construction contracts, relating to construction of a water treatment facility, where NYAB Finland Oy was the contractor and the City of Mikkeli was the employer. Mikkeli terminated the contracts mid-construction in March 2020. In December 2022, the Etelä-Savo District Court ruled that Mikkeli had no grounds for termination and awarded NYAB Finland Oy EUR 8.8 million (out of a claimed EUR 9.3 million) in damages, unpaid work, and costs, plus interest. Following the District Court ruling, the parties agreed on a settlement, whereby Mikkeli does not appeal and pays NYAB Finland Oy the sums awarded by the District Court plus interest up to a total of EUR 9.2 million.

Hannes Snellman acted as counsel in two precedential cases determining the invalidity of intra-EU arbitral awards in Sweden. Both cases concerned the application of EU law principles expressed in the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) Achmea judgment and the case law following the judgment. Hannes Snellman successfully represented the Republic of Poland in the Swedish Supreme Court, where the arbitral awards were declared invalid on the basis of Section 33(2) of the Swedish Arbitration Act. We also successfully represented the Kingdom of Spain in the Svea Court of Appeal regarding an application to invalidate or set aside an intra-EU arbitral award under the Energy Charter Treaty.

Counsel to a leading Finnish company by successfully representing them in an external investigation concerning alleged breach of applicable regulations.

Counsel to an international organisation as an investigator. The internal investigation concerned suspected harassment, discrimination, and financial misconduct over an extended period of time.

Counsel to a significant Finnish company as an investigator in an internal investigation regarding substantial financial misconduct and alleged derelictions. The monetary value at stake amounted to millions of euro. The investigation involved AI assisted review of thousands of documents and a number of interviews.

Counsel to Mash Group Oyj’s interim supervisor.

Acting for UPM-Kymmene Oyj in the largest ever Finnish follow-on damages litigation in which Metsähallitus originally claimed a capital amount of nearly 282 million euros in damages jointly and severally from Finnish forestry companies Stora Enso, UPM and Metsäliitto.

Acting for a Finnish listed company against a Danish corporation in a high-value engineering dispute mediated and arbitrated in Copenhagen under the DIA Rules and Danish applicable law.

Acting for an EU member state in proceedings for the setting aside of an investment treaty award under the Energy Charter Treaty.

Acting for a contractor in arbitral proceedings against the employer regarding a large infrastructure project.

Acting for a global crane manufacturer in a product liability claim.

Acting for a listed pharmaceutical company in several litigation and arbitral proceedings regarding inter alia board liability.

Acting for a global gas and engineering group in several arbitral proceedings under the SCC rules as well as ad hoc proceedings concerning construction and gas supply.

Acting for an employer in arbitral proceedings regarding infrastructure investments.

Acting for a transportation service provider in arbitral proceedings regarding rolling stock.

Acting for a global insurance company in relation to environmental damage claims.

Acting for a Nordic insurance company in litigation proceedings regarding a collapsed railway bridge.

Counsel to an Asian based company in a complex cross border arbitration proceedings against a Finnish company undergoing liquidation proceedings conducted under the Arbitration Rules of the Finland Chamber of Commerce.

Counsel to a Finnish bank in a series of litigation against a company and the owner of the company in connection with collection of receivables, bankruptcy filing and enforcement of court judgements.

Counsel to a major foreign bank in an insolvency related complex cross border dispute against foreign companies regarding enforcement of secured assets located in Finland in accordance with the Finnish Enforcement Act.

Acted as public receiver nominated by the Bankruptcy Ombudsman in the bankruptcy of Kromipinta

Counsel to an international bank syndicate as a member of Creditors' Committee in an unique and complex cross border restructuring of a group of companies undergoing simultaneous formal restructuring proceedings in Finland and Sweden.

Counsel to a Finnish public company in arbitration regarding a complex contractual software application licensing dispute. The arbitral award was rendered on terms favorable to our client. 

Counsel to a Finnish public company in a domain name dispute before the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center. The case was settled on terms favorable to our client and the disputed domain name was transferred to our client.

Counsel to one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies in contesting the decision of the Pharmaceuticals Pricing Board on the reimbursement of the company’s key product. As a result of the appeal made to the Supreme Administrative Court, the Board amended its negative reimbursement decision.

Counsel to a Finnish listed company against the Finnish Competition Authority in complex administrative proceedings concerning the authority’s obligation to produce documents to the parties involved in regulatory investigations. Our team of specialists successfully represented the client before the Supreme Administrative Court and obtained a precedential decision extending the parties’ access to documents. 

Counsel to a major telecommunications company in court proceedings relating to a decision by the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority, which had found our client to have significant market power in the market for call termination. Upon appeal, the Supreme Administrative Court annulled that decision and remitted the matter for new appraisal. 

Counsel to a Finnish bank in EU cartel proceedings. The Commission alleged that our client – together with various other European banks – had infringed EU competition law by agreeing on charges for the exchange of Euro-zone currencies. The Commission dropped the case after we had successfully defended the client bank’s position.

Counsel to a major telecommunications company in three closely related court and arbitration proceedings in which certain other telecom companies claimed damages exceeding MEUR 500 from our client. They alleged that our client had abused a dominant position. All three private enforcement actions were successfully settled out of court.

Counsel to a listed Finnish company in complex cartel investigations by the FCA. Following proceedings that lasted more than four years – encompassing numerous requests for information, interviews and a statement of objections – the FCA closed the case without making any penalty payment proposal to the Market Court.

Counsel to a multinational company in a case where the FCA had proposed that the Market Court should impose a fine for alleged restrictions of parallel imports in the market for digital cameras. Both the Market Court and the Supreme Administrative Court rejected the penalty payment proposal in its entirety.

Counsel to a Finnish listed company against the FCA in the largest-ever cartel proceedings brought before Finnish courts, where the proposed fines on the basis of alleged bid-rigging and market sharing amounted to MEUR 97.

Counsel to a leading company in a matter concerning alleged resale price maintenance, to date the largest case in Finland concerning vertical restrictions.

Counsel to a public company in a cartel investigation, where the Finnish Competition Authority (FCA) ceased the handling of the case without finding any infringement.

Counsel to an international company in private enforcement litigation, where the claimant seek damages from our client alleging that the agreement between the parties infringed competition rules. In one of the first private enforcement rulings by Finnish general courts, the District Court ruled in favour of our client dismissing all claims. Upon appeal, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision.

Counsel to clients in a number of large pending public and private enforcement procedures.

Counsel to a bankruptcy estate of a limited liability company in its pending claims against the managing director, Board members and auditors of the company regarding compensation for losses caused by the respondents.

Acted as the sole administrator for more than 10,000 creditors in the first large bankruptcy procedure under the new Finnish bankruptcy law, Töölö Travel Agency Ltd. 

Acted as the administrator for more than 200,000 creditors in the largest-ever restructuring of a Finnish conglomerate, Eka Corporation. 

Counsel to Finnish and foreign computer game companies in various disputes relating to an international licensing agreement.

Counsel to a well-known Finnish movie director in a widely published dispute regarding intellectual property rights to a motion picture.

Counsel to a Finnish sports federation in a high-value dispute against a foreign party over a broadcasting agreement.

Counsel to a leading Finnish sports stadium company in a dispute concerning the services at the stadium.

Counsel to a foreign top level ice hockey club in an international debt collection case relating to player agreements.

Counsel to a leading Finnish skiing equipment manufacturer and a sponsor in a dispute against another sponsor concerning athletes’ image rights.

Counsel to a Finnish top-ranking basketball club in a dispute regarding termination of a foreign player’s employment agreement.

Counsel to a major Nordic fitness centre chain in a dispute regarding personal injury.

Counsel to a Finnish company in Market Court proceedings initiated by a competitor, who accused our client of untrue allegations and unfair business practices. The Market Court ruled in favour of our client, finding the competitor’s allegations unsubstantiated.

Counsel to a Finnish bank in Market Court proceedings concerning certain marketing measures taken by a competitor which our client considered contrary to fair business practices. The Market Court approved our application, finding the measures  the competitor from continuing them.

Counsel to Microsoft Corporation in a domain name dispute before the Market Court regarding domain name onedrive.fi. The case was settled on terms favorable to our client and the disputed domain name was transferred to our client.

Counsel to a Finnish company in a dispute against a well-known UK supplier concerning the delivery of turbines to Russia and services related thereto. The dispute also involved complicated issues related to a first demand guarantee granted by a UK bank to a Finnish bank, which we also advised in the matter. The client won the ICC arbitration and the claimant withdrew the rest of its claims

Counsel to a financing company in an arbitration against a bankruptcy estate concerning the reservation of title to machinery under a major supply contract

Counsel to the Finnish Guarantee Board in a number of recovery proceedings against the bankruptcy estate of a major Finnish company. The total value of these cases was several hundred million euro.

Counsel to a Finnish bank against an Iranian state-owned bank concerning performance guarantees given by Finnish building companies in a construction project in Teheran. To the satisfaction of the Finnish bank, the Supreme Court dismissed all claims of the Iranian state-owned bank as the execution of the project became impossible due to acts of the Iranian state and because the Iranian bank claimant was considered to be under the control of the state.

Counsel to a Finnish company, which had financed an Estonian entrepreneur, in negotiations regarding the calling on a bank guarantee. The Estonian bank accepted to pay despite unclear wording.

Counsel to two Finnish companies as the developer and the building owner in a construction dispute against a Finnish listed contractor. The dispute concerned an enlargement of a major shopping centre. The contractor presented various claims against our clients exceeding 5 MEUR on the basis of e.g. alleged plan modifications, alteration works and time extension. Following extensive negotiations the dispute was resolved amicably in favour of our clients

Counsel to a Finnish listed company as the end user of a large building project against a major building developer in a multi-million euro construction and engineering arbitration governed by the Arbitration Rules of the Central Chamber of Commerce of Finland. The dispute concerned the building costs, alleged faults in plan management and instructions, additional and modification works as well as project management liabilities.

Counsel to a Finnish listed company against a Finnish real estate company in an arbitration governed by the Arbitration Rules of the Central Chamber of Commerce of Finland. The dispute concerned a major shopping centre project and the adjustment of particular contractual provisions based on the building costs of the project. Following our successful defence, the claimant's claims (exceeding MEUR 10) against our client were dismissed in their entirety.

Counsel to a Danish company against a Finnish subcontractor in a landmark damages litigation regarding the issue of whether a letter of intent, concluded between the parties in connection with the construction of a power plant, constituted de facto a binding contract that required our client to provide certain works to the Finnish subcontractor. The case proceeded to the Supreme Court, which reversed the lower courts’ decisions and dismissed all claims against our client.

Counsel to a globally leading consulting and engineering company in court proceedings regarding the application of a limitation on a structural engineer’s liability contained in a consultancy agreement in a situation where the damage had occurred to a third party. After the District Court had ruled in favour of our client, the adverse party withdrew its claim and accepted to compensate all legal costs incurred by our client.

Counsel to a producer of hydraulic equipment in proceedings before a Finnish District Court against a US claimant. The producer was successfully defended against claims that the components (the vast majority of which had broken during their use) were flawed with a manufacturing defect. The case was of significant monetary value and involved extensive and technically complex evidence as well as high-profile technical experts.

Counsel to a Finnish listed company as the building owner against a contractor in a complex construction dispute before a Finnish District Court. The dispute concerned termination of a construction contract, various claims for damages, claims for the reduction of contract price, claims for additional payments on the basis of alleged plan modifications and several other topical issues regarding the application of the General Conditions for Building Contracts (YSE 1998). The proceedings included a six-week hearing with over 50 witnesses and extensive presentations of highly technical evidence concerning e.g. the structural and architectural plans of the project.

Counsel to a Finnish engineering consortium in an ad hoc arbitration seated in Switzerland against a Turkish customer who had ordered a power plant. The applicable material law was Turkish law while Swiss procedural law applied. 

Counsel to a Russian subsidiary of a Finnish construction company against a Russian subsidiary of a major multinational retail company as the building owner in an arbitration governed by the SCC Arbitration Rules and Swedish material law. The dispute concerned a major construction project in Russia with claims exceeding MUSD 75. Apart from the main arbitration proceedings before a Stockholm-based arbitral tribunal, complicated court proceedings regarding the attachment of the counterparty's assets (totalling MUSD 18) based on first demand guarantees took place before the Supreme Court of Finland. After the tribunal had issued a partial award in the case, the dispute ended in a settlement favourable to our client.

Counsel to a major Finnish listed company as the end user of a large and highly complex industrial plant in an ad hoc construction & engineering arbitration under the Finnish Arbitration Act, the value of the dispute exceeding MEUR 120.

Counsel to one of the leading auditing companies in Finland and two of its auditors in a hearing held before the Auditing Board of the Finnish Central Chamber of Commerce regarding whether the auditors had acted contrary to the good auditing practice. 

Counsel to auditors of a bankrupt company in a dispute relating to managerial and auditor liability, including issues concerning the correctness of the closing of the accounts in bankruptcy. The interests at stake were significant in these cases, which were settled to the client’s satisfaction.

Counsel to a foreign public company against a Russian counterparty in a complex, Russia-related international arbitration and numerous simultaneous court proceedings concerning a breach of a shareholders’ agreement and various company law related issues.

Counsel to a Finnish company in court proceedings against a Saudi-Arabian partner concerning obligations based on a shareholders’ agreement. The case was successfully settled. 

Counsel to a Finnish company in court proceedings where the other party contested a decision to switch to a single series of shares and made a petition to prevent the completion of the sale of the company. Victory was secured for our client, which was crucial for the success of the sale. 

Counsel to a Finnish company in two company-law related landmark cases before Finnish courts. In one of the cases, the court held – to the satisfaction of our client and contrary to the wording of the Finnish Companies Act, some legal commentaries on the statute and statements by legal scholars – that a minority shareholder may under certain circumstances contest a Board decision to issue shares. The other case, which involved issues relating to a poison pill in the articles of association, was won in the Supreme Court. 

Counsel to UPM-Kymmene Oyj in the largest ever Finnish follow-on damages litigation in which Metsähallitus originally claimed a capital amount of nearly 282 million euros in damages jointly and severally from Finnish forestry companies Stora Enso, UPM and Metsäliitto. The client was represented succesfully.

Counsel to a Finnish company in an ad hoc arbitration against a Dutch company concerning the termination of an agency agreement

Counsel to a Finnish company against an Estonian company in a Helsinki-based ICC arbitration regarding the delivery of certain technical equipment

Counsel to a Finnish supplier against two Russian enterprises in a dispute arising from project agreements governed by Swiss law. The agreements provide for arbitration in Zurich under the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration. The value of the dispute exceeds MEUR 30.

Counsel to a Finnish listed company against an Indonesian corporation in a dispute arising out of a supply contract under Singaporean law. The arbitration is governed by the SIAC Rules and seated in Singapore.

Counsel to a Swiss company against a Societas Europaea in a dispute over subcontractor’s liability under a manufacturing agreement in an arbitration governed by the Rules of the Arbitration Institute of the Finland Chamber of Commerce.

Counsel to a Finnish manufacturer against a Chinese customer in a construction and engineering dispute under the ICC Arbitration Rules seated in Paris.

Counsel to a Finnish listed company against a Latin American counterparty in a multi-million euro dispute over the termination of a distribution agreement and unlawful use of our client’s intellectual property rights. Apart from the main arbitral proceedings seated in Helsinki, the case involved convoluted injunction and criminal proceedings before Brazilian state courts.

Counsel to a multinational telecom company against two other telecom companies in convoluted court and arbitration proceedings in which the counterparties claimed damages exceeding MEUR 500 from our client based on purported abuse of dominant market position.

Counsel to a German listed company against a major Finnish corporation in a competition-law related M&A dispute resolved under the ICC Arbitration Rules in Stockholm, the value of the dispute exceeding MEUR 60

Counsel to a Finnish financing company in a reinsurance dispute against UK reinsurers in a London-based UNCITRAL arbitration.

Counsel to a Swiss company against a Finnish corporation in an oil and gas related dispute. The case was settled in an ad hoc arbitration under the Finnish Arbitration Act.

Counsel to one of the world’s leading manufacturers of medical equipment in an ad hoc arbitration against Kuwaitian and Portuguese companies over the termination of a distributorship agreement, involving complicated questions of applicable law.

Counsel to a Finnish engineering consortium in an ad hoc arbitration in Switzerland against a Turkish customer who had ordered a power plant. The applicable material law was Turkish law while Swiss arbitration law applied.

Counsel to a Russian subsidiary of a Finnish construction company against a Russian subsidiary of a multinational retail company as the building owner in an arbitration governed by the SCC Arbitration Rules. The dispute concerned a large construction project in Russia with claims exceeding MUSD 75. Apart from the main arbitration proceedings before a Stockholm-based arbitral tribunal, complicated court proceedings regarding the attachment of the counterparty’s assets (totalling MUSD 18) based on first demand guarantees took place before the Supreme Court of Finland.

Counsel to Finnish and foreign banks in an investment treaty arbitration against a former Eastern-bloc state under the ICSID Arbitration Rules. This was the first-ever BIT dispute involving Finnish companies.

Counsel to a Latin American industrial client against a Finnish listed company and its foreign subsidiary in a high-value construction and engineering dispute resolved in parallel arbitration proceedings conducted under the ICC and Finnish arbitration rules.

Counsel to a Norwegian company in a dispute over a shareholders’ agreement between our client and Russian shareholders relating to joint operations in Russia. The case was arbitrated and litigated in several legal proceedings in Russia and Finland.

Counsel to a German listed company against a major Finnish corporation in a complex M&A dispute under the ICC Arbitration Rules seated in Helsinki. The interest at stake amounted to MEUR 700.

Counsel to a Finnish construction developer against a Danish company in a Stockholm-based SCC arbitration regarding the sale and purchase of shares of a Russian company

Counsel to a Finnish listed company as respondent against a US claimant in a complex international ad hoc arbitration concerning alleged breach of the Seller’s representations and warranties in a M&A agreement. The tribunal ruled in favour of our client, dismissing the claimant's claims which exceeded MEUR 10.

Counsel to a manufacturer of fibre solutions, who had purchased the business of another company, in an ad hoc arbitration against the seller company regarding the significance of false business prognoses. The case ended in the parties settling it on terms favourable to the client manufacturer.

Counsel to a major German company against a Finnish listed company in a multi-million euro M&A dispute concerning the validity of a non-competition clause in a M&A agreement. The case, which was resolved under the ICC Arbitration Rules in Sweden, involved difficult legal questions relating to application of EC competition rules and assessment of damages. After two extensive hearings and proceedings that lasted for several years, the arbitral tribunal dismissed all claims against our client. 

Counsel to the claimant in a precedent appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court against the Finnish Government’s decision to allocate radio licences.

Counsel to a Finnish subsidiary of a globally operating energy and oil company in a dispute against a Finnish city regarding liability for a polluted port. The dispute ended in a favourable settlement.

Counsel to a Finnish company in criminal investigations regarding liability for environmental damage due to alleged emission of cyanide. The proceedings ended as the charges against our client were waived.

Counsel to a sports magazine in an alleged trademark infringement and industrial property crime case. Following our successful defence, the client was acquitted of the charges. 

Counsel to a Finnish company in a damages litigation regarding the application of the Unfair Business Practices Act in a case where the defendant – a major retail chain – had copied a retail trade system for its own use. The dispute was successfully settled out of court.

Counsel to a major US corporation in a criminal case concerning copyright crime and misappropriation of proprietary information, where the information and material protected by copyright were acquired in connection with an acquisition of a technology company. Following the completion of the transaction, part of the material was transferred to a new competing business entity established by some of the former shareholders of the acquired company. The case involved extensive investigation of a large amount of detailed technical evidence and its legal implications. Based on our prosecution, the main defendants were found guilty of copyright crime and misappropriation of proprietary information. 

Counsel to a Finnish listed company against a labour union in obtaining an ex parte injunction order, which permitted our client to collect its containers from a port blocked by the labour union on strike.

Obtained an ex parte temporary seizure of the counterparty’s database with a prohibition for the counterparty to use the information contained in the database. In practice, the seizure resulted in the complete ceasing of the counterparty’s business operations.

Obtained an injunction against the counterparty in a dispute over the IP rights to a software. The counterparty was ordered under penalty of a fine to refrain from making claims of ownership to third parties either directly or indirectly.

Obtained an injunction against a shareholder/seller of a company, prohibiting him from being employed by a competitor on the basis of a non-compete clause in a Share Purchase Agreement. 

Obtained a precautionary measure whereby a contractor was obligated under penalty of a fine to continue executing his obligations under a construction contract.

Counsel to a director of a motion picture in an application to prohibit the distribution of the movie which violated the director’s IP rights. The case was settled soon after the application was submitted. 

Counsel to various international banks in the successful freezing of assets located in Finland belonging to Russian corporations. 

Obtained in Finland the first ex parte and inter partes injunction in a high-profile, worldwide trademark dispute. Our successful application opened the doors for further injunctions in other jurisdictions

Obtained the first-ever Anton Pillar order in Finland relating to main proceedings in the United States

Obtained an injunction prohibiting a trade union from continuing its strike that was claimed to be illegal.

Obtained the freezing of the counterparty’s receivables from a Finnish bank based on first demand guarantees issued by the bank.

Obtained a precautionary measure prohibiting the counterparty from presenting allegations to third parties that our client was violating the counterparty’s intellectual property rights.

Obtained the first ever anti-suit injunction in Finland in connection with an international dispute.

Counsel to a leading Finnish bank in a high-profile criminal case against the issuer of shares, sellers of shares, board members of the issuer and our client who organized the issuing and sale. The claim against our client was based on the prospectus. This was an exceptional case in that three state prosecutors were involved, and it received a lot of media attention. The District Court dismissed all charges against our client. 

Counsel to a Finnish listed company in criminal proceedings concerning a breach of the duty of disclosure provided for in the Finnish Securities Market Act. To the satisfaction of our client, the case ended in waiver of charges

Counsel to various Finnish companies in connection with regulatory investigations conducted by the Finnish Financial Supervision Authority and in proceedings before the Disciplinary Board of the Helsinki Stock Exchange, concerning suspected infringements of securities market regulations and the Rules of the Stock Exchange.

Counsel to three former board members and the Chairman of a Finnish listed company as defendants in criminal proceedings concerning a suspected securities markets information offence. Following our successful defence in the District Court all charges against our clients were dismissed. The Court of Appeal upheld the decision regarding the three board members. Thus far this is one of the few cases concerning board members' criminal liability in securities markets information matters. The decision is final. 

Counsel to a reinsurance company in an ad hoc arbitration against a direct insurer who declined its payment obligation. An award was issued in favour of the client reinsurer.

Counsel to a reinsurance company in a Finnish ad hoc arbitration against a direct insurer regarding the avoidance of credit reinsurance agreements. The interest at stake was MEUR 20. The case ended in the parties settling it on terms favourable for the client reinsurer.

Counsel to a major Finnish financing company in a reinsurance dispute against UK reinsurers in a London-based UNCITRAL arbitration. The value of the case – which was settled just before the rendering of the final award – amounted to MUSD 20.

Counsel to a Finnish life insurance company in court proceedings regarding a beneficiary’s right to a supplementary pension on the basis of a group pension policy in a situation where the amount of the policy savings was not sufficient.

Counsel to a multinational insurance company against a Finnish listed company in a liability insurance litigation concerning the policy coverage, policyholder’s improper claims management as well as the application of the statute of limitations on the policyholder’s claim for compensation.

Counsel to a multinational insurance company against a Finnish listed company in a dispute over whether certain costs incurred by the insured should be considered as salvage costs in the meaning of Sections 32 and 61 of the Finnish Insurance Contracts Act, and whether they fell outside the scope of the liability insurance coverage provided by our client insurer.

Counsel to a state-owned entity as the insured party against a major Finnish insurance company in court proceedings regarding the interpretation of a fire accident insurance policy. Both the District Court and the Court of Appeal granted our client’s monetary claims in full, and ordered the insurer to compensate all of our client's legal costs. The case is currently pending before the Supreme Court of Finland.

Counsel to a leading Finnish insurance company against a Finnish listed company in a complex liability insurance dispute concerning our client’s obligation to compensate the damage that occurred in the claimant’s industrial plant due to a power cut. The case resulted in a precedent issued by the Supreme Court of Finland.

Counsel to a multinational insurance company against the Finnish Consumer Ombudsman in court proceedings concerning whether our client had provided misleading information to an individual consumer who subscribed a unit-linked pension insurance policy from it. This was a landmark case with high monetary interest, as similar insurance policies had been sold to a large number of customers. The dispute resulted in a precedent issued by the Supreme Court of Finland.

Counsel to secured creditors as a member of Creditors' Committee in one of the largest ongoing bankruptcy proceedings in Finland 

Acted in over 25 arbitrations as Co-arbitrator, Sole Arbitrator and Chairperson on arbitral tribunals constituted under the ICC, SCC, DIA, LCIA and FAI Rules governed by Swedish, Finnish, Danish, English, Cypriot, New York and Swiss applicable law.

Continuously counsel to Finnish and foreign parties in the drafting of contracts, especially with regard to dispute resolution provisions, as well as in the preparation of claims and settlement of disputes.

Counsel to the SPLM/A (South Sudan) in its boundary dispute with the Government of Sudan in the so-called Abyei arbitration under the auspices of the PCA under UNCITRAL Rules.

Counsel to a European telecommunications company in long-running, parallel VIAC arbitrations relating to a shareholder agreement.

Counsel to a European telecommunications company in a long-running ICC arbitration with a French corporation arising out of a joint venture located in Eastern Europe, with several billion euros in dispute.

Counsel to a Finnish listed company against a Danish corporation in a high-value engineering dispute mediated and arbitrated in Copenhagen under the DIA Rules and Danish applicable law.

Counsel to a Polish investor in an SCC arbitration under the Poland-Cyprus BIT in an SCC arbitration.

Counsel to a Central European company against a Russian corporation in a multimillion-dollar dispute arbitrated in Stockholm under the SCC Rules and Russian and Swedish applicable law.

Counsel to a Finnish forestry company in the District Court, Court of Appeal and before the Supreme Court in the largest ever Finnish follow-on damages litigation in which with claims amounting to 280 million euros.

Counsel to an international manufacturer against a Nordic company in a multibillion SEK dispute arbitrated in Stockholm under the SCC Rules and Swedish applicable law.

Counsel to a Finnish company in negotiations with regard to the termination of a procurement contract avoiding lengthy litigation.

Counsel to a Finnish company before the Finnish Market Court in a merger control case subject to special expedited rules.

Counsel to a Finnish multinational company against a Finnish company in a multimillion Euro EPC dispute in the renewable energy field.

Counsel to a Nordic company against a Central European counterpart in a multimillion-euro SCC arbitration and obtained funding for said client.

Counsel to a European State in the setting aside proceedings of an investment treaty award before the Svea Court of Appeal, Swedish Supreme Court and European Court of Justice involving questions of international law.

Counsel to a Finnish listed company in multiple parallel regulatory proceedings pending before different administrative courts in Finland.

Counsel to a global corporation in set-aside proceedings before the Svea Court of Appeal.

Counsel to a Finnish listed company in its exit from Russia and related sanctions questions.

Co-counsel to a major Finnish listed corporation in relation to a multibillion-euro investment treaty claim against the Russian Federation.

Counsel to a Finnish company in Market Court proceedings subject to consumer protection law and energy regulation.

Counsel to a global corporation in parallel proceedings before the Helsinki District Court in relation to a license agreement and public procurement rules.

Counsel to supplier of social services in a dispute against a public entity.

• Ranked Tier 2
• "Reliable and versatile, full-service law firm. Very professional and dedicated team members."
• "They are well-resourced and have vast and versatile experience of various types of disputes, including disputes in administrative courts which often involve a significant financial interest."
• "They are prepared to dig into and enhance their knowledge about such types of complex legal issues and disputes of which they do not have previous experience."
• "Proactive and committed as well as service mindset."
• "Excellent team of experienced dispute resolution practitioners."

• “The law firm's dispute resolution practice is highly skilled and can deliver successful tactics in complex and sophisticated matters. The lawyers really drive the cases efficiently and with the customer's best interest in mind.”
• “Hannes Snellman proactively consider the client's position and offer great availability. The team have the courage to provide advice even when no straightforward legal answer exists.”
• “Hannes Snellman's dispute resolution team is remarkable. It successfully incorporates the expertise of both young talent and partners for optimal and cost-efficient legal services.”

• Hannes Snellman is recommended in Legal500’s Global Green Guide 2024 edition as one of the key firms in the EMEA region advising on issues around climate change and sustainability.

• "Hannes Snellman's dispute resolution team is remarkable. It successfully incorporates the expertise of both young talent and partners for optimal and cost-efficient legal services."
• "Hannes Snellman proactively consider the client's position and offer great availability. The team have the courage to provide advice even when no straightforward legal answer exists."
• "The law firm's dispute resolution practice is highly skilled and can deliver successful tactics in complex and sophisticated matters. The lawyers really drive the cases efficiently and with the customer's best interest in mind."
• "Anna-Maria Tamminen's exceptional ability to effectively manage complex and sophisticated arbitration and litigation by skilfully identifying and prioritising key issues is highly commendable. Her dedication, strategic thinking and attention to detail have consistently led to favourable outcomes, especially in navigating through the intricacies of legal proceedings." "She is a great team player who always listens to the client."
• "Markus Manninen demonstrates remarkable skills in integrating profound legal knowledge with strategic thinking and a composed demeanour." "He is highly skilled and pleasant to work with."

• Hannes Snellman is recommended in Legal500’s Global Green Guide 2023 edition as one of the key firms in the EMEA region advising on issues around climate change and sustainability.

• "Service orientation, availability, quality of service, easy collaboration."
• "Professional expertise, customer service."
• "Skillful and efficient way to handle legal assignments. Partners involved where needed, various levels of lawyers used wisely."
• "The way Anders Bygglin communicates is to the point and with an understanding of the client’s business in the financing sector."
• "Plenty of experience in domestic litigation – out of the box thinking – well formulated and thought-out strategies for litigation – Professionals one can rely on."
• "I’ve worked with Markus Manninen and Ina Rautiainen. Markus has long experience in dispute resolution and litigation. He presents his thoughts precisely and gives clear answers. Both are pleasant to work with and you can rely on them meeting deadlines and getting back when promised."
• "Great full service law firm."

• "The dispute resolution team works in close cooperation with specialists in other teams to attain the best results. The knowledge in various fields of law of each individual is astonishing."

• "Our contact persons worked extremely well! Anders Bygglin’s knowledge of the demanded things in our case is high-class and the way they work is impressive. They are good in thinking about the case from many points of views so that they can answer the questions of the judge and the accusations of the opposite side. Their good experience and both the knowledge of the law and court practices are convincing. Our company is extremely satisfied with the way Bygglin worked with us."
• "Anders Bygglin represented us in court. He was extremely good at “reading” both the judge and the counterpart at court sessions. He had carefully planned beforehand how to proceed at court but he has the skills to work according to the situation and the persons. I think that had a big effect at the court since he could understand immediately what the judge considered important and he could immediately work accordingly. Very impressive work at the court!"
• "The dispute resolution team has proven to have very high quality in its legal assessment, also drafting of documents is at a particularly strong professional level. No mistakes, timely, and high quality deliveries."
• "The dispute resolution team of Hannes Snellman Attorneys has provided extremely valuable support to us in multiple cases. Not only from the legal resolution aspect but also from broader perspective; very good discussions, brainstorming, consultative process development support, etc. Working with them makes you feel they would be your in-house department, not external service supplier."
• "Anders Bygglin is a very high-calibre professional with vast experience. Easy to communicate and always reachable. Anders can fit himself very quickly to the case / situation on hand and thinks about everything from a very broad perspective but still with great attention even to the smallest detail. Working with him is always super-professional but with a very open, transparent and casual manner, just as I want it to be. Summary: If I would have any legal topic I need consultation for, Anders is my #1 “whom shall I ask”. Full trust and very high appreciation, definitely worth of every euro."

• Hannes Snellman is recommended in Legal500’s inaugural Global Green Guide as one of the key firms in the EMEA region advising on issues around climate change and sustainability.

• 'Anders Bygglin assists with a variety of commercial disputes, including public procurement, real estate and employment disputes. "His ability to adapt to different fast-paced situations is very high, "remarks one client. Another says: "He's absolutely tireless in his search of the best possible approach to the dispute."'
• 'Anna-Maria Tamminen assists with post-M&A and competition-related disputes. She is reputed for her expertise in arbitration, frequently acting on international cases.'

• "Dedication, commitment and deep understanding and knowledge of the topic – these would be the words I use when describing this practice. We always felt that we were a top priority. Absolutely a great customer experience at our side and a fantastic customer understanding on their side."
• "I have worked with a number of law firms over the years, and Hannes Snellman is separated from the others by a truly customer-oriented and solution-oriented approach. It has been easy to work with Hannes Snellman and together we have been able to find solutions to really challenging situations."
• "The company has an extremely professional team. I especially appreciate their ability and genuine will to serve the customer as well as possible. I also greatly appreciate the fact that the company utilises the expertise of different fields from within the house to achieve the best result for the Customer."
• "Markus Manninen stands out because of 1) his in-depth knowledge and experience, 2) true customer orientation, 3) ability to create trust and confidence, 4) ability in creating various options for strategy and tactics for the case and making them understandable for us. I am impressed."

• 'Anders Bygglin is described as "easy to work with, responsive and knowledgeable."'
• 'Anna-Maria Tamminen assists with post-M&A and competition-related disputes. She is reputed for her expertise in arbitration, frequently acting on international cases.'

• 'A commercial dispute is always a surprise for an in-house lawyer, and thus being able to spar and discuss with a knowledgeable team like that at Hannes Snellman is always valuable. Whilst the Dispute Resolution team in itself merits praise, it is the ability to take on other subject matter experts that brings the edge when you really need it the most.’
• ‘Anna-Maria Tamminen is a very good lawyer with great international exposure which we appreciate.‘
• ‘Dispute team represents the same excellent quality as other practise areas we regularly deal with. The approach is thorough and analytical and response times are great.‘
• ‘Coupled with a fundamental understanding of the legal issue, Anna-Maria Tamminen distils from the complex and provides a concise, hands-on and actionable path forward.’
• ‘Markus Manninen is an outstanding arbitrator.’
• ‘Partner Anna-Maria Tamminen is sharp, quick off the mark and capable of providing strategic advice.‘
• ‘Senior associate Helen Lehto works very diligently, communicates effectively and able to piece together the key points from vast amounts of documentation.‘

• 'Clients highlight the practice for its "very good quality of work."'

• 'Clients commend the team for its clarity, stating that the lawyers are "very quick to get to the core issues."'
• 'Clients assert that "you feel safe with them on your side."'

• 'Partner Anna-Maria Tamminen is highlighted by sources for her strong international capabilities, adding that they "sing her praises highly" and that she is "seriously impressive."'

• 'The ‘fantastic’ team at Hannes Snellman provides ‘value for money’ with ‘strategic, pragmatic and fast advice’'.

• 'The department's outstanding abilities are praised by clients: “The experience and quality of the team is excellent and truly valued.”
• ‘A second source notes: “We highly appreciate the efforts the team puts into the case, its analysis and approach.”'

• ‘Experienced team handling both domestic and international cases in numerous areas, including transport, M&A, banking and finance, energy, infrastructure and public law. David Ackebo is a key contact for the department.’

• 'The team's service-mindedness and pragmatic outlook is praised by clients, who say: "All the lawyers are excellent. They are client and solution-oriented and very easy to work with."'
• 'The practice is commended for its sector-specific expertise, with a source saying: “I think they are number one in construction-related litigation."'
• 'One client lists several attributes the firm offers, highlighting "their working style: they are very quick to get up to speed and understand the issues and their advice is very thorough."'
• 'The same interviewee also appreciates the "team's ethos: their co-operation is really good. They display very close teamwork and in practice the client doesn't see the hierarchy at all."'

• 'Hannes Snellman fields a team with "top-level expertise combined with an excellent attitude"'
• 'Clients find that Hannes Snellman’s ‘long-time experience in dispute resolution provides comfort’'

• '"The team's strength is its ability and willingness to get to know the case and the background, really digging into it in an efficient way."..."The lawyers are very fast, which makes them good value for money because they don't waste time."…Anna-Maria Tamminen is described by clients as "really capable and good in international cases."'
• 'Well regarded in both domestic and international cases in numerous areas, including transport, M&A, banking and finance, energy and infrastructure. Recent focus on disputes within the real estate and construction sectors. Strong track record in both arbitration and litigation.'

• 'Exceptional team active on high-profile litigation and arbitration cases. Has notable experience of construction-related arbitration, private enforcement cases and employment-related disputes.'
• '"Responsive and a pleasure to work with", "Excellent practitioners."'