Nye topprangeringer i Legal 500
Legal 500 har offentliggjort resultatene fra sin årlige advokatrangering for 2019. Våre fagmiljøer innen entreprise og forsikring opprettholder sine posisjoner som ledende i det norske markedet og rangeres nok en gang i nivå 1.
Videre rangeres Alexander Plows, Arne Engesæth og Erik Ramm som "Leading individuals" innen deres respektive fagområder «Insurance», «Construction» og «Banking and Finance».
Linn Kvade Rannekleiv utpekes som en av to “Next generation lawyers” innen forsikring i Norge.
Under følger en oversikt over omtalene knyttet til våre faggrupper som er rangert i årets guide.
Insurance (tier 1)
Alexander Plows leads the department at DLA Piper following Runar Hansen's departure to Bull & Co Advokatfirma AS in 2018. The group is a key name in the market for reinsurance and professional liability work; recent highlights include defending Multiconsult in a professional liability claim. The team also assisted Palaistra with its acquisition of an interest in Silver Pensjonsforsikring and advised Brightstar International on its provision of a mobile insurance programme to Telenor. Associate partner Camilla Julie Wollan is the key name for regulatory issues, associate partner Beate Vesterås (who joined from an in-house position) focuses on professional liability work and lead lawyer Linn Kvade RannekleIv joined from Wiersholm in 2018.
Leading individuals: Alexander Plows
Next generation lawyers: Linn Kvade Rannekleiv
Construction (tier 1)
With notable expertise across construction projects and litigation, DLA Piper acts for a national and international client base, which includes Veidekke, China Communication Construction Company and Mesta. The group also assisted the Sichuan Road and Bridge Group with issues relating to its tender to build a bridge over Beitstadsundet, represented Cowi and AIG Europe in a dispute relating to the construction of a slaughterhouse, and advised the Municipality of Lørenskog on the construction of new roads and bridges. Are Hunskaar leads the department, which also includes the highly regarded Arne Engesæth, Hans Christian Brodtkorb and development project expert Kjell-André Honerud.
Leading individuals: Arne Engesæth
Real estate (tier 2)
DLA Piper 'manages to create solutions to very complex and interconnected transactions' and 'uses its knowledge of its clients and their businesses to make it easier to get straight to the point'. The group focuses on transactional work at a national and international level for a client base that includes Pareto Securities, Round Hill Capital and Ikea. Magnus Lutnæs leads the practice, which also includes the 'patient and persistent' Bjørn Slaatta, Anders Bergene, Thomas Rindahl Håkonsen and planning specialist Tone Gjertsen, who is 'in short, a dream lawyer'. Slaatta recently advised Skanska Norge on its sale of Lakkegata 3-9, a combined apartment, hotel and office building in Oslo.
Banking and finance (including shipping finance) (tier 2)
DLA Piper's 'full-service banking and finance department has good commercial knowledge, is highly capable of handling large transactions' and benefits from 'a well-functioning network in international deals'. The 'skilled, service-minded, friendly and quick team provides good constructive advice' under the leadership of Fredrik Lindblom, who is a key project financing name; he recently advised DekaBank on the project financing of an onshore wind farm project. Other highlights for the group include Dag Thomas Hansson, who has 'a commercial mindset', assisting Nordea with the financing elements of Kverva Technology's acquisition of Aqualine; acting for Danske Bank on the corporate financing of Insula, and associate partner Camilla Wollan advising Bank Norwegian on regulatory and compliance issues. The highly regarded Erik Ramm is also a key name to note.
Leading individuals: Erik Ramm
Commercial, corporate and M&A
DLA Piper's practice has 'a hands-on and pragmatic approach' and includes managing partner Kaare Oftedal, who is 'effective, exceptionally service minded and confident enough to ask the extra questions other legal counsels might not dare', practice head Sveinung Mjaugedal, Fredrik Lykke and private equity expert Christian Fenner. The group assisted QuMei Home Furnishing Group and Huatai Zijin Investment with its public tender offer for Ekornes, and acted for Urbaser on its acquisition of RenoNorden. Stan Stewart joined from Baker McKenzie LLP.
Dispute resolution
DLA Piper 'succeeds in balancing its legal advice with the commercial interest of its clients in a unique manner' and leverages its global network to excel in cross-border litigation. The team also has notable experience in the insurance and construction sectors; the 'excellent' Are Hunskaar acted for Cowi and AIG Europe in a dispute relating to the construction of a slaughterhouse and Alexander Plows represented Veidekke Entreprenad in an insurance dispute relating to the liability of its subcontractor for the construction of a defective motorway tunnel. Johan Ratvik leads the group and Arne Engesæth is another key name to note.
EU and competition
Kjetil Haare Johansen heads the competition group at DLA Piper and Robert Myhre leads the public procurement practice; Johansen advised the Norwegian Seafood Council on various state aid issues and an EU and EEA complaint before the ESA, and Myhre assisted the municipality of Flora with issues surrounding the tenders for a construction contract for residential homes for the elderly. Kjell-André Honerud is also recommended for public procurement mandates with particular expertise in PPP projects; he regularly acts for Norwegian municipalities. Other clients include Linas Matkasse, Pharmaq and Nordic Shelter.
Electricity and renewable energy
Led by Fredrik Lindblom, DLA Piper's practice is a key name for project finance work, with notable expertise in the onshore wind sector. In a recent highlight, Lindblom advised DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale on the project financing of an onshore wind farm project in Northern Norway. Other key individuals include transactional specialist Kaare Oftedal and finance experts Dag Thomas Hansson and Erik Ramm.
Employment
DLA Piper 'goes above and beyond for its clients' and has 'a professionalism, attitude and thoroughness that makes it very trustworthy'. Practice head Per Benonisen 'brings a wealth of experience to every matter he works on'; he recently advised Spotify on its employment contracts and assisted Discovery Networks Norway with its reorganisation. Other key names include associate partner Gunn Kristin Olimstad and lead lawyer Kaja Kaarby, who has 'a 360 degree approach to matters and provides outstanding advice'.
Insolvency and corporate recovery
DLA Piper's clients feel 'valued and important' thanks to 'a sympathetic, knowledgeable and competent' department led by Egil Hatling, who 'takes good care of his clients from beginning to end'. Frode Finnøy, Johan Ratvik and Erik Ramm are also key practitioners; Finnøy regularly acts as estate trustee and handles debt negotiations, Ratvik focuses on insolvency work, and Ramm handles restructurings. Clients include Centennial, Norwegian Insurance Brokers and Hennes & Mauritz.
Intellectual property
DLA Piper leverages its global network to handle cross-border IP matters; recent examples include advising Nordic Semiconductor on protecting its global IP rights and handling the Norwegian Seafood Council's global licensing agreements. Petter Bjerke leads the group and is the main contact for distribution-related work and issues in the life sciences sector, Jan Sandtrø focuses on the technology sectors, and Kjetil Haare Johansen assists with issues combining IP and competition law. Fredny Bade joined LIGL Advokater AS in 2018.
TMT
Petter Bjerke heads the department at DLA Piper, which leverages its global network to assist international clients with GDPR compliance issues and cross-border transactions. The group also fields technology specialist Jan Sandtrø; his recent highlights include advising Nordic Semiconductor on its GDPR compliance, and acting for Epic Systems on its procurement of a new electric health record system. Fredny Bade joined LIGL Advokater AS in 2018.
Tax
With a focus on M&A-related work, DLA Piper leverages its global network to handle cross-border mandates; it recently advised Oso Hotwater Group on the Norwegian interest deduction limitation rules and assisted Skanska Group with various tax and VAT issues relating to real estate sales and purchases. Preben Aas leads the practice and associate partner Jonas Aartun focuses on corporate tax work, tax audits and disputes.
