“Sweden in itself is a fairly small legal market, but the volume of cross-border work we do is substantial.”
JAN JENSEN
OFFICE EXECUTIVE PARTNER

When we opened our office in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1983, the office was only our eighth outside the United States, with the city chosen because of its strategic importance for transactions between Eastern and Western Europe.

“We were the first international law firm to set up an office in Stockholm,” explains Counsel Fredrik Schultz, who joined the Firm in October 1988 and who is currently celebrating 30 years’ service with White & Case.

“The Firm saw Sweden as an important place to have a presence because, during the time of the Soviet Union, Stockholm’s geographical position and reputation for neutrality made it a major hub for arbitration matters between countries in Western and Eastern Europe.”

The office opened in 1983 following the takeover of local law firm Wetter & Wetter. Retired Senior Counsel Göran Åseborn (who is still engaged with the Firm) was part of the initial team.

Fredrik says: “The difference from then to now is inconceivable. From under 10 people at the beginning, there are now more than 100 employees at the office.

“Practice area wise, our initial area of expertise was international arbitration, but we’ve since added an M&A team and Banking Finance and Private Equity practices.”

Last year, the office expanded with the addition of two private equity partners and a team of associates and, in December, we welcomed back former Senior Associate Martin Järvengren.

Martin is returning to White & Case as an M&A partner after a number of years as General Counsel at a leading European hedge fund and will be a great addition to the team, highlighting the momentum of the M&A and PE practices.

His experience in M&A, including regulated entities and especially financial institutions will considerably strengthen the overall offering to our clients.

Growth gathers pace

The Stockholm team’s growth is such that, this December, the team is moving back into a newly expanded and renovated office on Biblioteksgatan in the heart of the city.

“Stockholm has the benefit of being a big city without being too overwhelming, but the great thing about the office is the people, who have always been fantastic.”
FREDRIK SCHULTZ
COUNSEL

Office Executive Partner Jan Jensen explains: “We’ve simply outgrown the previous space; between Q4 2017 and Q4 2018 the Stockholm office has grown by 34% in head counting. So we acquired additional areas in the building and have introduced a more collaborative environment to match other offices across the Firm.”

The renovated office will also benefit from even better technology, which is enabling us and offices across the network to take full advantage of interaction across our international network.

“Obviously cross-border collaboration is important to us,” says Jan. “Sweden in itself is a fairly small legal market, but the volume of cross-border work we do is substantial and that is one of the great things about working here.”

Private Equity is an important industry group for the office and includes clients such as EQT and Nordic Capital, both Global Key Accounts.

“It’s striking how truly international we’ve become,” says Jan. “The Firm’s current strategy is focused on growth in the United States and London, and we are seeing the benefits here. For instance, we are working on several projects with new locations in the United States.”

The Stockholm office has many international companies and financial institutions as clients. One of these is Nordea, one of Sweden’s largest banks.

In 2017 the bank took a controversial decision to move their headquarters to Finland to be included in the European bank union (which was not possible in Sweden as it is still not part of the European bank union).

Nordea therefore legally became a Finnish bank even if the major part of their business is still in Sweden.

The Firm advised Nordea during the move, a matter that involved offices in Stockholm, Helsinki, London and New York.

The office also has a large market share in the construction industry driven by the office Disputes practice, of which Fredrik is part.

Having spent around 30 years in the Stockholm office, he is clear on what makes it a great place to work.

He says: “Stockholm has the benefit of being a big city without being too overwhelming, but the great thing about the office is the people, who have always been fantastic.

“I’ve also enjoyed the fact that the Firm is constantly getting better and growing, but that this progress hasn’t come at the expense of our ethics.”

The strength of the team won high-profile recognition earlier this year when two Stockholm-based lawyers, Magnus Wennerhorn and Anders Relden, were named among 25 White & Case partners in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame. And just recently partner Rikard Stenberg was announced as a Market Leader in Capital Markets.

The team is also passionate about Global Citizenship, with examples including a pro bono collaboration with Microsoft to provide basic legal advice to newly arrived immigrants on issues such as setting up a business.

So, having celebrated its 35^thanniversary, what lies ahead for the Stockholm office?

Jan says: “The market here in Stockholm is becoming more and more competitive, with international firms setting up here all the time, so we face growing competition to recruit and retain the best people and the top clients.

“However, because the Firm offers an international footprint and level of expertise, both in the Swedish market and worldwide that is unrivalled, I think the future is bright as long as we keep evolving and being innovative – as far as I can see it we are only getting stronger.”