Outi Jousi
Counsel | Helsinki@hannessnellman.com
Regulation is increasing in many fields of business, and authorities are stepping up their supervision, resulting, at times, in actions such as raids, investigations, or enforcement.
Dealing with public authorities requires special expertise, as the administrative decisions often become subject to dispute and administrative proceedings. Disputes and proceedings with authorities typically relate to matters concerning the environment, land use planning, building, public procurement, taxation, competition, trademarks, and business licences, as well as licences and permits for regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals, banking, telecommunication, and healthcare services.
The successful handling of administrative proceedings requires an understanding of the legal context and good tactical, procedural, and litigation skills in addition to understanding the client’s business. In order to avoid court proceedings, it is important to step in early in the process, often before a decision is even rendered by the authority.
If the matter is taken to court, the authority that gave the decision will also be a party to the independent court proceedings. In court cases, it is essential to be able to deconstruct disputes professionally and then to explicitly reconstruct them from your own point of view for the authorities and courts. Which facts are disputed and which are not? What is relevant and what is not? Which are the most important arguments and which are not so important? The matter should not only be taken care of but rather actively pursued.
Hannes Snellman's experts specialising in administrative proceedings have strong expertise not only in the different administrative sectors but also in the handling of administrative proceedings and administrative judicial procedures. Our experts in different fields are able to work in close co-operation with each other in large-scale judicial matters, thereby contributing towards the successful handling of the proceedings.
Counsel to a leading Finnish company by successfully representing them in an external investigation concerning alleged breach of applicable regulations.
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 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 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 company before the Finnish Market Court in a merger control case subject to special expedited rules.
Counsel to a Finnish listed company in multiple parallel regulatory proceedings pending before different administrative courts in Finland.
Counsel to a Finnish listed company in its exit from Russia and related sanctions questions.
Counsel to a Finnish company in Market Court proceedings subject to consumer protection law and energy regulation.