DLA Piper bolsters its pan-Nordic real estate presence by combining forces with Project Law in Finland

DLA Piper announced that the team of Project Law Attorneys Ltd, the leading Finnish real estate boutique law firm, will join DLA Piper on 1 January 2023. As a result, DLA Piper’s real estate team will be one of the largest in the Finnish market and the largest in the Nordics.

The partners of Project Law, Antti Laaksonen, Panu Penttilä, and Sakari Lähteenmäki will join the partnership of DLA Piper in Finland and become a part of DLA Piper’s real estate practice. DLA Piper’s widely recognized real estate team has advised developers and construction companies on the largest Finnish real estate development projects in the recent years.

”There is an increased client demand for our services in the real estate and energy infrastructure markets and in the past few years, DLA Piper has developed one of the leading practices in transactional real estate work in Finland, which will be further strengthened by the Project Law team. I am very much looking forward to start working with our new colleagues in the coming year”, says Mikko Larvala, Head of DLA Piper’s Real Estate practice in Finland.

In recent years, there has been an increased interest in the Nordic market from both local and international real estate investors.

“To expand our Finnish practice is an important piece in our joint Nordic strategy. We will continue to develop and fine tune our offering in order to be able to provide the best legal advice to our clients”, says Mats Eriksson, Head of Real Estate at DLA Piper in Sweden.

“After this expansion, as the only global law firm with a presence throughout the Nordics, our combined real estate team in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland will consist of total 115 lawyers; the biggest real estate team in the Nordics and the only team with a pan-Nordic platform”, says Emilie Møller, Head of Real Estate, DLA Piper in Denmark.

Global support and a pan-Nordic presence will be a key differentiator for the law firm. It will benefit DLA Piper’s clients and enhance the capabilities particularly in real estate development and planning, construction, environmental law, and related dispute resolution.

“The deals we assist on can originate from any of the Nordic countries and it is important for us to have a strong full-service team in all offices. We are now in a position to provide legal advisory for the real estate and renewable sector across all the Nordic countries with a broader horizon than any of our local competitors, which will be especially beneficial for our clients with a cross-border perspective, says Magnus L. Lutnæs, Head of Real Estate, DLA Piper in Norway.

Antti Laaksonen, the Managing Partner of Project Law is convinced that “the transaction will not only strengthen DLA Piper’s real estate service offering but will also provide Project Law’s existing clients an access to unparalleled services of a global law firm both in Finland and globally. For the Project Law team joining DLA Piper – one of the fastest-growing real estate practices in Finland – will open opportunities for continued professional growth in a truly international environment.”

”Our clients, people, and strategic growth will remain our priorities and the arrangement supports our  strategy by strengthening our capabilities in real estate, a cornerstone of our business both in Finland and globally. While pragmatic and commercial solutions, high standard of legal advice, and excellence of service are all in the blueprint of both DLA Piper and Project Law, the most important factor that makes our new colleagues a perfect match with us are our shared values”, says Ilkka Liljeroos, Country Managing Partner, DLA Piper in Finland.