The next JCA International General Meeting of Members will be held in Riga in October 2020. Preparations are underway and we are looking forward to finally see all our members again, especially in times like these! Your JCA Board
Wir bieten unsere Dienstleistungen jetzt auch auf Deutsch an! Almgren & Sankamo expandiert mit ihrer neuesten Mitarbeiterin, Ella Schröder, als Rechtsanwältin.
Ella Schröder verfügt über einen umfassenden internationalen Hintergrund. Sie studierte Rechtswissenschaften an der Universität Helsinki, der Åbo Akademi Universität, der Universität Kiel und der Universität Zürich. Bei Almgren & Sankamo liegt ihr Schwerpunkt auf der Restrukturierung von Unternehmen und der Beilegung von Rechtsstreitigkeiten. Darüber hinaus verfügt sie über Expertenwissen in Fragen des Immaterialgüterrechts, und ihre Dissertation über die Möglichkeit für Patentanwälte gemeinsam mit ihren Mandanten als Erfinder benannt zu werden, wurde auf Edilex publiziert.
Ella bietet strategische Rechtsberatung sowohl für Unternehmen als auch für Privatpersonen.
Bevor sie zu Almgren & Sankamo kam, hat Ella Schröder bei anderen führenden Kanzleien in Finnland gearbeitet.
Almgren & Sankamo is expanding with their newest recruit, Ella Schröder, as an Associate Lawyer.
Ella Schröder has a comprehensive international background, with law studies accomplished at the University of Helsinki, Åbo Akademi University, University of Kiel and at the University of Zürich. At Almgren & Sankamo her main focus lies in corporate restructurings and dispute resolution. Additionally, she has expert knowledge in intellectual property matters, and her thesis on the possibility of patent attorneys to be named as inventors together with their clients is published on Edilex.
Ella provides strategic legal advice for both companies and private persons.
Prior to joining Almgren & Sankamo, Ella Schröder has gained experience at other leading law firms in Finland.
Jari Sotka, Partner
www.almgren-sankamo.fi/en
+358-40 544 0610
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Almgren & Sankamo – Law Offices is expanding its team of partners. A younger generation of lawyers will become partners in our company: Ville Mielonen, LL.M.; Matti Sankamo, LL.M.; and Jari Sotka, LL.M., MBA. The expansion in ownership will be effected on 1 April 2020, when business operations will be transferred to a new limited liability company, Almgren & Sankamo Ltd. Veikko Almgren, LL.M., MBA and Jukka Sankamo, LL.M., will both continue to serve in the new company.
The new Almgren & Sankamo Ltd – Law Offices will continue to operate normally, respecting all commitments to existing clients. The new partners will take over leadership and administrative responsibilities, bringing new zeal to the constant development of our services while backed by experienced veterans. This will allow us to harness the most up-to-date resources for providing our clients with optimal service.
Almgren & Sankamo is a market leader as a provider of legal services in the Kymenlaakso region. We intend to expand our operations both in this region as well as in the Helsinki metropolitan area. We have just hired a legal trainee, graduating in few months time, in Helsinki office and we are looking for a lawyer at our Kotka office.
Veikko Almgren is delighted about the change, and enthusiastically comments:
“I’m delighted that Jukka Sankamo and I have found keen, professionals to continue our business and develop our law offices. I’m very pleased to continue working in the new company and, should the need arise, to share the wisdom of an older lawyer.”
Almgren & Sankamo started business as a limited partnership on 1 July 1992, when Veikko Almgren became the second principal shareholder in the company already founded by Jukka Sankamo in 1984. The two-man office grew over the decades and now the company employs six lawyers, two secretaries and one collections & recovery specialist. Almgren & Sankamo generated net sales of over €1.4 million in the year ended 31 January 2020.
Almgren & Sankamo will continue to serve their numerous corporate clients, but will also handle many assignments from private persons. The company’s auxiliary, Perintäkarhut, will provide debt collection services. The company has offices Helsinki and Kotka.
Further information:
Jari Sotka +358 40 544 0610 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Ville Mielonen +358 50 354 3779 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Matti Sankamo +358 44 019 5577 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Check also our new www-pages
The Finland Arbitration Institute, FAI Arbitration Rules and the Rules for Expedited Arbitration were fully revised in 2013. This comprehensive revision implemented best international practices, shortened the duration of arbitral proceedings and improved cost-efficiency. The purpose of the 2020 Rules is to improve the efficiency and speed of FAI arbitrations even further. In addition, the 2020 Rules aim Vto offer more flexibility to enable the parties and tribunals to take into account the specificities of each individual dispute.
1) Advances on costs now routinely required in all arbitrations
In accordance with the 2020 Rules, the Institute shall fix an advance on costs in connection with all arbitrations, domestic and international alike. Under the 2013 Rules, an advance on costs was always fixed in international cases, whereas the Arbitration Institute could use its discretion to order one in domestic disputes.
2) The filing fee is always EUR 3,000 in standard proceedings and EUR 2,500 in expedited proceedings
The 2020 Rules provide for a fixed filing fee, whereas previously the amount of the filing fee depended on the amount in dispute. As of 1 January 2020, the filing fee will be EUR 3,000 in standard proceedings and EUR 2,500 in expedited proceedings. The 2020 Rules do not include any changes to the tables regarding the administrative fees of the Institute or fees of the arbitrators.
3) Case documents may be transmitted increasingly by electronic means
The 2013 Rules required that much of the documents be delivered to the Institute in multiple hard copies. Under the 2020 Rules, case documents may be transmitted by electronic means only or in a single hard copy. However, the Institute and the arbitral tribunal have the possibility to request transmission in hard copy when necessary, in single or multiple copies.
The 2020 Rules highlight that written statements, notices and other communications may be transmitted in any manner that provides a record of the transmission. The wording is neutral in this respect, in order to ensure that the Rules also allow the adoption of new means of communication and other technologies. Any time limits shall begin to run on the day following the day of transmission.
4) More flexibility in the choice between the FAI Arbitration Rules and Rules for Expedited Arbitration
When drafting an arbitration clause, parties are often unable to foresee the type of dispute that may potentially arise out of their agreement. For this reason, parties opt for proceedings under the FAI Arbitration Rules more often than expedited proceedings. This means that the FAI Expedited Arbitration Rules, which provide for a procedural framework that is particularly appropriate for small and simple disputes, have remained underutilized. The 2020 Rules aim to encourage the use of expedited proceedings by adding flexibility to the choice between the two sets of Rules.
In accordance with the 2020 Rules and subject to the consent of the parties, a case under the FAI Arbitration Rules can be referred to be conducted under the FAI Expedited Arbitration Rules, and vice versa, prior to the confirmation of any arbitrator. To this end, the parties shall include in the request for arbitration or answer any observations to the effect that the other set of Rules would be more appropriate for the conduct of the arbitration than the Rules agreed on in the arbitration agreement. The Institute may also on its own motion request that the parties comment on this matter.
The Institute also offers a new model arbitration clause to supplement the existing model clauses. This so-called combined clause leaves the ultimate choice of the applicable Rules to the discretion of the Institute. According to the model clause, the dispute shall be subject to the Rules for Expedited Arbitration unless the Institute, at the request of a party, decides that the FAI Arbitration Rules shall apply. The model clause serves to mitigate the risks and lower the threshold for agreeing on expedited arbitration proceedings.
5) Expediting the appointment of a three-member tribunal
In the 2020 Rules, the default time limit reserved for the parties to nominate the presiding arbitrator in a panel of three arbitrators has been shortened from 15 days to 10 days. Correspondingly, the time limits reserved to nominate all three arbitrators have been shortened from 15 days to 10 days in cases where the Institute has first decided on the number of arbitrators. In these situations, the parties have already had time to prepare to nominate an arbitrator candidate.
6) An indicative time limit for arranging a case management conference
The 2013 Rules did not set any time limit for the arbitral tribunal to arrange a case management conference. According to the 2020 Rules, the arbitral tribunal shall arrange a case management conference in principle within 21 days from the date on which the arbitral tribunal received the case file from the Institute (14 days in proceedings under the Rules for Expedited Arbitration). The purpose of the case management conference is to agree on the conduct and timetable of the proceedings.
7) Tribunals explicitly empowered to issue confidentiality orders
As of 2013, the Rules have required that the parties undertake to keep confidential the documentation related to the proceedings, subject to certain exceptions. However, the powers of the arbitral tribunal to issue confidentiality orders have not previously been explicitly regulated. Now, the 2020 Rules state that upon the request of a party, the arbitral tribunal may issue orders concerning the confidentiality of the arbitration proceedings or any other matters in connection with the arbitration.
For example, the presentation of evidence in an arbitration may sometimes require broader or more detailed regulation of confidentiality than is provided for directly in the Rules. In these situations, ensuring due process may require issuing a confidentiality order. The 2020 Rules clarify that the arbitral tribunal has the power to issue such orders. The clause leaves much discretion to the arbitral tribunal in deciding whether to issue a confidentiality order.
8) Failure to comply with orders of the arbitral tribunal and allocation of the costs of the proceedings
The 2020 Rules stress more clearly that the parties have a duty to promote the efficient management of the case. Now, the 2020 Rules explicitly state that where a party has failed to comply with the orders or other directions of the arbitral tribunal, the tribunal may take such failure into account in its allocation of the costs of the arbitration.
This text is based on the on the material distributed in the seminar by FAI on 12.2.2020 and an article published on 17.12.2019 by FAI, The Finland Arbitration Institute. More information of 2020 Rules can be found on the links below.
Arbitration Rules of the Finland Chamber of Commerce 2020
Expedited Arbitration Rules of the Finland Chamber of Commerce 2020
Jari Sotka, LL.M., MBA
Tel. +358-40-544 0610
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Linkedin fi.linkedin.com/in/jmsotka/
Our next semi-annual Meeting of Members is coming up and will be held in Madrid, Spain on March 13-15, 2019. The program will be available online soon and registration.is open Looking forward to seeing you all, safe travels!
Many thanks to our Hungarian hosts for a great weekend in Budapest!
The next semi-annual Meeting of Members will be held in Madrid on March 13-15, 2020.