Iceland - IFLR1000

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Iceland
Iceland
Chamber of commerce:
Iceland Chamber of Commerce
House of Commerce 7th floor
Kringlan 7
103 Reykjavik
Iceland
Tel: +354 5 10 71 00
Fax: +354 5 68 65 64
Email: info@chamber.is
Web: www.vi.is
Professional body:
The Iceland Bar Association
Alftamyri 9
108 Reykjavik
Iceland
Tel: +354 5 68 56 20
Fax: +354 5 68 70 57
Email: imfi@lmfi.is
Web: www.lmfi.is
World Bank statistics 2011:
GDP
$14.1 billion
Population total
319,000
Income level
High income: OECD
Financial and corporate
Recommended firms
Tier 1
BBA Legal
LOGOS
Tier 2
Jonsson & Hall
Landslog Law Offices
Lex Law Offices
Tier 3
ADVEL Attorneys at Law
Reykjavik Law Firm
Other notable firms
Juris Law Office
Context and trends
Iceland’s bank collapse is unsurprisingly still
the major talking point within the legal market.
“Banks continue to struggle to get away
from the past,” says a partner.
With bankruptcies come litigation claims.
“There’ve been a few court cases last year and
this year,” admits one partner. “They have
been given very narrow guidelines as to what
can be done and what cannot be done.”
If there is still banking work to be seen,
then these are simply restructurings, reorganising
and refinancing of old loans. “On the
corporate banking side they have been also
heavily involved in restructuring old loans
hopefully that’s still going on which will lead
to new lending, to new companies,” says a
partner. With a high number of insolvencies
still going on, it is not surprising that banks
are becoming cautious as they have to write
off their loans.
There have also been cases of new banks
being established after old banks collapse. For
example, Landsbanki is currently a defunct
bank rebranded into Íslandsbanki and it’s simply
awaiting for the dissolution of remaining
assets. “But it’s not all gloom, I mean, the
banks are making profits at the same time. I
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think they get assets from old banks. There
were some losses already accounted for,” says a
partner.
Corporates are not encouraged: “So companies
are not really venturing into any new
opportunities. They sort of maintain the position,
so I guess the banks are both cautious
but there are not willing lenders out there, at
the same time, the ones who want to get the
loans from the bank are the ones who the
banks are not willing to lend to,” says another
partner.
The lending environment and the complete
lack of outside investment has drastically
reduced activity in M&A, capital markets
and projects and firms report little work here
except that arising from the banking collapse.
The elections coming next year, some
hope, will help lead to a clean slate and help
the country recover, but this optimism is not
shared across the market.
BBA Legal
Led by Katrin Helga Hallgrimsdottir the BBA
Legal team has an enviable list of banking
clients including the likes of Arion Bank,
Islandsbanki and international institutions
like Barclays, HSBC and Deutsche Bank.
The firm has been active in the last year in
various banking litigation matters relating to
the financial crisis including advice to the UK
Treasury in regard to its claims again
Landsbanki Islands depository accounts.
While some peers feel that the firm is limited
by its size, clients are extremely satisfied
with the end result of the service, with one
saying: “They were proactive, responsive and
managed to get us the best results to hope
for.”
Deals
Apart from its renowned M&A capabilities,
the firm continued to represent banks and
increased its presence in other areas such as
bank lending, capital markets, restructuring
and project financing.
For example, the firm handled a series of
refinancing deals including acting for lenders
Lur Berri on a £290 million consolidation and
refinancing of the Alfesca Group, and Íslandsbanki
in relation to a €40 million refinancing
of debts of the Icelandair Group. Ásgeir Á
Ragnarsson also advised Barclays, Citigroup
and SEB on a $200 million syndicated loan
facility to Landsvirkjun, the largest energy
producer in Iceland.
In capital markets, Ragnarsson acted for
Arion Bank regarding an IKr5 billion (€34
million) public offering of shares in Hagar, an
Icelandic corporate owning several retailer
and wholesales businesses in Iceland, Sweden
and Denmark.
The firm also showed its strengths in energy
project financing, acting mainly for
investors. Atli Bjorn Thorbjornsson advised
Strokkur Energy on the legal aspects of the
$110 million investment and project management
of a silicon metal smelter plant building
in Iceland. Thorbjornsson continued to shine
in the Icelandic hydropower business with
Íslensk vatnsorka in relation to the acquisition
of a power generating project from Orkuveita
Reykjavíkur.
In M&A, Einar Baldvin Árnason assisted
Exalba on its acquisition of Vifilfell, Coca
Cola bottler in Icelend. In energy-related
M&A, Thorbjornsson served as legal adviser
to Geysir Green Energy and Reykjavik energy
invest relating to the $18 million sale of its
Chinese and Philippines assets.
Leading lawyers
Einar Baldvin Árnason
Katrín Helga Hallgrímsdóttir
Baldvin Björn Haraldsson
Ásgeir Ragnarsson
LOGOS
Peers are in agreement that LOGOS still
deserves its place in tier one: “It belongs to tier
one, they are the big firm they have a lot of
services,” says one.
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Iceland
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Like most competitors the firm has been
kept busy on a variety of banking related
restructuring and refinancing in the last year.
Gudmundur Oddsson is seen as one of the
firm’s key banking contacts.
Leading lawyers
Pétur Gudmundarson
Gudmundur Oddsson
Helga Óttarsdóttir
Gunnar Sturluson
Landslog Law Offices
Peers praise Landslog for being “capable” and
“experienced” and growing in size, with a total
of 12 partners.
Like some of its contemporaries the firm
has an impressive roster of banking clients and
has also acted recently for a number of major
pension funds in their claims arising from the
financial crisis. The Icelandic Ministry of
Finance and the country’s central bank are
other source of mandates.
Johannes Karl Sveinsson is held up as one
of the firm’s star names.
Deals
Langslog was heavily involved in bankruptcy
and restructuring transactions in which the
firm acted mainly for creditors, both foreign
and domestic. Vidar Ludviksson was involved
in the claims for the largest pension funds in
Iceland against various companies under
bankruptcy proceedings and creditor composition.
The firm was also appointed as legal counsel
by Solvholl, a Central Bank of Iceland subsidiary,
to provide advice on the sale of the
assets of Central Bank of Iceland, including
the sale of one of the largest insurance company
in Iceland, Sjóva.
Leading lawyers
Johannes Karl Sveinsson
Lex Law Offices
With 42 lawyers, Lex Law is one of the fastest
growing law firms in Iceland.
Olafur Haraldsson leads the team, which
picked up one of the few capital markets deals
in the market last year with its work for
Islandsbanki on its covered bond issuance.
Deals
This year the firm continued to receive a flood
of deals coming from the major banks in
Iceland. One of the most complicated was
advising Arion Bank and the banking syndicate
on the restructuring of Skipt’s loan portfolio.
Eva Margret Aevarsdottir and
Ragnheidur Olafsdottir were involved in the
amendment of the company’s syndicated loan
agreements and a partial repayment of IKr17
billion (€114 million). The firm also represented
the junior lender, Arion Bank, in the
amendment of two facilities and the granting
of two new loans.
Another highlight saw Gudmundur
Sigurdsson advise the Central Bank of Iceland
on the restructuring of Kaupthing‘s €720 million
covered bonds programme. The central
bank was the largest creditor of the programme
and held approximately 75% of all
outstanding claims. The programme was
transferred from Kaupthing to its local subsidiary
Arion Bank.
Elsewhere in capital markets, the firm
assisted Islandsbanki on its IKr100 billion
covered bonds issuance. Led by Olafur
Haraldsson, the deal was the first public
issuance by an Icelandic bank since 2008 and
also the first covered bonds issuance completed
under Icelandic Act on Covered Bonds
Issuance (2008).
The firm also secured a couple of M&A
deals, with Gardar Gislason leading Stefnir’s
51% share in Sjóvá-Almennar tryggingar
(worth IKr5 billion), and Kristin Edwald
working on the due diligence for Jardvarmi in
relation to its 25% stake in HS Orka, an
Icelandic energy company.
Leading lawyers
Karl Axelsson
Heimir Örn Herbertsson
Adalsteinn Jonasson
ADVEL Attorneys at Law
Peers consider ADVEL as a well-known firm
capable of large and mid-size deals. Clients of
the firm include Arion Bank and Samskip and
the firm has picked up various mandates from
corporates in the last year.
Gudmundur Siemsen leads the team,
which increased its headcount by four in the
previous year with new associate hires.
Deals
The firm has been active working for borrowers.
One of the firm’s long-term clients was
transport company Samskip to whom Stefan
Thor Ingimarsson advised on a €28 million
intercreditor agreement used for the restructuring
of the company’s finances.
Another impressive deal was the IKr55 billion
(€369 million) reorganisation of retail
and service company N1, where Kristinn
Hallgrimsson advised on the financial reorganisation,
refinancing and open contractual
of the restructuring.
Another long-term client was Mannvit
Engineering, with Telma Halldorsdottir advising
on the group’s refinancing, worth IKr370
million.
On the lender’s side, the firm served as
legal advisor to Arion Bank on the reorganisation
of Kaupþing Mortgage Institutional
Investor Fund, worth approximately IKr120
billion.
Leading lawyers
Sigurdur Valgeir Gudjonsson
Dora Sif Tynes
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Iceland
BBA//LEGAL
Höfdatorg, 18 Floor
Hofdatun 2
105 Reykjavik
Iceland
Tel: +354 550 0500
Fax: +354 550 0505
Email: bba@bbalegal.com
Web: www.bbalegal.com
Managing Director:
Elisabet Ingunn Einarsdottir
Email: elisabet@bbalegal.com
Tel: +354 550 0511
Fax: +354 550 0505
Senior Partners: Asgeir A Ragnarsson
Email: asgeir@bbalegal.com
Tel: +354 550 0501
Fax: +354 550 0505
Baldvin Björn Haraldsson
Email: baldvin@bbalegal.com
Tel: +354 550 0503
Fax: +354 550 0505
Number of partners worldwide: 6
Number of Associates: 14
LONDON OFFICE:
Baldvin Björn Haraldsson, Head of London Office
23 Berkeley Square, London W1J 6HE
Tel: +44 207 665 6754
Direct: +44 207 665 6750
Mob: +44 791 274 1597
Email: baldvin@bbalegal.com
Firm profile:
BBA//Legal is a leading firm in Iceland in banking
and finance, M&A, corporate law and corporate
restructuring. In the past two years the firm has
extended its practise and built up a substantial legal
and practical know-how in the field of energy law,
regarding renewable energy resources as well as oil
and gas.
International Clients:
The firm international clients come mainly from
Europe as well as Canada and the US. Among
clients are many of the biggest banks in Europe as
well as many of the world’s leading law firms,
including the magic circle firms.
Hofdatorg
IS-105 Reykjavik
Iceland
Tel: +354 588 5200
Fax: +354 588 5210
Email: jp@jp.is
Web: www.jp.is
Managing Partners:
Gudjon Olafur Jonsson LL.M, Supreme Court
Attorney
Email: goj@jp.is
Oskar Sigurdsson LL.M, Supreme Court Attorney
Email: os@jp.is
Other offices:
Iceland - Selfoss
Associated firms:
Tego (www.tego.is) - intellectual property consulting
firm in Iceland with leading experts in TM and IP.
Firm profile:
JP Attorneys provide legal services for individuals
and companies at national and multinational levels.
The firm traces its history back to 1969 and is today
one of the leading law firms in Iceland. JP Attorneys
offer all general legal services to domestic and
foreign companies, individuals, public authorities
and institutions. The firm's staff is recognised as
legal experts in Iceland, highly qualified and
experienced in all fields of law. JP Attorneys have
sound experience in pleading cases before both the
District Courts and the Supreme Court of Iceland.
Areas of practice:
Corporate law, banking law, investments and
finance, international transactions, mergers and
takeovers, competition law, corporate law, building
and engineering law, general insurance and damages,
intellectual property, trademarks and patents,
dispute resolution, EEA law, restructuring and
insolvency, public and administrative law, criminal
law, adminstration of estates.
Languages spoken:
Icelandic, Danish, English, German
Languages:
English, French, German, Italian
www.iflr1000.com
2013 EDITION

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Juris
Borgartun 26
105 Reykjavik
Iceland
Tel: +354 580 4400
Fax: +354 580 4401
Email: juris@juris.is
Web: www.juris.is
Key contacts:
Stefan A. Svensson
Email: stefan@juris.is
Vifill Hardarsson
Email: vifill@juris.is
Simon Knight
Email: simon@juris.is
Firm profile:
Juris is a leading multi-discipline law firm in Iceland
with an emphasis on commercial and financial law.
Juris‘ team includes both experienced Icelandic and
English lawyers and Juris is able to advise on a wide
range of issues involving both Icelandic and English
law. Juris is experienced in providing prompt and
practical advice taking into consideration clients‘
commercial needs, a number of the firm‘s lawyers
having previously worked in-house with major
Icelandic companies or government institutions.
Juris has been heavily involved in the fall-out of the
Icelandic banking collapse, including successfully
representing clients in a number of recent landmark
Supreme Court judgments. Juris also advises a broad
range of clients, from banks to individuals, and
government institutions to fisheries and utility
companies on a variety of projects including tax
advice, investment and restructuring, and
competition law advice.
Areas of practice:
Banking and Finance, Corporate, Commercial, Real
Estate, IP, IT and Telecommunications, Dispute
Resolution, Energy and Resources, Competition and
EU/EEA, Tax, Insolvency and Restructuring.
Languages:
Icelandic, English, Danish
Awards:
Banking & Finance Law Firm of the Year 2012:
Iceland (Acquisition International M&A Awards)
Restructuring and Insolvency Law Firm of the Year
2011: Iceland (Acquisition International Legal
Awards)
Borgartún 26,
105 Reykjavík
Iceland
Tel: +354 590 2600
Fax: +354 590 2606
Email: lex@lex.is
Managing Director - Legal: Mr. Örn Gunnarsson
Other offices:
Akureyri - Iceland
Firm profile:
LEX is one of Iceland s leading law firms, providing
clients with a comprehensive, range of services on a
wide spectrum of financial, corporate and
commercial issues, as well as other aspects of the law.
It is the firm s policy to meet the legal requirements
of our clients in the context of ever-changing local
and international markets.
Comprised of 45 lawyers, LEX is one of Iceland s
largest law firms. Over the past decades, LEX has
successfully acted on behalf of a large number of
internationally respected corporations, organizations
and private individuals both in Iceland and abroad.
Among LEX s clients are major local and
international banks, financial institutions, merchants
and ship owners, along with a large number of
municipalities, government organizations, insurance
companies, manufacturers, businesses, media
outlets, utilities and private individuals.
LEX is a member of World Services Group
(www.worldservicesgroup.com), Lawyers Associated
Worldwide (LAW) (www.lawyersworldwide.com)
and Energy Law Group (ELG)
(www.energylawgroup.com).
Areas of practice:
Corporate law, banking law, investments and
finance, real estate, European law, international
transactions, mergers and takeovers, taxation, IT,
bankruptcy law, competition law, commercial law,
energy- and natural resources law, intellectual
property, trademarks, public and administrative law,
employment law, civil litigation, arbitration.
Languages spoken:
Icelandic, English, Danish, German.
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Iceland
Efstaleiti 5
103 Reykjavik
Iceland
Tel: +354 540 0300
Fax: +354 540 0301
Email: logos@logos.is
Web: www.logos.is
Head of office: Mr. Gunnar Sturluson, Managing
Partner
Number of Partners: 19
Number of Associates: 42
London office:
42 New Broad Street
London EC2M 1JD
Tel: +44 (0) 207 920 3020
Fax: +44 (0) 207 920 3099
Head of office: Mr. Gudmundur J Oddsson, Partner
Firm profile:
LOGOS is a multi jurisdiction law firm with offices
in Reykjavik and London.
LOGOS provides companies and institutions with
services based upon the firm’s legacy of legal practice
going back to 1907. LOGOS specializes primarily in
corporate and commercial law providing service for
both the international business community and
local clients requiring international legal assistance.
Our teams in Reykjavik and London are committed
to offering excellent and efficient legal service to our
clients in every practice area covered by the firm,
using well defined internal procedures. We combine
the expertise of local partners and staff with
extensive legal and commercial experience.
Languages:
English, French, German, Spanish, Scandinavian
languages.
www.iflr1000.com
2013 EDITION