On May 29th a purchase agreement was signed under which the seafood company Brim hf. sold a group of investors in Akranes all share capital in Norðanfiskur ehf. Norðanfiskur specializes in the production, sale and distribution of seafood to restaurants in the domestic market, as well as the sale of consumer packages in stores all over the country.

The managing director of Norðanfiskur will continue to be Sigurjón Gísli Jónsson and the chairman of the board will be Inga Ósk Jónsdóttir.

Örn Gunnarsson, Managing Director of LEX, was a was the legal advisor for the purchaser, while Mr. Sævar Freyr Þráinsson, mayor of Akranes and KPMG also advised on the purchasers side. Íslensk verðbréf advised and managed the sales process on behalf of Brim.

Arnar Þór Stefánsson, partner at LEX, wrote an article in the business section of the icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið today where he discusses the allocation of cases to the judges. There must be a certain understanding for the effectiveness of the judicial system, meaning that it may be appropriate for a particular judge or judges to rule in certain areas of law, e.g. because of expertise or experience in such areas. However, efficiency considerations generally have to deviate for considerations of the appearance of the court when they collide.

Kristín Edwald, partner at LEX writes an article the Icelandic media Viðskiptablaðið today, which focuses on partial treasury guaranteed operational loans to businesses that have suffered significant revenue loss due to the COVID-19 situation and the icelandic courts extensive definition of criminal conduct of banks after the financial collapse of 2008.

Lena Mjöll Markusdóttir wrote an article on the icelandic news site Vísir today where she discusses COVID-19 Tracking apps in the context of privacy. Tracking apps may involve the collection and use of personal information. On March 19th. the European Privacy Council announced that privacy rules such as the EU General Privacy Regulation would not prevent such measures from being undertaken, as it is the common goal of the global community to control the epidemic. Nevertheless, the protection of the personal data collected in connection with such actions must at the same time be ensured.

The Legal 500 analyses the capabilities of law firms across the world, with a comprehensive research programme revised and updated every year to bring the most up-to-date vision of the global legal market.

In the 2020 edition, LEX was ranked in Tier 1 in all nine practice areas, the only Icelandic law office to be ranked Tier 1 in all practice areas;

• Banking, Finance and Capitals Markets
• Commercial, Corporate and M&A
• Dispute Resolution
• EEA and Competition
• Employment
• Maritime and Transport
• Real Estate and Construction
• Restructuring and Insolvency
• TMT and IP

LEX is immensely proud of its people for these elegant results.

The full ranking with testimonials and list of key clients can be viewed here

María Kristjánsdóttir, attorney at LEX wrote and interesting piece in the Icelandic newspaper Fréttablaðið today. In the article she points out the effect the COVID-19 pandemic is having on trademark applications around the globe, where applicants are attempting to trademark the words COVID-19, pandemic or Corona Virus to identify their products and services.

Örn Gunnarsson, Managing partner at LEX, wrote an article in the icelandic newspaper Viðskiptablaðið yesterday in which he discusses the foreseeable economic crisis following the COVID-19 virus. The crisis is mainly caused by the fact that the circulation of capital has practically stopped and the next major project will be to rebuild the economy.

Arnar Þór Stefánsson wrote an article in the icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið today where he discusses legal challenges related to the ongoing pandemic. He ponders that  when various basic laws of commerce and trade were drawn up that probably nobody had foreseen that such a pandemic that now rages could erupt. It will therefore be an interesting task that subsequently awaits the judiciary and it may be expected that the consequences of this pandemic for the law will, among other things, be to sharpen the regulatory framework.

An article by Þórhallur Bergmann, partner at LEX, was published today in the icelandic newspaper Fréttablaðið. Þórhallur discusses moratorium, which is a resource for a debtor that has significant financial difficulties to restructure his finances. In current situation, many companies are subject to income reductions, and this resource, which is covered by Act no. 21/1991 on bankruptcy etc., might be helpful for companies which are having trouble.

LEX held its Annual Meeting on Friday the 27th of March and is pleased to announce our new partners to the firm, Birgir Már Björnsson, Fanney Frímannsdóttir and Lára Herborg Ólafsdóttir

Supreme Court Attorney, Birgir Már Björnsson started working at LEX in 2011. In the years 2009 – 2011 he worked for Acta law offices and Megin law offices. Birgir´s main focus has been in the fields of insolvency, bankruptcy and financial restructuring in addition to property law, corporate law, and intellectual property law. Birgir is a skilled litigator with great experience in trying cases.

Attorney, Fanney Frímannsdóttir, joined LEX in 2011. In the years 2009 – 2011 Fanney worked at Kaupthing. In her work at LEX Fanney’s main focus has been in the field of corporate and commercial law and her assignments at LEX have involved counsel to large companies, banks and financial institutions. Fanney also advises in the field of M&A.

Lára Herborg, a licensed attorney before the district courts, joined LEX in February 2019. Lára specializes in Intellectual Property and Technology Law. She graduated from UC Berkeley in 2018 with an LL.M degree in Law & Technology. Her experience includes assisting clients on strategic licensing and technology transactions matters. Lara advises clients on a broad range of IP and Technology matters, including copyrights, fintech, open source software and data protection compliance. Lára has held many lectures and written articles on the intersection between law and technology.

Lára also has experience in other fields of law, including corporate and commercial law, construction law and tendering processes and has extensive experience in advising clients, both in the public and the private sector in these fields.