Aðalsteinn Jónasson Supreme Court. LL.M and owner of LEX has been appointed judge at the newly established 1st court of appeal, Landsrettur. Mr. Jonasson, who has worked intermittent at LEX since 1992, is one of Iceland’s greatest experts in the field of capital market law. Mr. Jónasson is the author of the books: Trading in financial instruments published in 2009 and Market manipulation, published earlier this year.

It is not the first time that lawyers from LEX are chosen to important roles in the Icelandic society and we are very proud of the appointment of Mr. Jonasson. Mr. Jonasson will start his work at Landsrettur on January 1, but until then he will perform a regular job at LEX.

Garðar Valdimarsson has joined LEX and will provide tax advice to LEX customers. Mr. Valdimarsson is one of Iceland’s leading tax experts. He has worked in the field of tax since his graduation in accounting and law from the University of Iceland and post-graduation study in tax law at the University of Copenhagen in 1976.

He was appointed Director of the Directorate of Tax investigations in Iceland in 1976 and in 1986 the Director of Internal Revenue, in addition to being chairman of the Double Taxation Committee between 1995 and 1998. He was admitted as a Supreme Court Attorney in 1999 and practiced law until 2008 when he became a partner at Deloitte in Iceland.

Mr. Valdimarsson served in committees and working groups for the collection of withholding tax and value added tax in Iceland. Furthermore he served as a member of the Financial Supervisory Board’s decision making committee while it was active.

For a while, Garðar taught tax law at the University of Iceland and has written number of articles in the field of tax law.

Óskar Sigurðsson Supreme Court Attorney and Adjunct at the Faculty of Law of the University of Iceland has joined the LEX Law Offices. In recent years, Mr. Sigurdsson has run JP lawyers in partnership with others, but he acquired JP lawyers in full earlier this year. Agreements have now been reached on the merger of JP lawyer and LEX.

Mr. Sigurdsson’s main specialty is property rights, contract law, construction and construction matters and matters relating to the purchase and sale of real estate, but he has been a well-known attorney for many years.

Mr. Sigurdsson was born in 1972 and completed law degree from the Faculty of Law, of the University of Iceland in 1997. He was appointed a Supreme Court Attorney in 2005.

He has taught property and claims law at the University of Iceland since 1998.

On 18 November 2016, the District Court of Reykjavík rendered its verdict in the landmark case of Ferskar kjötvörur ehf. against the Icelandic State. In short, the case involved the plaintiff, Ferskar kjötvörur ehf., as subsidiary of the Icelandic grocery and retail giant, Hagar hf., having imported 83 kgs of fresh (unfrozen) beef tenderloin to Iceland.

The Icelandic government refused to allow Ferskar kjötvörur ehf. to import the products as they had not demonstrably been submitted to a certain freezing procedure as required by Icelandic law. Eventually the products had to be destroyed as they had spoiled.

Ferskar kjötvörur ehf. filed suit against the Icelandic State submitting that the refusal of the Icelandic State to issue an import license on the grounds cited was in breach of the EEA Agreement and that the Icelandic State was in default of its obligations thereunder. By reference to the guidance provided by an advisory opinion rendered by the EFTA Court for this case, the District Court of Reykjavík ruled in favour of Ferskar kjötvörur ehf., concluding that the Icelandic State was in breach of the EEA Agreement and was liable for damages toward Ferskar kjötvörur ehf.

Ferskar kjötvörur ehf. was represented by Mr. Arnar Þór Stefánsson, Supreme Court Attorney and partner at LEX.

On April 26 2016 the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce and SA the Confederation of Icelandic Employers hosted an open meeting on public authorities’ intervention into the market.

Among speakers was Heiðrún Lind Marteinsdóttir, Attorney and Partner at LEX. In her speech she talked about the competence of the Icelandic Competition Authority to intervene when companies have not breached any provisions of the Icelandic Competition Act. Furthermore Heidrun Lind compared the power of the Icelandic Competition Authority to practice elsewhere. When changes were made to the Icelandic Competition Act, where the Competition Authority was given authority to intervene without breach, the legislator noted that similar provision could be found in Norway, the UK and the US. When considered further, Heidrun Lind pointed out that provisions in the respective countries were not identical to the broad and unclear provision in the Icelandic Competition Act. Heidrun Lind noted that the Icelandic provision could violate the constitutional right of ownership according to the Icelandic constitution.

Other speakers at the meeting were Frosti Ólafsson Managing Director of the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce and Þorsteinn Víglundsson Managing Director of SA the Confederation of Icelandic Employers.

Following the speakers a panel discussion took place under the stewardship of Hrund Rudolfsdóttir the CEO of Veritas Capital in which in addition to the speakers Daði Már Kristófersson President of faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Iceland and Ingunn Agnes Kro attorney and in-house lawyer at Skeljungur took part.

The World Trademark Review 1000 (WTR 1000) has published the 2016 The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals. LEX honoured that according to this publication two partners at LEX Mrs. Erla S Arnadottir and Mrs. Hulda Arnadottir are thought to be among the World’s Leading Trademark Professionals.

Furthermore LEX Law Offices are ranked in the “Gold Band” and as such considered one of two “go-to players on the IP scene” in Iceland.

In its press release WTR 100 says:

“The leading national and international trademark practitioners from around the globe have been revealed with the publication of the WTR 1000 2016. As well as illustrating the depth of expertise available to brand owners as they seek to protect their brands, the guide serves as the definitive tool to locating the best trademark partners worldwide.

Following the success of the WTR 1000 2015, this expanded sixth edition, published in January 2016, further cements the guide’s reputation as the definitive directory exclusively dedicated to identifying the world’s leading trademark legal services providers. This year’s publication features more than 80 country and US state specific chapters analysing local trademark legal services markets and profiling the firms and individuals singled out as leaders in their respective fields.

Individual practitioners, law firms and trademark attorney practices qualify for inclusion in the WTR 1000 on receiving sufficient positive feedback from market sources. The extensive research process was conducted over a four-month period by a team of full-time analysts and involved nearly 1,500 face-to-face and telephone interviews with trademark specialists across the globe.”

One of LEX’s Partners Mr Karl Axelsson, Supreme Court Attorney and Associate Professor at the University of Iceland, has been appointed as judge of the Supreme Court of Iceland. Mr Axelsson is one of LEX’s most experienced attorneys and is among the most respected lawyers in the country.

Mr Axelsson’s areas of expertise are inter alia property law, real estate law and natural resources law. He has taught property law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Iceland for the past 23 years. He has tried numerous court cases, including several landmark cases, before the Supreme Court since he was awarded licence to practices before the Supreme Court in 1997. In addition, Mr Axelsson has been the defence attorney in a variety of difficult criminal cases. Mr Axelsson had previously been appointed to the Supreme Court on a temporary basis from October 16 2014 to June 30 2015.

During his time at LEX Mr Axelsson has been sought after as consultant by individuals, organizations and the public sector. He has served on and led numerous public committees, including in the field of natural resources law and energy law and the working environment of the media. Mr Axelsson has also been involved with the preparation and drafting of numerous legislative bills pertaining to his field of expertise, he has written articles and given lectures on various legal issues, especially pertaining to ​​property rights and property law.

Mr Axelsson has undertaken many important legal projects and advised clients in important cases in recent years. Most recently, he inter alia advised the Icelandic Guarantee Fund with regards to claims filed by the Dutch central bank and the British deposit fund. One of the most comprehensive projects Mr Axelsson undertook in recent years was to manage the resolution of disputes on public lands in the highlands.
Mr Axelsson is married to Margret Reynisdóttir and they have two daughters. In his spare time he is a forestry enthusiast, a keen angler and has held a number of positions of trust for Valur Football Club.
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Mr Örn Gunnarsson, Managing Partner at LEX: “Attorneys have long emphasised the importance that an increased number of judges in the Supreme Court have experience as litigators. Thus, the appointment of Mr Axelsson to the Supreme Court of Iceland, which is a great recognition of his previous experience, is a joyous occasion for the legal profession and for LEX, which Mr Axelsson has along with his partners build-up over the past few decades. Mr Axelsson colleagues at LEX offer their heartfelt congratulations on his appointment to the Supreme Court and know that he will discharge his duties with fidelity and dedication for the benefit of the nation.”

Mr Axelsson, departing Partner at LEX: “I will leave my colleagues at LEX with regret while at the same time I look forward to the challenges that await me. Having made a career to serve the law there are few tasks as noble as to serve on the republic’s Supreme Court. Indeed, I will use all my efforts to be worthy of the great confidence bestowed upon me with my appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court.”

Reykjavik’s commercial and office workers union (“VR”) published on May 7th its findings from an extensive labor market survey. The companies in the top ten positions in each category are truly exemplary and considers VR reason to draw particular attention to their performance. LEX Law Offices was among the top 10 in the class of “large companies” and as such is considered by VR an Exemplary Company 2015.

The survey was conducted in a manner that questionnaire was submitted for employees of companies where they were asked for an assessment of the internal working environment of the business. The measurement included eight different aspects of the business operating environment, but by measuring many factors a complete picture of the inner working environment of the business was obtained. Such an extensive measurement helps managers also realize better the situation in their company because they get results for each aspect of the working environment.

Þórunn Guðmundsdóttir, Supreme Court Attorney at LEX Law Offices was today elected Chairman of the Board of the Central Bank of Iceland. Þórunn was elected to the Board the Central Bank by the parliament in March instead of Mrs. Olof Nordal which left the board when she took the office of Minister of Interior. At a meeting of the Board today Þórunn was elected as a chairman. Þórunn has for many years worked as a Partner at LEX Law Offices.

Chambers Europe has today published its annual ranking. LEX is ranked as a Band 1 firm for yet another year and is rated as one of Iceland’s leading law firms by all major rating agencies.

In its review it is stated that the team is known for being a “….leading full-service firm with outstanding expertise in all manner of corporate and commercial issues. Recent mandates include acquisitions, joint ventures, refinancings and compliance advice.”
Practice head Ólafur Haraldsson earns praise for his strong negotiation skills: “I was very happy with his approach to negotiations. He’s calm and prepares his argument really well – the argument did the work for him,” states a client.

Garðar Gíslason attracts praise for his tax expertise and business knowledge: “He’s got deep, detailed knowledge of tax issues. He’s effective and knows a lot about our business and all the issues that we face,” say clients.

Interviewees describe Aðalsteinn Jónasson as “the most knowledgeable banking and regulatory lawyer – my first choice. When you show up with him by your side you know that others will listen.”