In an article published in the Icelandic business paper Viðskiptablaðið, María Kristjánsdóttir, an attorney at LEX and Heiðrún Marteinsdóttir, CEO of Fisheries Iceland (SFS) discuss the merger procedure in Iceland.

Despite changes to the procedural rules in mergers at the end of 2020, the situation in Iceland is still that the ICA had more mergers to process in phase II the last year., than both the EU and Norway combined.

The merger procedure in Iceland is unacceptable and must be changed.

Legal 500, the esteemed legal ranking agency, just unveiled its latest rankings for the Icelandic legal market. LEX Law Offices, a leading full-service law firm in Iceland, has secured Tier 1 rankings in eight out of ten categories and Tier 2 rankings in two categories.

We take immense pride in the recognition our team has received for their outstanding performance, with some of our most experienced members earning placement in the “Hall of Fame” or being recognized as “Leading Individuals” while others are acknowledged as “Next Generation Partners” or “Rising Stars.”

The categories ranked by Legal 500 for 2024 are as follows:

1. Banking, finance, and capital markets (Tier 1)
Ólafur Haraldsson Haraldsson (Hall of Fame), Guðmundur Ingvi Sigurðsson (Leading Individual), and Stefán Orri Ólafsson (Next Generation Partner)
2. Commercial, corporate, and M&A (Tier 1)
Guðmundur Ingvi Sigurðsson and Garðar Víðir Gunnarsson (Leading Individuals)
3. Dispute Resolution (Tier 1)
Kristín Edwald (Hall of Fame) and Arnar Þór Stefánsson (Leading Individual)
4. EEA and competition (Tier 2)
Guðrún Lilja Sigurðardóttir (Next Generation Partners)
5. Employment (Tier 1)
6. Maritime and transport (Tier 1)
Lilja Jónasdóttir (Hall of Fame) and Guðrún Lilja Sigurðardóttir (Next Generation Partner)
7. Real estate and construction (Tier 1)
Arnar Þór Stefánsson and Guðjón Ármannsson (Leading Individuals)
8. Restructuring and insolvency (Tier 1)
Guðmundur Ingvi Sigurðsson (Hall of Fame), Þórhallur Bergmann (Leading Individual), Birgir Már Björnssson (Next Generation Partner) and Kara Borg Fannarsdóttir (Rising Star)
9. TMT and IP (Tier 1)
Erla S. Árnadóttir (Hall of Fame), Lára Herborg Ólafsdóttir (Next Generation Partner), and María Kristjánsdóttir (Rising Star)
10. TAX (Tier 2)
Garðar Víðir Gunnarsson (Leading Individual)

These favourable rankings are a testament to the superb teamwork within LEX’s practice areas and between different practice areas, as well as the successful relationships we maintain with our valued clients.

LEX Law Offices is one of the law firms included in the The Legal 500 Green Guide for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). The Green Guide is the first worldwide platform dedicated entirely to exploring the legal sector’s engagement with the green transition and how law firms are providing clients with sustainability related advice.

LEX has systematically built knowledge and capacity to advice clients on sustainability and ESG regulatory requirements and on the evolving sustainability landscape in general, including on sustainable finance. Further, LEX has in its work built on the firm’s expertise as a leading advisor in amongst other financing and energy projects.
Partner Eva Margrét Ævarsdóttir the head of LEX‘s ESG Services is recognised in the Green Guide for her work.

Read more about LEX in the Legal500 Green Guide here: The Legal 500

For over two decades Chambers and Partners have consistently published directories on leading firms across numerous countries worldwide. The rankings for 2024 in Europe are now accessible, and LEX has been recognized as a Leading Firm in Iceland. LEX’s commendation spans across the Intellectual Property, Corporate/Commercial, and Dispute Resolution categories in the Chambers Europe ranking.

In February the 2024 Global rankings were published, wherein LEX maintains its position as a Leading Firm in Iceland. Once again, LEX’s global acknowledgment extends across the Corporate/Commercial, and Dispute Resolution categories in the Chambers Global ranking.

The Intellectual Property team is described as following:

“LEX Law Offices has an impressive practice with expertise in the full gamut of IP mandates. The department advises on issues relating to copyright infringement as well as patent enforcement. It also has experience in the registration and protection of trade marks and designs. The law firm additionally assists with IT-related matters such as data privacy and licensing agreements.”

and notable practitioner is Erla S. Árnadóttir

“Erla Árnadóttir has a wealth of experience in trade mark portfolio management, copyright infringement cases and patent enforcement mandates. She also advises clients on IT licensing agreements and data privacy issues.”

The Corporate / Commercial team is described as following:

“LEX Law Offices boasts a broad corporate and commercial offering, including public M&A mandates. The law firm also possesses high-level expertise in banking and finance. Its lawyers additionally assist with the compliance and regulatory aspects of transactions.”

and notable practitioners are Guðmundur Ingvi Sigurðsson, Ólafur Haraldsson and Garðar Víðir Gunnarsson

“Guðmundur Ingvi Sigurðsson advises on a variety of cross-border mandates, including M&A, restructurings and refinancings.”

„Ólafur Haraldsson has a broad practice including refinancing and restructuring mandates, as well as corporate transactions.“

“The up-and-coming Garðar Víðir Gunnarsson is a well-regarded lawyer who is active on high-value mergers, company set-ups and financing mandates.”

The Dispute Resolution team is described as following:

“LEX Law Offices has a noteworthy team handling a comprehensive range of contentious matters, including competition, human rights and white-collar crime cases. The law firm is experienced acting in both litigation and arbitration proceedings. The lawyers represent state entities, private companies and high-profile individuals.”

and notable practitioners are Arnar Þór Stefánsson and Kristín Edwald

“Arnar Þór Stefánsson handles a variety of disputes, from commercial litigation to administrative and public law cases. He also has experience in mandates with cross-border elements.”

“Rising in the rankings this year, Kristín Edwald possesses a broad dispute resolution practice, with experience in cases involving insurance, human rights and criminal law. She also has a varied client roster, acting for private companies, state entities and high-profile individuals.”

Erla S. Árnadóttir, partner at LEX and María Kristjánsdóttir, attorney at LEX and partner and Managing Director of GH Sigurgeirsson, IP boutique and subsidiary of LEX Law Offices are praised for their work in the field of trademark law in the 2024 edition of the World Trademark Review (WTR 1000).

LEX is top ranked:

“In-depth knowledge of trademark law, effective negotiation skills, an attentive approach and a commitment to finding practical solutions” are the hallmarks of the services provided by LEX. The full-service practice maintains its position as the go-to firm for IP and IT law expertise in the country, and at the forefront are Erla S. Árnadóttir and Maria Kristjansdottir. Bringing more than 35 years of fine-grained IP knowledge to the table, Árnadóttir is one of the most revered individuals in the local IP landscape, and Kristjánsdóttir continues to establish herself as a favoured practitioner for strategic expertise.”

LEX Law Offices congratulates the “Ramp up Iceland” initiative on the milestone of one thousand ramps being built in Iceland, one year ahead of schedule. LEX Law Offices is one of the project’s sponsors. The project’s purpose is to increase accessibility to those using wheelchairs to services, stores and restaurants in Iceland. Entrepreneur Haraldur Þorleifsson is the initiator of the “Ramp up Iceland”. https://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2023/11/27/thydir_ekki_ad_vera_reidur_heldur_lausnamidadur/

Stefán Orri Ólafsson, partner and Kristinn Ingi Jónsson, associate at LEX published an article in Innherji – an Icelandic business news site on dialogues between boards of directors and shareholders in listed companies and the restrictions imposed by rules on the sharing of insider information on such dialogues

The EU Taxonomy Regulation entered into effect in Iceland in June 2023. Large and listed Icelandic companies will thereby need to report publicly in accordance with this European classification system for the first time in their annual reports for the financial year 2023. Eva Margrét Ævarsdóttir, partner and attorney at LEX, published an article in the Icelandic business paper Viðskiptablaðið on the EU taxonomy, its purpose and impact on Icelandic companies.

The IFLR1000 is the guide to the world’s leading financial and corporate law firms and lawyers. IFLR1000 just released their latest ranking and LEX has yet again been ranked in Tier 1, in Financial and Corporate as well as Project Development. Ólafur Haraldsson, Guðmundur Ingvi Sigurðsson og Stefán Orri Ólafsson, partners at LEX continue to be ranked as „Highly regarded“. It is a special pleasure to announce that Fanney Frímannsdóttir, partner is now ranked as a „Rising star partner“ and associates Árni Sigurðsson and Kristinn Ingi Jónsson are ranked as „Rising Star“. We congratulate the LEX team and are grateful for the trust shown to us and pleasant business relations with our customers.

Two peer-reviewed articles by Teitur Gissurarson, attorney at LEX Law Offices exploring the reopening of adjudicated cases, have recently been published in Úlfljótur – a legal journal published by law students at the University of Iceland.

The first article, published this winter, deals with the reopening of criminal cases, while the second one, published just before last weekend, deals with the reopening of civil cases. The Court on Reopening of Cases holds the authority to decide on the reopening of both criminal and civil cases, although the nature of the two different types of cases is in most regards very different.

The basis of the reopening of adjudicated cases has not been covered extensively in academic writing until now. The articles focus on clarifying current law through the study of legislative preparatory documents, court judgments and rulings. Analogous Nordic legal sources and older practices are also considered, especially the practice of the committee on reopening of cases, and the changes that were made on the conditions for the reopening of cases with the enactment of Act no. 47/2020.