LEX Law Offices have received an official Equal Pay Certification, which confirms that LEX operates an equal pay system following the requirements outlined in the standard ÍST 85:2012 and applies to all LEX employees.

LEX’s equal pay policy states, inter alia: “LEX pays salaries according to the scope and nature of the work and takes into consideration the demands the work requires, regardless of gender. The prerequisites for salary decisions are that they are following collective agreements, supported by reasons and ensure that the same salary is paid for comparable or equally valuable jobs.”

Birgir Már Björnsson attorney and partner at LEX Law Offices, recently published an article in the business section of the Icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið concerning the regulations that apply when the financial situation of municipalities is poor and the resources that are available to deal with such situation. It is stipulated in the Local Government Act that municipalities will not be taken into bankruptcy and that there will be no enforcement of the municipal assets that are necessary for the implementation of statutory projects.

Benedikta Haraldsdóttir, attorney at LEX Law Offices published an article on the temporary exclusivity period of original pharmaceutical products in the Icelandic media outlet Innherji yesterday.

The occasion is that the EU Commission has just adopted a proposal for the most extensive reform of EU pharmaceutical legislation in 20 years. The proposal contains i.a. considerable changes to the current system for the period of regulatory data protection of original medicines.

Erla S. Árnadóttir, attorney and partner at LEX Law Offices, published an article in the Icelandic news medium Innherji today, where she discusses the significance of new regulations that come into effect on June 1st regarding the so-called „European Patent with Unitary Effect“ and „Unified Patent Court“.

It should be noted that the new system is an addition that will strengthen the rules that have been applied to European patents until now. Until now, the European patent has been a bundle of patents that are validated separately in each country. When the new rules on European Patent with Unitary Effect have taken effect, it will be possible to obtain one patent in 17 countries with one application and with lower cost than before.

It is essential that applicants and patent owners individually make an informed decision as to whether or not they consider their interests better served by taking advantage of the new system, both as regards the European Patent with Unitary Effect and the Unified Patent Court. During such an assessment, possible claims for the invalidation of the patent should be considered.

It is important that Icelandic patent holders review, as the case may be, with their advisors, which status is the most appropriate to grant each patent considering the interests attached to it.

Lára Herborg Ólafsdóttir, attorney and partner at LEX Law Offices, recently published an article in the business section of the Icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið concerning Open AI announcing that their artificial intelligence chatbot, Chat GPT, would also be developed in Icelandic. Artificial intelligence models such as ChatGPT have great potential, but at the same time, there are significant legal challenges that can accompany the use of artificial intelligence models. It is, therefore, important to exercise caution in their use.

Innherji, an Icelandic business news site, recently published an article by Stefán Orri Ólafsson, attorney and partner at LEX Law Offices on the difficult assessment that issuers of financial instruments often face as to what information is required to be publicly disclosed. Fairly detailed rules apply to issuers of listed bonds in Iceland, including their obligation to disclose financial information and other insider information concerning the issuers.

Legal 500 the premium legal ranking agency has published its latest ranking for the Icelandic legal market. LEX Law Offices, one of Iceland’s full-service law firms, is ranked in Tier 1 in 8 of 10 categories and Tier 2 in two categories.

We are immensely proud of our people who have received recognition for their performance, the most experienced in the „Hall of Fame“ or „Leading Individual“ and others up and coming as „Next Generation Partner“ or „Rising Star.

The categories ranked by Legal 500 are:

• Banking, finance and capital markets (Tier 1)
  • Ólafur Haraldsson (Hall of Fame), Guðmundur Ingvi Sigurðsson (Leading Individual) og Stefán Orri Ólafsson (Next Generation Partner)
• Commercial, corporate and M&A (Tier 1)
  • Guðmundur Ingvi Sigurðsson (Leading Individual)
• Dispute Resolution (Tier 1)
  • Kristín Edwald og Arnar Þór Stefánsson (Leading individual)
• EEA and competition (Tier 2)
• Employment (Tier 1)
• Maritime and transport (Tier 1)
  • Lilja Jónasdóttir (Hall of Fame)
• Real estate and construction (Tier 1)
  • Arnar Þór Stefánsson og Guðjón Ármannsson (Leading individual)
• Restructuring and insolvency (Tier 1)
  • Guðmundur Ingvi Sigurðsson (Hall of Fame), Þórhallur Bergmann og Arnar Þór Stefánsson (Leading Individual)
• TMT and IP (Tier 1)
  • Erla S. Árnadóttir (Hall of Fame), Lára Herborg Ólafsdóttir (Next generation partner) og María Kristjánsdóttir (Rising Star)
• TAX (Tier 2)
  • Garðar Víðir Gunnarsson (Leading Individual)

We believe these favourable rankings are due to superb teamwork within LEX‘s practice areas and between different practice areas, as well as successful relationships with our excellent customers.

Guðmundur Hólmar Helgason, lawyer at LEX Law Offices, recently published an article on the Icelandic news site Vísi. The article is on the freedom of employment in Iceland, restrictive covenants in employment contracts, the legal environment surrounding such covenants and amendments that our neighbouring countries have made to their labour legislation.

For more than 20 years Chambers and Partners have published directories on leading firms in most of the countries in the world. Their ranking for 2023 for Europe is now available. LEX is ranked as a Leading Firm in Iceland. Chambers Europe ranking is in the Intellectual Property, Corporate / Commercial and Dispute Resolution categories.

Earlier this year their ranking for 2023 for Global  was published. LEX is ranked as a Leading Firm in Iceland in the global ranking as well. Chambers global ranking is in the Intellectual Property, Corporate / Commercial and Dispute Resolution categories.

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 and ECM mandates. The law firm also possesses high-level expertise in banking and finance. The 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. He enters the top tier of the rankings after considerable recognition of his strong practice.“

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

“New to the rankings, the up-and-coming Garðar Víðir Gunnarsson is a well-regarded lawyer who is active in 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, employment, human rights and white-collar crime cases. The law firm is experienced acting on 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 and white-collar crime matters to administrative and public law cases. He also has experience in mandates with cross-border elements. He progresses to Band 2 following noteworthy feedback.“

„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.“

For more than 20 years Chambers and Partners have published directories on leading firms in most of the countries in the world. Their ranking for 2023 for Global  is now available. LEX is ranked as a Leading Firm in Iceland. Chambers global ranking is in the Corporate / Commercial and Dispute Resolution categories.

The Corporate / Commercial team is described as following:

„LEX Law Offices boasts a broad corporate and commercial offering, including public M&A and ECM mandates. The law firm also possesses high-level expertise in banking and finance. The 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. He enters the top tier of the rankings after considerable recognition of his strong practice.“

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

“New to the rankings, the up-and-coming Garðar Víðir Gunnarsson is a well-regarded lawyer who is active in 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, employment, human rights and white-collar crime cases. The law firm is experienced acting on 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 and white-collar crime matters to administrative and public law cases. He also has experience in mandates with cross-border elements. He progresses to Band 2 following noteworthy feedback.“

„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.“