Landslog – Law Offices > Reykjavik, Iceland > Firm Profile
Landslog – Law Offices Offices
BORGARTÚN 26
105 REYKJAVIK
Iceland
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Landslog – Law Offices > The Legal 500 Rankings
Iceland > Dispute resolution Tier 2
Landslog – Law Offices' team is regularly active in a broad range of high-profile cases, with significant experience before both the Appeals Court and the Supreme Court. Areas covered by the group include banking, real estate, IP, and administrative claims. Grímur Sigurðsson co-leads the department alongside Supreme Court attorney Áslaug Árnadóttir and Viðar Lúðvíksson, whose practice includes financial disputes and insurance law. Jón Gunnar Ásbjörnsson is also a key name within the team.Practice head(s):
Grímur Sigurðsson; Áslaug Árnadóttir; Viðar Lúðvíksson
Other key lawyers:
Jóhannes Sveinsson; Jón Gunnar Ásbjörnsson
Testimonials
‘The team consists of some of Iceland’s finest lawyers. They provide a professional legal service and collaboration that has always been exceptional.’
‘We have worked with the firm Landslog for some years now and have always been very satisfied. Viðar Lúðvíksson has been the lawyer who has taken care of our legal issues. He has very considerate and excellent manners, yet he is a very determined and assertive litigator. His professional work both in regard to preparation and performance have been in a class of their own.’
‘I have only worked with partner Jón Gunnar Ásbjörnsson, but he has an excellent grasp of English, understands the commercialities of our case and is prompt in responding. He is tenacious and a good advocate.’
‘Very professional.’
‘Very experienced, very broad legal knowledge and skills.’
Key clients
Central Bank of Iceland
Hagar hf.
Isavia (Icelandic Airport and Air Traffic Management)
University of Iceland Lottery
Islandsbanki
Icelandic Prime Contractors
Bru II Island
Work highlights
- Representing an organisation of mackerel fisheries in Iceland, in court proceedings against the Icelandic state, aiming to overturn the state’s allocation of mackerel quota.
- Leading a class action on behalf of a group of shareholders in the collapsed bank Landsbanki, against one of the bank’s former owners, for allegedly deceiving and withholding information from the bank’s shareholders.
- Representing Isavia in its dispute with Air Lease Corporation USA, regarding Isavia’s impounding of ALC’s Airbus A320 aircraft at Keflavík international airport.
Iceland > Real estate and construction Tier 2
Landslog – Law Offices is a prominent name in commercial real estate matters, with expertise in construction work, public tenders and M&A transactions. The group has further strength in contentious matters, including procurement disputes and construction defect claims. Jóhannes Karl Sveinsson jointly leads the department with Jóhannes Bjarni Björnsson; Sveinsson leads on contentious matters, while Björnsson is a key contact for major PPP projects.Practice head(s):
Jóhannes Karl Sveinsson; Jóhannes Bjarni Björnsson
Testimonials
‘Availability, results.’
‘Availability, case management, focus when needed and an eye for the best solution.’
Key clients
The Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration (IRCA)
Icelandic Prime Contractors
Alma
Icelandic Regional Development
Work highlights
- Acting as head legal counsel for the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration in connection with major traffic structures.
- Advised Alma Real Estate Company on the acquisition of a number of real estate properties in the amount of approx. $52m.
- Acted as counsel for IAV, Iceland Prime Contractors, advised on contracts, negotiations with clients and overseeing litigation.
Iceland > Banking, finance and capital markets Tier 3
Landslog – Law Offices is a popular choice for leading domestic banks and corporations, and is noted for its strength in bond issuances; during 2023, the team advised Isavia on a €175m private note placement in the US. Jóhannes Karl Sveinsson, Jóhannes Bjarni Björnsson and Viðar Lúðvíksson co-lead the department.Practice head(s):
Jóhannes Karl Sveinsson; Jóhannes Bjarni Björnsson; Viðar Lúðvíksson
Key clients
Isavia
Hagar hf.
Syn hf./ Vodafone Iceland
Central Bank of Iceland
Hekla
Islandsbanki
Arctic Fish
The Icelandic Housing and Construction Fund
Alma
Lifsverk Pension Fund
Work highlights
- Advised Isavia (The Icelandic Airport and Air Traffic Management) on a private note placement (issue and sale of notes) in the US to the amount of €175m.
- Provided legal counsel to the Arctic Fish group during an initial refinancing and both amendments. The lenders are the Arion Bank hf. and the Norwegian bank DNB Bank ASA.
- Advised e-sports club Dusty on finalising a share capital increase.
Iceland > Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 3
Landslog – Law Offices acts for a client base of both public and private groups, and supplements its corporate and commercial offering with coverage of real estate, competition, and IP matters. Team lead Viðar Lúðvíksson, who has over 25 years’ experience in the practice area, is an M&A specialist with a track record in acting for prestige international and domestic clients. Lúðvíksson is supported by Supreme Court Advocate Grímur Sigurðsson, competition law specialist Jóna Björk Helgadóttir, and Jón Gunnar Ásbjörnsson.Practice head(s):
Viðar Lúðvíksson
Other key lawyers:
Hlynur Halldorsson; Grímur Sigurðsson; Jóna Björk Helgadóttir; Jón Gunnar Ásbjörnsson.
Testimonials
‘Good overall competence in the various fields of law with short turn-around time. Good representation in regulatory interactions with the authorities and litigation.’
‘Grímur Sigurðsson is best lawyer in Iceland. He is very fast with response. And quality of his work is the best. Jóna Björk Helgadóttir is foremost lawyer in competition law in Iceland.’
Key clients
Hagar hf.
Syn hf./ Vodafone Iceland
Isavia
DeCode Genetics
Icelandic Regional Development
The National University Hospital
Advania
Alvogen pharmaceuticals
Syndis
Curio
Hekla
University of Iceland Lottery
Frumtok
Umbudamidlun
Icelandic Fish Market
Islandsbanki
Icelandic Prime Contractors – IAV
Samkaup
The Icelandic National Opera
The Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration (IRCA)
Work highlights
- Advised Syn hf. (Vodafone Iceland) on all aspects of the first sale and lease-back of passive mobile phone telecom infrastructure in Iceland, a ISK6bn deal.
- Advised Hagar hf. on the acquisition of all shares in Eldum Rett.
- Acted as head legal counsel for the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration in connection with major traffic structures which are planned to be built on the basis of the newly approved law on Public-Private Partnerships.
Landslog – Law Offices > Firm Profile
The firm: Landslog – Law Offices has an extremely strong presence in Iceland and comes highly recommended. The firm provides clients with high-level one-stop legal services. The firm’s lawyers are well recognised in the Icelandic market for their fine-tuned expertise and personal services. Landslog has one of the strongest presences in Iceland in dispute resolution and has recently handled many of the largest transactions in Iceland over the past years.
The legal landscape in Iceland has slowly been emerging over the past years, shifting from legal work pertaining to insolvency, restructuring, insurance, creditor composition and other “clean-up work” following the banking crisis in 2008, over major transactions, M&A work, banking advice, industry specific transactions and corporate work.
Areas of practice
Banking and finance: In August 2019 Hagar hf. (Iceland´s largest retail chain and one of Iceland’s largest companies), a listed company, retained Vidar Ludviksson, partner at Landslog, to handle the prospectus and legal issues in relation to the company’s bond issue in the amount of 8 bn ISK, i.e. around 53 million GBP. The issue, which was completed in February 2020, was the first asset-backed bond issue in Iceland since the crash in 2008.
Landslog currently does work for all the major banks in Iceland on various assignments and the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority. Landslog has advised Kaupthing bank hf. on various issues relating to the bank’s winding-up, regarding bankruptcy law, derivatives, set-off and other issues. The firm represented Islandsbanki in a case regarding the legality of indexation provisions on consumer loans and numerous other cases. Landslog advised Landsbankinn in its negotiations with the ‘old’ Landsbanki Íslands hf. and on drafting the necessary agreements in relation to the compensation instruments for the assets which were transferred to Landsbankinn following the collapse of the ‘old’ Landsbanki Íslands hf. in 2008.
M&A: Grimur Sigurdsson, partner at Landslog, acted as a legal advisor for HS Orka when its largest shareholder, Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. sold its entire shareholding to Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets for approx. US$305m in March 2019.
Partner Aslaug Arnadottir worked for Iceland’s third biggest retail chain Samkaup on their merger with parts of the retail chain Basko. The deal involved Samkaup buying 14 stores from Basko, all “Iceland” stores in Iceland and 7 10-11 stores. The Icelandic Competition Authority was notified of the merger in June 2018. The Icelandic Competition Authority approved Samkaup’s acquisition of 12 stores in the Reykjavik area from Basko verslanir in late 2018. In May 2019, however, the Icelandic Competition Authority annulled a merger, which concerns Samkaup’s acquisition of two stores owned by Basko verslanir in Akureyri and Reykjanesbær. Landslog also performed a due diligence review in relation to the merger.
Vidar Ludviksson was sole legal advisor to FAST-1 slhf. in the signing of heads of terms for the sale to Reginn hf. (a listed company) of two real-estate companies with an enterprise value of €185m. This was the single largest real estate transaction since the banking crisis in 2008.
Vidar Ludviksson advised Vodafone Iceland (i.e. Fjarskipti hf., listed on the Icelandic Nasdaq stock exchange) on the purchase of almost all assets and operations (including TV content agreements with foreign providers) from 365 midlar hf. This is the largest telecom and broadcasting asset purchase transaction ever in Iceland, with a value of around €69m.
Vidar Ludviksson and Jona Bjork Helgadottir advised Hagar hf. (Iceland’s largest retailer – listed on the Icelandic Nasdaq stock exchange) on the purchase of all shares in the oil company Oliuverzlun Islands hf. – a landmark in M&A deals in Iceland. The value of the deal is around €133m.
Vidar Ludviksson advised SMI ehf. on the purchase of all shares in Korputorg ehf. (the owner of the 45,000m sq Korputorg Shopping Center in Reykjavík).
Bankruptcy, reconstruction, receivership and more: Landslog specialises in bankruptcy and reconstruction and the courts have repeatedly appointed Landslog’s attorneys as receivers to manage many of the largest bankruptcy and reconstruction cases in Iceland, such as Milestone, Mosaic Fashion, V&Þ and numerous others. Furthermore, one of the largest bankruptcy estates in the world, Kaupthing bank hf., hired Landslog to take around 50 rescission cases to court on behalf of the estate.
Corporate and commercial: Landslog has acted for the largest companies in Iceland. Clients include Hagar, Iceland Prime Contractors, various ministries in Iceland, the National Power Company in Iceland, the Reykjavik Power Company, Bauhaus, Norvik Group, HB Grandi and various municipalities in Iceland, including Reykjavik.
Dispute resolution: the Icelandic government instructed partner Johannes Karl Sveinsson to represent it in various disputes in the wake of the Icelandic banking crises.
English insurers hired Vidar Ludviksson to handle claims made against them under D&O policies purchased by Landsbanki Islands hf., which entered under winding-up proceedings following the banking crash in 2008. The ongoing cases (which were lodged in 2011 and 2012) are landmark cases with regard to D&O insurance practice in Iceland and are among the largest and most complex in Icelandic civil procedure. They have been followed closely by the U.K. insurance market.
Landslog successfully defended the insurance company Tryggingamidstodin hf. in several legal proceedings pertaining to D&O policies.
Landslog handles a 250-participant class action, lodged in October 2015, the first of its kind in Iceland, against the former largest owner of the Landsbanki Islands bank.
EEA, competition and state aid: Landslog represented the Icelandic government in state aid cases before the EFTA Surveillance Authority regarding the restructuring of the Icelandic banks.
Landslog represented Kortathjonustan (a card acquirer in Iceland) in the largest civil settlement relating to competition in Iceland which was reached on the payment of damages to Kortathjonustan due to Valitor‘s (VISA Iceland) and Borgun‘s (MasterCard Iceland) breaches against the Icelandic competition/antitrust rules.
Data protection and IT law: Landslog is the leading Icelandic law firm on issues pertaining to processing of personal data and the EU Data Protection Directive. One of Landslog’s partners was Iceland’s Data Protection Commissioner from 2013 to 2014. Landslog specialises in IT-related issues, including IP, telecommunications, software procurement contracts and electronic forensics. Among Landslog’s clients are Advania, Iceland Post and The Icelandic Data Protection Authority.
Main Contacts
Department | Name | Telephone | |
---|---|---|---|
Banking and finance | Johannes Karl Sveinsson | jks@landslog.is | (+354)5202900 |
Restructuring | Grimur Sigurdsson | grimur@landslog.is | (+354)5202900 |
Corporate and commercial | Johannes B Bjornsson | jbb@landslog.is | (+354)5202900 |
M&A, Insurance, Dispute resolution | Vidar Ludviksson | vidar@landslog.is | (+354)5202900 |
EEA, competition and state aid | Aslaug Arnadottir | aslaug@landslog.is | (+354)5202900 |
EEA, competition and state aid | Jona Björk Helgadottir | jonabjork@landslog.is | (+354)5202900 |
Data protection and IT | Hordur Helgi Helgason | hhh@landslog.is | (+354)5202900 |
Construction, Development, Fisheries | Gardar Gardarsson | gardar@landslog.is | (+354)5202900 |
Corporate, Competition | Hlynur Halldorsson | hlh@landslog.is | (+354)5202900 |
Administrative, Zoning and Planning | Ivar Palsson | ivar@landslog.is | (+354)5202900 |
Lawyer Profiles
Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
---|---|---|---|
Mrs Aslaug Arnadottir | Partner. | View Profile | |
Mr Johannes Bjarni Bjornsson | Partner. | View Profile | |
Mr Gardar Gardarsson | Partner. | View Profile | |
Mr Hlynur Halldorsson | Partner. | View Profile | |
Mrs Jona Bjork Helgadottir | Partner. | View Profile | |
Mr Hordur Helgi Helgason | Partner. Recent work: Hörður Helgi was the Data Protection Authority’s (DPA’s) first… | View Profile | |
Mr Viðar Lúðvíksson | Partner at Landslog Law Offices. Main focus on Corporate and Commercial Law,… | View Profile | |
Mr Ivar Palsson | Partner. | View Profile | |
Mr Grimur Sigurdsson | Partner. Recent work: Grimur acted as a legal advisor for HS Orka… | View Profile | |
Mr Johannes Karl Sveinsson | Partner. | View Profile |