About

‘In-house counsel must be hands on with daily business as well as have a clear vision about the company’s future’, says Tuula Rainto, general counsel at Vaasan Group, a Finnish bakery company. When Lantmännen acquired Vaasan in 2015, there was a period of change for the company. The legal department is now responsible for the implementation of various internal M&A transactions, drafting, negotiating of commercial contracts, corporate governance, group financing, insurance portfolio and real estate transactions. Demonstrating the importance that Vaasan places on legal knowledge, the team provided legal training for the organisation’s executives and managers, a process which has enhanced general knowledge in regards to essential legal matters. The integration of the organisation with Lantmännen ran smoothly thanks to a substantial contribution from the legal team, ensuring various procedures and processes remained in place. Similarly to several other companies in the market, Vaasan experienced difficulties in the declining market, which has sometimes led to challenging negotiations with customers. In order to overcome this challenge, the legal team was required to diligently negotiate commercial contracts with various key customers.