Team size: four

Can you briefly explain how the legal team is structured, highlighting key individuals and their role within the department?

We have a contained legal department with me at the lead and Jens Even Højlund Pedersen in charge of tax issues. The patent attorney Kristin Holmgren oversees IP with the support of industry long-timer Edvard Brække, in charge of brand protection and trademarks.

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

The team led by Lars Jacobsen has successfully supported the company going public at record speed while promoting constant commercial growth. In 2021 Kristin Holmgren successfully defended a core company patent, laying claim to the most commercially available krill oil products in Europe. Attorney Edvard Brække has pioneered trademark and patent enforcement on online platforms such as Amazon. Furthermore, Jens Even Højlund Pedersen won a tax case allowing NOK 293.2 m worth of tax losses to be carried forward were upheld.

How does the team contribute constructively to the growth and expansion of the company?

Most of our legal work is rooted around IP. Half of our team dedicates to IP work, propelling our company forward as our market share increases. As a legal team, we are adamant about supporting the company’s growth, in particular after going public earlier this year. We always seek to invest in systems instead of just hiring more people, allowing for scalability.

How do you feel the pandemic has changed the world of work for in-house counsel and the function of the general counsel?

The pandemic has reinforced our way of working together as a team. People skills and empathy have been our main drivers since early 2020. We have only recently begun reimplementing, going back to the office and working together. The world has changed, and as general counsel, my goal has been to change with it. In our team, members have chosen where and how to do their work, and we are confident that this freedom yields the best results over time.

Working in the oil and gas industry, how has the increasing consciousness of climate change and sustainability affected the company and the team’s priorities?

Our company is a vertically integrated biotech company leading all aspects of the krill industry. Our mission is to improve planetary health by sustainable harvesting of one of the world’s most unharvested natural resources— the Antarctic krill. Sustainability is at the core of all our company’s activities, including the legal department. No day goes by without internal questioning based on how our efforts can support the sustainability of our business.

Lars Jacobsen
General counsel
Aker BioMarine