“The Nordic region is a long way from being the boom-town it was. Lawyers have struggled.” This gloomy critique from one observer in 2003 may echo Ibsen or Strindberg, yet it finds no resonance among today’s legal elite – the M&A men who gauge their smiles from data tables. Five years ago, according to Merger-market, the top three Nordic firms by deal volume were Vinge, Mannheimer Swartling and Linklaters. For the first half of 2006, the same three firms occupied the same positions. But the 83 deals the leading triumvi-rate advised on in 2002 increased to 181 by 2005 and this year should be even better. As any corporate lawyer from Stockholm to Helsinki will tell you, Scandinavia is booming once again.
Sweden
