Discuss Your Legal Matter
Waterfront architecture in Norrtälje under an overcast sky.

Swedish roots. International perspective.

International Perspective. Legal Precision.

We are Senior Law Firm af AB, a Swedish law firm established in 2003. From Norrtälje we advise companies, entrepreneurs, investors, financial institutions, property investors, families and private individuals on legal matters that arise in Sweden or connect Sweden with other jurisdictions. Our work rests on careful analysis of the documents, a clear view of the applicable law and practical judgment about the next step.

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  • Established 2003
  • Base Norrtälje, Sweden
  • Outlook International
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01

Our firm

A Swedish Foundation. An International Outlook.

Established in Sweden in 2003 and based in Norrtälje, we build our advice on Swedish law: company law, contract, property, employment, succession and the forums in which those questions are decided. That foundation is also where our international work begins. Many matters that arise in Sweden already involve a foreign company, a second country’s law, assets held abroad or a contract that names more than one jurisdiction, and we consider those connections from the first reading of the documents.

We act for companies and entrepreneurs who are establishing or governing a Swedish business, for international investors and financial counterparties considering a Swedish presence, acquisition or financing, for property investors, and for families and individuals whose personal arrangements have a Swedish connection. The questions our clients bring are practical ones: who is bound, what has been agreed, which law applies, which forum will hear a later disagreement and what should be done now.

Our philosophy is one of integrity, independent judgment and discretion. We begin with the facts and the documents, not with a preferred outcome. Our aim in the first review is to explain the legal position in terms our clients can use, to set out the realistic options and to say plainly when counsel in another jurisdiction should also be involved.

Contemporary waterfront architecture in Norrtälje.
Norrtälje.

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Practice

Areas of Legal Expertise

Our work is organised around the legal fields that most often arise for companies, investors and private clients: corporate and commercial questions, international business, disputes, property, employment, immigration, private client matters, finance and intellectual property.

01

Corporate & Commercial Law

Company formation and structuring, governance, shareholder agreements, commercial contracts, acquisitions and the compliance questions that accompany them.

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Employment & Labour Law

Employment contracts, employer obligations and employee rights, termination and restructuring, collective agreements and international employment.

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Banking & Finance Law

Corporate financing, loan and credit agreements, security, debt restructuring and finance-related disputes, advised from the legal side of the transaction.

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03

Outlook

Legal Perspective Across Borders

We begin cross-border work with the transaction or the relationship, not with a theory of conflict of laws. A share purchase, a long-term supply contract, an agency, a loan or a joint venture may involve companies in more than one country. For us the immediate questions are commercial and legal at once: who is contracting, where performance is due, which law will interpret the bargain and which court or arbitral seat will hear a later dispute.

Foreign investment into Sweden calls for a further structural choice. A Swedish subsidiary, a registered branch and a foreign company that simply contracts into Sweden allocate liability, authority and filing in different ways, and we help our clients understand those differences before they commit. When a relationship fails, the routes available may include negotiation, Swedish court proceedings or arbitration. Recognition of a foreign arbitral award is often a question of the New York Convention; recognition of many EU civil and commercial judgments is a question of Brussels I recast.

Where part of a matter is governed by another country’s law, we identify that at the outset. We organise the Swedish questions from Norrtälje and, where the decisive issue lies elsewhere, we consider with our client the need for locally qualified counsel, coordinating the work according to the file.

  1. Governing law

    We read a choice of law against the contract as a whole and against the conflict-of-laws rules that may sit behind it, including Rome I where that instrument applies.

  2. Jurisdiction and arbitration

    A choice of court and an agreement to arbitrate are different decisions. Brussels I recast governs many civil and commercial court questions inside the EU and leaves arbitration outside its scope.

  3. Coordinated counsel

    When the governing issue is not Swedish, we work with our client to involve locally qualified counsel for that part of the matter.

04

Philosophy

How we take a matter forward.

We approach every enquiry in the same order: we establish the facts, assess the legal position and set out the options those facts support.

  1. 01

    Understanding Your Matter

    We begin by identifying the parties as they appear in the documents, the question to be answered, the known facts and any deadline or pending proceeding. If another country’s rules may matter, we raise that in our opening discussion.

  2. 02

    Assessing the Legal Position

    We read the documents against the applicable Swedish, European or international rules. Our assessment separates what the papers provide from what a party hopes they provide, and names the legal issues, commercial risks and gaps we find.

  3. 03

    Identifying the Way Forward

    We set out the realistic options: further investigation, a letter, negotiation, formal proceedings or a decision to wait. Once we have explained the legal position, the choice of next step is our client’s.

People

Carl-Johan Lennart Kaj Vahlén

Principal contact

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Carl-Johan Lennart Kaj Vahlén is our principal contact. Enquiries about a company, contract, dispute or private matter may be sent to him at info@smartlawafab.com.

In a first email we ask you to identify the parties, the principal question, any other country involved and any material deadline. We agree the scope of our work, confidentiality and the other terms of an engagement once it is clear that we can take the matter further.

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Clients

Companies, investors and private clients.

Our clients bring different legal questions. Our commitment to each of them is the same: a clear first account of the position and of the options that follow from it.

Companies and entrepreneurs

Company formation, governance, shareholder arrangements, signing authority and the commercial contracts through which a business allocates price, performance, liability and termination.

International businesses and investors

Swedish market entry, acquisitions, foreign investment, governing law, jurisdiction and the legal structure of a Swedish presence.

Private clients and families

Marriage property, succession, gifts and personal arrangements, including those that involve more than one country.

Technology and finance

Licensing, software contracts, intellectual property, loans and security, where those issues sit beside a company, an investment or a property transaction.

Counsel

Discuss Your Legal Matter

Write to us with a concise statement of your question, the names as they appear in the documents and the countries already involved. We will consider your enquiry and reply by email.

Discuss Your Legal Matter