IEL Elite

Overview

Henric Diefke in Gothenburg leads Mannheimer Swartling’s highly experienced employment group, which frequently acts alongside the firm’s other teams, such as M&A or corporate crime, to offer 360-degree advice to clients.

The group is regularly sought-out by leading international firms to advise on complex employment issues in Sweden as part of broader pan-national projects.

The department strengthened its offering by promoting Tobias Normann in Stockholm to partner on 1 January 2022.

Specialisms

The department advises across a broad range of issues, from general employment law advice through to transactions, disputes, and the misappropriation of trade secrets. Expertise extends to sensitive internal investigations, including those with a cross-border element, and the gig economy.

In the transactional space, the group is well-versed in acting on corporate operations both within and beyond Sweden. For example, the team acted for telecoms company Telia on the complex cross-border employment law issues associated with the sale of its carrier business to Polhem Infra, and the strategic partnership between Telia and Telia Carrier.

Also in the past year, Diefke – alongside experts from the public M&A and equity capital markets departments – advised Volvo Cars on its IPO on the Nasdaq Stockholm for $18bn. The employment team assisted with a variety of pensions- and management-related issues associated with the IPO.

The group’s abilities were further demonstrated in its advice on the set up of P27 – a pan-Nordics payment platform for Nordic currencies and the euro. The platform is a joint venture between Danske Bank, Handelsbanken, Nordea, OP Financial Group, SEB and Swedbank. The team’s support included drafting policies and contracts for executives, and advice on trade union considerations.

Another major area of activity for the group is in headline disputes, including those relating to theft of trade secrets and intellectual property by former employees, discrimination claims, contract breaches, and those with a criminal element. The team is also well placed to act on disputes with trade unions.

This prowess was evidenced in the representation of software company Columbus Global Danmark in a potentially record-breaking high-value damages claim. Normann led the matter, which related to unlawful competition, and theft of trade secrets and copyright protected material, by ex-employees and former shareholders.

Normann also acted for Lear Corporation on a dispute with a former employee and a competitor. The automotive seating and electrical system manufacturer claimed that the ex-employee copied trade secrets and intellectual property prior to exiting the company to start with the competitor. The advice included assistance with an intrusion investigation into the ex-employee.

Clients