We possess leading expertise in all types of capital market transactions and regulatory requirements. We assist with the following:

We are a team with a broad range of skills and different backgrounds, specialisations and areas of expertise. We work closely with specialists from other fields and industries in our firm, to ensure that our clients are designated the most optimum team for each assignment.

Capital markets

To draw up good contracts, you must have an understanding and knowledge of the actual market situation and the industry, as well as knowledge of regulations and frameworks.

There is one key feature that transforms a correct contract into a great correct: creativity in finding good solutions that work in practice.

Our lawyers have the knowledge, they quickly understand the heart of the matter and have keen business acumen.

They have a remarkable ability to combine business goals with the interests of the parties.

Good contracts are an investment that produces a good return day after day, year after year. Our experience puts us in a position to take on the most difficult assignments.

We provide advice based on our client’s interests and on the basis of good commercial understanding of your industry. For example, if we perceive that a contractual incentive could threaten the cooperation, it is our job to point it out.

We take steps to protect clients against disputes and work with our clients to attack problems before they arise by formulating contracts to help prevent conflicts.

Should there still be any disagreement, we have extensive experience in safeguarding our clients’ interests in the court system.

Commercial contracts

Regulations in competition law are dynamic and complex, and thorough knowledge of the regulations is a prerequisite for competing efficiently. The need for advice in this area has grown as the competition authorities have taken on an increasingly active role, and adopted stricter measures with regard to breach of the regulations. We assist our clients with everything from ongoing advice, processes against competition authorities and any disputes. We provide assistance with the following:

all types of contract negotiations such as collaboration agreements, purchase agreements, annual agreements, delivery and distribution agreements, joint venture agreements, franchise agreements, etc.

drafting of instruments and follow-up of agreements

compliance with competition rules (own or competitor’s)

acquisitions, mergers and establishment of joint ventures

emergency response team to assist when the competition authorities search the company’s premises

investigations (internal and external), audit

The state aid regulations regulate aid provided by the state, municipalities or other public bodies. We assist several of the key aid providers in Norway, including Enova, as well as research institutions, trade associations and national and foreign companies, in respect of the scope and consequences of the prohibition in the EEA Agreement. We help you with the following:

strategy and design to get into position to receive aid

drafting of aid schemes and aid decisions

We assist our clients in handling these types of cases before the EFTA Surveillance Authority and the European Commission. We also have experience in representing clients before national courts and the EFTA Court in cases concerning illegal public aid and repayment claims.

We are a team with a broad range of skills and experience from industry, from foreign law firms and from the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA). We invest a considerable amount of time to get acquainted with the client’s business and activities in the market. 

We have a large international network to draw on in cases involving other countries’ authorities. Moreover, we work closely with specialist communities in competition economics as well as internal specialists in order to put together the most optimum resources for each individual case.

Competition and state aid law

We assist our clients through all phases of a project in relation to the following:

In manufacturing projects, cost increases and delays may occur, which may give rise to conflicts. We are active advisors working to ensure that disagreements are resolved quickly and at the lowest possible level, outside the courtroom. Protracted and deadlocked conflicts benefit neither party.

Among other things, we attach importance to ensuring balanced agreements with carefully considered dispute resolution mechanisms. We also provide assistance during projects in assessing risk and finding constructive solutions to disputed cases. Several of our lawyers are certified mediators with extensive experience in identifying optimum, balanced solutions.

In some cases it is not possible to resolve a matter amicably, meaning that the dispute must be settled by the courts or by arbitration. We will then assist you with one goal in mind: to win the case. Our lawyers have extensive experience with litigation before all instances, in addition to national and international arbitration cases.

Choice of contract form is perhaps the most important decision in a construction project. We have extensive experience with different types of contracts, including PPP as well as IPD and partnering contracts.

We have assisted in the first three IPD contracts used in Norway, including the Tønsberg project and Nye Veier’s development of the E6 highway in Trøndelag county. This form of contract ensures a higher level of collaboration between the construction client, consultants and contractors. The goal is to deliver better quality projects in a shorter period of time.

The construction and real estate sector is in the middle of a green transition. We wish to be a driving force for this transition in the industry, which is why we have a number of strategic collaborations with Skift – Norwegian Business Climate Leaders and the Norwegian Green Building Council, for example.

Together with Skift, we have contributed to a memo on construction and real estate, in which we have introduced key measures for the industry to reach its climate goals.

In collaboration with the Norwegian Green Building Council, we have created a contract guide to ensure that requirements related to BREEAM-NOR are optimally implemented in turnkey contracts.

We have an interdisciplinary emergency response team that assists clients in connection with work accidents. Our emergency response team has extensive experience in crisis management and consultancy when a work accident has occurred. This includes assistance with plans for incident management and information flow, and dialogue with the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority and the police.

We quickly gain an understanding of a client’s interests and requirements, and provide clear and concrete advice. We ensure that assignments are handled by lawyers with the right expertise and attach great importance to being available and delivering on time.

We provide you with close follow-up for the duration of the project and our partners have a hands-on involvement in assignments. You will be designated one main contact person in order to ensure continuity in the handling of your case.

Construction law

Compensation claims can be a heavy personal burden for the affected parties. Defence against these kinds of legal proceedings can also be a costly undertaking. More and more companies are therefore taking out D&O insurance on behalf of board members and people in management.

We have extensive experience in dealing with insurance law issues both on behalf of insurance companies and those covered by the insurance. Our assistance includes the interpretation of terms and conditions of insurance policies, filing of insurance claims, handling of various types of insurance disputes and litigation of insurance-related cases before the courts.

We possess considerable expertise on the role distribution between board members and the general manager, the interface towards accountants and external advisors, distribution of liability in group companies and special obligations of companies listed on the stock exchange.

With us, you have access to skilled partners and lawyers at all levels, and we create cost-effective teams for each individual case.

Directors’ and officers’ liability

For some businesses, disputes are part of everyday life, while for others they are a rarity. What they have in common is a requirement for quick and cost-effective assistance in resolving the dispute. We work systematically from the outset to lay the foundation for a correct strategy, and tailor teams and deliveries to each individual case.

In complex cases, we use a digital evidence management platform to streamline the work and to sort, categorise and comment on evidence. We have seen that this allows us to become familiar with complex projects more quickly, enabling us to provide our clients with clear advice at an early stage.

When we have a sufficient overview of a case, we can calculate the estimated value of the claim or risk exposure, in the event that our client has received a claim. In our experience, such valuations (probability-weighted expected value) give our clients much better grounds for decision-making, compared to the use of concepts such as a “good”, “bad” or “arguable” case.

The final stage of the initial phase is to use the review of the facts and the valuations to work out a strategy that ensures that the client’s goals can be achieved.

Our team also has extensive experience in settlement negotiations and mediation, and handles an increasing number of such cases. In addition, we are an industry leader in provisional security (arrest and temporary injunction) and the securing of evidence outside of trial.

We can offer effective assistance in all phases of potential disputes. All our lawyers are trained in legal project management and can offer our clients cost-effective and targeted assistance.

We are an industry leader in dispute resolution and our dispute resolution team has extensive experience in arguing large, complex cases before ordinary as well as arbitration courts. With us, you will always be designated the most optimum team of dispute resolution specialists as well as legal and industry experts.

You are guaranteed a team with solid experience. We have an extensive network of international lawyers and experts to draw on if required.

Dispute resolution 

Part of what we do as a company is to actively participate in Skift – Business Climate Leaders, we create our own climate accounts, are members of the UN Global Compact, have been Eco-Lighthouse certified since 2013 and are climate neutral (through the EU ETS). In 2022, we will move into BREEAM-Nor Excellent certified premises in Oslo – one of the market's highest climate certifications for buildings.

EU taxonomy is a classification system for sustainable economic development and forms the very foundation of the EU's new regulations on sustainable finance. The taxonomy sets a number of requirements that are of relevance to Norwegian business and industry. These requirements are expected to be implemented in a new Norwegian act on sustainability information.

We are committed to ensuring that our customers are confident in the implementation of the new regulations and feel sure that the minimum standard of the taxonomy is met.

The construction industry is crucial to our society achieving a sustainable development. Construction is often referred to as the 40 percent industry because it consumes 40 percent of the energy, 40 percent of material resources and accounts for 40 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions.

At Arntzen de Besche, we are proud to cooperate with the Norwegian Green Building Council to achieve better implementation, follow-up and execution of the BREEAM-NOR environmental certification system in construction projects. BREEAM is the most recognized environmental certification scheme for buildings, both in Norway and internationally.

The goal is to make sure that more market operators in the construction and real estate industry achieve a high level of environmental quality in their projects.

The EU taxonomy defines, among other things, which real estate investments can be classified as green buildings. BREEAM-NOR has until now been the most widely used certification scheme for new buildings and rehabilitation projects in Norway, where enterprises have been assessed according to the degree to which they have complied with the certification. With the EU taxonomy, absolute requirements will be more common.

At Arntzen de Besche, we follow closely the EU's work on developing criteria for buildings and implementation with regard to Norwegian standards and regulations for certification, energy labelling and technical requirements. We assist our customers in ensuring that reporting requirements

Finance is expected to be a key sector in the work to meet the sustainability targets, and national, regional and international targets for 2030 and 2050. At Arntzen de Besche, this is a high priority, which is why we put much of our resources into improving our understanding of current soft law, and future regulatory requirements that will advance a low-emission society and the sustainability targets.

As the internationalisation of working life increases, a growing number of regulatory requirements also set guidelines for how the business sector should behave. Activities abroad offer a far more complex risk profile than what a Norwegian market operator relates to at home.

Staying within the regulations can be demanding, and it often requires a systematic approach. Companies are increasingly expected to actively work to ensure compliance with the regulations, particularly when it comes to corruption and money laundering. At Arntzen de Besche, we follow developments closely and advise customers so that they have routines that meet compliance requirements at all times. In addition, we assist customers when a breach of regulations is uncovered or suspected.

Good and thorough reporting of sustainability and corporate social responsibility is important. Investors and customers increasingly emphasize companies' impact on society and the environment, and good reporting is therefore essential to a company’s competitive ability. Recently, there has been an extensive development in judicialisation of reporting in this area, both when it comes to regulations initiated by the EU and rules adopted on a national level. Among other things, our lawyers already have a lot of expertise on the new rules that apply to Norwegian companies' reporting obligations on supply chains and partners (the Transparency Act) and in general about the requirements in the Accounting Act on sustainability reporting.

Many companies use the reporting rules as an active part of their marketing to customers. This new trend has caught the attention of governments, investors, the media, partners and consumers. Reporting will therefore be relevant to the Marketing Control Act and other adjacent regulations. We help customers avoiding "greenwashing" and ensure that the reporting is otherwise correct and not misleading.

We know that the public sector today buys goods, services and construction work worth more than NOK 500 billion annually, and with such purchasing power it can stimulate significant growth as the business sector’s largest market. The business sector itself has a great potential to demonstrate good purchasing sense and push the supplier market in a more sustainable direction.

Arntzen de Besche advises both suppliers and the public sector on this sustainability interaction. We assist in all phases of procurement, from planning to implementation and follow-up of contract. Sustainability, the environment and social considerations are, in our view, equally important in all phases of procurement.

Sustainable procurement is a broad term, but at its core is procurements made in accordance with the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Our lawyers advise both the business sector and the public sector on what this specifically entails for individual procurements. Life cycle perspectives, circular economy and holistic thinking are important keywords in this work.

Through strategic cooperation with the business sector, such as the Skift network and the Norwegian Green Building Council, we help set the sustainability agenda in essential industries. Among other things, Arntzen de Besche leads Skift – Business Climate Leaders' work on a pilot for sustainable procurements. The first step of the pilot was to create purchasing rules for sustainable procurements – www.gronneinnkjop.no. We support these principles because we believe that sustainable procurement is an effective and suitable tool for supporting a more sustainable business sector.

The energy sector and a transition to renewable energy are at the heart of the "green shift". As much as 98% of the electricity generated in Norway is renewable, and the share of total energy consumption that is renewable is high compared to other countries. Society will nevertheless be even more electrified in the future, and the need for more renewable electricity generation and associated infrastructure is crucial. New energy carriers, especially hydrogen and ammonia, are expected to play a central role in the future, and the interaction and convergence with the electric power system will be important.

Arntzen de Besche has leading expertise in all parts of the renewables sector and assists in every step of the process; production, transmission/grid operation and sale. We assist in transactions and disputes and advise on regulatory and contractual issues. Our leading expertise in market design and infrastructure also makes us highly qualified to advise on more general strategic issues now that the green shift is in full swing.

Growing political concern, both nationally and internationally, means that more and more businesses are affected by new regulations and new issues relating to climate and the environment. Several of these legislative initiatives originate with the EU, which means that more Norwegian businesses will need sector-specific expertise and expertise on EU/EEA legislation.

Emission reductions are crucial to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and "climate law" has emerged as a separate legal discipline. The EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) is a linchpin in this process, and works in conjunction with carbon taxes and other legislation aimed at reducing emissions.

Arntzen de Besche assists market operators within and without the ETS sector with compliance with all climate law requirements. We have in-depth expertise relating to the EMS and its regulations and also assist financial operators in the trading market.

The more "traditional" environmental and pollution legislation is also central in a sustainability perspective. Arntzen de Besche has in-depth expertise and experience relating to, among other things, pollution liability and issues relating to waste management/recycling. Environmental considerations are increasingly regulated in business contracts, which is why we have assisted many clients with both the design, interpretation and enforcement of environmental clauses. Contact with the authorities is also often central to such cases, and we assist with applications/permits, compliance and reporting. We have also worked on such environmental issues as the closure of refineries and oil facilities, emissions and pollution, and requirements for clearing during various installations.

Contact one of our employees for a conversation about sustainability.

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ESG and human rights

As a legal field, employment law is constantly changing and largely influenced by political shifts. Rules on pensions, temporary employment and hired/hired-out workers are just a few examples. Our lawyers pay close attention to developments and understand how political fluctuations change the rules over time. We assist our clients at all stages of an employment relationship and provide advice related to the following:

restructuring, insourcing and outsourcing

harassment, whistleblowing and discrimination

Experience from all parts of working life

Different industries have different regulations between employees and employers. Being among Norway’s largest departments in this field, we have extensive and broad experience from all parts of working life, e.g. employer and employee organisations, the courts, the Dispute Resolution Board and the Labour Court of Norway.

Getting to know a client’s business operations is important to us and our combined experience allows us to view a case from every conceivable perspective. Like in chess, we have the knowledge and experience to see the next moves and are able to be ahead of the game. This is what makes us great strategic advisors to our clients.

Pension questions are often complex, both because there are many parties involved and because the products themselves are complex. In addition, this field straddles the areas of finance and law, which places high demands on us as legal advisors.

We are a leading provider of pension law-related assistance, advising suppliers, employers, employees, trade unions and employee organisations on issues related to occupational pensions, operational pensions, AFP (contractual early retirement pension scheme) and the Norwegian national social insurance scheme. We assist in the preparation of both individual and collective pension agreements.

Together, we help our clients create beneficial, long-term agreements that provide the enterprise with room to manoeuvre, predictability and security. In this way, we secure both the people working for the organisation and the organisation itself. We provide ongoing advice in relation to transactions and dispute resolution.

Working life is primarily about people. Our main task is to solve problems with the least amount of friction, for the benefit of both the workplace and the people there, in respect of future collaboration.

We are a well-composed team with complementing experience and specialisations. In addition, we work closely with specialists from overlapping fields and industries both internally and externally, to ensure that our clients are allocated the most optimum team for each assignment.

You will be assigned one main contact person. We designate the lawyer best suited to helping you, so that you always have the right expert on the right assignment at the right time.

Employment and pensions

Our team provides assistance to Norwegian and international clients and all enterprises under the supervision of the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority, such as banks, insurance undertakings, securities firms, alternative investment fund managers and fund management companies. Among other things, we assist with the following:

We have experience with all key regulatory frameworks for the financial sector. We have an outstanding team within EU/EEA law that is called upon in complex cases where understanding EU law is crucial to providing advice on financial regulation.

We also work in several related areas and collaborate closely with other departments internally in relation to, for example, M&A, capital market transactions, financing, pensions, real estate and insurance.

Our legal assistance is based on solid legal knowledge, industry experience, commercial understanding and innovation. Several of our lawyers have experience from financial and securities firms as well as regulatory authorities and are authors of key academic literature. In addition, we regularly participate as speakers at events hosted by universities, university colleges and trade associations.

You will be assigned one main contact person. We designate the lawyer who is best suited to helping you. In summary: With us, you will always get the right expert on the right assignment at the right time.

Financial regulation

We work closely with our clients throughout the entire process, from structuring to preparation and negotiation of loan documentation. We also participate in the negotiations of the terms of a loan agreement and associated documentation, such as intercreditor agreements, where applicable. We assist with the following:

loan agreements, syndicated and bilateral

Our lawyers have extensive knowledge of banking and financing and several of them possess in-house experience from banks and know the financing processes from multiple angles. We have a broad international network of contacts and long experience in coordinating cross-border financing. In cases where financing includes issues related to other legal areas, such as tax law, petroleum law, securities law, or other legal areas, we consult with specialists from other departments in our firm.

With us, you get a high level of partner attention. We are committed to providing clear advice on best practices, and to distinguishing between what is important and what is less important to our clients.

We designate the team best suited to helping you, so that you always have the right expert on the right assignment at the right time.

Financing

Our lawyers are part of an established network of leading advisory and research communities, and patent advisors. Through this network, we can coordinate assignments across national borders.

In many cases, intellectual property rights must be utilised, licensed or transferred to create value. We assist our clients in connection with start-up companies, conclusion and follow-up of technology cooperation agreements, development contracts and licensing agreements.

We assist companies with various issues related to market law, including in the assessment of marketing measures, preparation of contracts and contact with supervisory authorities. We also assist a number of players in industries such as food and pharmaceuticals, where there is particularly strict marketing regulation.

In order to preserve and protect the value of intellectual property rights, it is sometimes necessary to enforce these before the courts. We regularly assist in cases concerning infringement of rights, but also in invalidity lawsuits that ensure our clients’ freedom to operate.


We have a solid interdisciplinary environment, with strong expertise in related disciplines such as competition law, media law and privacy. We have extensive cooperation with both Norwegian and international research communities, and a broad international legal network that can be drawn upon for any questions about establishment and marketing outside of Norway.

You will always be assigned one primary contact person, who will ensure that you are designated the most optimum team for your case.



Intellectual property law and marketing law

Compliance procedures and follow-up are required by law in a number of fields, and the requirements are becoming increasingly strict. In our experience, it pays off to have a proactive attitude towards compliance. Among other things, we assist with the following:

solid corporate governance principles and an ethical framework

anti-corruption policy and associated procedures, and training programmes

management of official visits and inspections/investigations (e.g. Dawn raids) by tax authorities, competition authorities, labour authorities, sectoral government authorities, etc.

internal audits in connection with investigations, suspicion or accusations of legal violations or as preventive measures

follow-up of suspected rule violations or proven rule violations

compliance review in relation to transactions and due diligence

ad hoc advice in red flag situations related to corruption regulations 

advice on non-financial reporting and corporate social responsibility

advice to boards and management related to the handling of crisis situations

We offer advice in relation to companies covered by the Anti-Money Laundering Act. We advise, inter alia, on the preparation and implementation of customised anti-money laundering procedures, implementation of enterprise-specific risk assessments, conducting random checks of practical compliance with procedures and regulations, general training in anti-money laundering regulations, structuring of reporting functions and integration of anti-money laundering functions with digital solutions and with other compliance functions in enterprises.

Many companies must strengthen their knowledge of key ESG factors in order to analyse risk areas and the handling of these going forward in line with increasingly stringent legislation. Failure to comply with requirements and expectations in the ESG area may represent a greater degree of risk in the future than it has in the past.

We closely follow regulatory developments and advise companies and boards on current ESG requirements and expectations. We identify a clear trend in which recommendations – general or sector-specific – gradually become established principles and later turn into legal requirements subject to sanctions. In addition, we provide advice in relation to reporting requirements and preparation of reports in respect of non-financial reporting under the Norwegian Accounting Act, stock exchange regulations, the Norwegian Transparency Act and specific sector-based recommendations in connection with sustainability.

We are an experienced team with a broad range of skills in all key disciplines related to compliance and sustainability, such as company law and corporate governance, employment law, privacy, competition law, financial regulatory legislation, anti-money laundering, criminal law and anti-corruption. We also provide industry-related advice in connection with construction, commercial real estate and energy, among other areas. We have extensive experience in managing government processes.

We have wide-ranging knowledge in respect of international regulations, and a comprehensive and close network of foreign lawyers to draw on as needed. For investigations and document reviews, we work with the leading eDiscovery and forensics suppliers.

You will be assigned one primary contact person. We designate the most optimum and cost-effective team for each assignment.

Investigations, inquiries and compliance

Our lawyers will assist you with planning, consulting, due diligence, negotiations and implementation of all types of processes. We provide advice in the following areas:

purchase and sale of companies and businesses

We assist large and small businesses in all industries, including securities firms, investors, and private equity and venture funds. Our client base is local, national and international. We help Norwegian companies setting up business abroad as well as international companies seeking to enter the Norwegian market.

Transactions are often strategic and complex, resulting in major changes. This requires us as lawyers bringing more than our legal expertise to the table. We must have in-depth knowledge of the industry and the market in which the client operates. Our experience and insight into the Norwegian and international markets, across various industries, enable us to provide strategic and structural advice, while also managing the complexity of the individual transactions.

We are a team with a broad range of skills and different backgrounds, specialisations and areas of expertise. We also work closely with specialists from other fields and industries in our firm, to ensure that our clients are designated the most optimum team for each assignment. We are curious, involved and keen to read the terrain and be at the forefront.

You will be assigned one main contact person. We designate the lawyer who is best suited to helping you. In summary: With us, you will always have the right expert on the right assignment at the right time.

Merger and acquisitions

We ensure that innovation and digitalisation are in line with basic privacy principles. We help clients make privacy law assessments and prepare necessary documentation pursuant to data protection regulations. We assist in cases involving data subjects, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority and third parties, and will, for example, be able to provide advice on role understanding, as a joint or independent data controller or data processor.

Assessment of the basis for processing in terms of various processing activities.

Privacy impact assessments in connection with processing that involves a high risk to data subjects.

Transfer of personal data to countries outside the EU/EEA.

Deletion routines for different kinds of personal data.

Requests from data subjects concerning fulfilment of rights such as access and deletion.

Statements to the Norwegian Data Protection Authority related to non-conformance in or complaints about a company’s processing of personal data.

Our privacy experts are part of the technology and innovation group at Arntzen de Besche and therefore have special expertise in technology – both practically and legally. Consequently, we attract a number of clients belonging to research and academic communities in technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. However, privacy concerns all businesses on some level, and we therefore have experience in assisting clients in many different industries, also including the public sector.

We have a solid and valuable network comprising players in various research and academic communities, who to a greater or lesser extent have to deal with data protection regulations. We are therefore up to date on both legal and technological developments in various industries.

You will be assigned one primary contact person. We put you in touch with the lawyer who can help you in the most optimum way, both in terms of knowledge and cost. In summary: With us, you will always have the right expert on the right assignment at the right time.

Privacy and data protection

regulatory issues related to decisions by supervisory authorities

internal training through courses and lectures

When assessing if a professional practitioner can be held liable, it must be considered whether the person has acted negligently. Towards this end, the conduct must be compared with how a responsible and sensible professional practitioner in the same industry would have behaved. We have good knowledge across sectors, which is crucial for providing the best advice.

We have worked extensively with professional liability for more than 20 years. During this time, we have assisted in one of the largest laywer’s and auditor’s liability cases in Norway. We are represented on the lawyer’s panel in the Norwegian Institute of Public Accountants, Tryg and Lloyds. This means that we can draw on a considerable volume when it comes to ordinary liability cases. Additionally, we are often called upon in the most complex and comprehensive cases.

Moreover, many request our help with a second opinion or due diligence in connection with liability cases.

We use technology to calculate the value of claims

The value of a claim will always be associated with a certain amount of quantitative uncertainty. We work with the Swedish software provider Eperoto regarding a tool that calculates what a claim is worth. In addition, the tool must assist us in giving good and precise advice on risk and the value of a claim when this is quantitatively uncertain.

In this regard, our collaboration with Eperoto has enabled us to provide our clients with very good grounds for decision-making in this area. 

Our team operates at a high professional level and pays close attention to developments in various industries. We regularly attend industry forums and conduct seminars via JuristenesUtdanningssenter, JUC and Advokatenes HR. In addition, we give regular lectures at the Norwegian Institute of Public Accountants’ annual conference, and for the construction association in Oslo and Bergen.

We have a well-composed team with extensive experience from a wide range of industries. In addition, we have a significant network to draw on if we require expert assistance. We are involved in the development of the law by being part of various law committees and writing law commentaries.

Professional liability

Our lawyers possess considerable public sector experience, both on a political as well as administrative level. Consequently, we have excellent insight into public administration, decision-making processes and what influences them. We provide advice in the following sectors:


In its exercise of public authority, public administration must have a legal competence basis in order to make binding decisions. There are two sides to public administration law; the general regulations and areas that are subject to special provisions. At Arntzen de Besche, we have specialists in general public administration law who collaborate closely with specialists in relevant sectors such as banking and financing, business real estate, fishing and aquaculture, energy and other areas subject to special provisions.

For the business community, it is important to identify practical solutions enabling players to obtain the required licences. We go the extra mile to provide advice aimed at preserving a positive collaboration between all parties involved, and avoiding disputes. With our considerable public sector experience, we are familiar with both the language and the arguments required to ensure quality in the decision-making basis, which is a prerequisite for swift and correct decisions being made at the lowest possible level, without any disputes. In our opinion, this is crucial to our clients’ ability to maximise their market potential.


You will be assigned one main contact person. We will designate the most optimum team of specialists to solve your specific case, with the least possible disruption to your core business.

Public administration

Our task is to identify and manage risk on the client and supplier side in tender competitions and framework agreements. We assist clients in all industries and sectors, and in all phases associated with procurement. From the planning phase to the implementation phase and contract phase. We offer advice in relation to the following:

risk assessment prior to tender competitions/bids

drafting of invitations to tender / tender bids

We work closely with specialists from other fields and industries in our firm, such as EU and EEA law, capital markets, dispute resolution and litigation, and construction law, to ensure that our clients are designated the most optimum team for each assignment.

Public procurement law

Our lawyers have broad experience across sectors and work closely with other internal specialists to provide clients with the most optimum team. We assist with the following:

restructuring / debt negotiation and bankruptcy

We have considerable experience in handling large processes; we know the complexity and what to address in the different situations our clients find themselves in. Simultaneously, we have experience from all relevant industries, expertise in insolvency and special expertise in the individual areas.

A successful restructuring process depends on a positive collaborative climate. For decades, we have been establishing good relationships with banks, owners, suppliers and contract suppliers. We know the mindset of the various parties, enabling us to as quickly as possible lay out a strategy and plan that will appeal to everyone involved.

We are a team with a broad range of skills and ongoing projects in a number of different sectors. We draw on other specialists in our firm, in areas such as construction, M&A, employment law, tax, energy, and intellectual property law, to ensure that our clients have the best team for their situation.

Restructuring and insolvency law

We assist a wide range of clients; from non-profit organisations, small and medium-sized Norwegian and foreign companies to large international corporations. If needed, we assist in all parts of the client’s business with anything from day-to-day operations, planning and transactions to dispute resolution. We provide advice in all aspects of tax law and related legal areas, for instance pertaining to the following:

administrative complaints and litigation


We have extensive and diverse experience from public and private enterprises in Norway and abroad, and over the years have acquired great industry knowledge within our key business areas. Several of our lawyers have a background from the Norwegian Ministry of Finance’s Tax Law Department.

We assist Norwegian and international clients with issues related to VAT both in the client’s day-to-day operations and in larger projects and transactions, and provide advice in all aspects of VAT law. We possess expertise in VOEC and regularly advise in cases concerning import, export and cross-border transactions.

We regularly assist Norwegian and international clients in matters relating to excise duties, including electrical power taxes, carbon taxes, fuel taxes, environmental taxes and stamp duty.

With us, you get a seamless delivery when several countries are involved. We have an extensive network of international law firms and work in collaboration with these in cross-border cases. We also work closely with recognised valuation communities, particularly in matters relating to transfer pricing or property tax.

We go to great lengths to be as available as possible and have a short response time. In each case, we offer a high degree of partner involvement to ensure quality in every single delivery. Our tax lawyers have expertise in related legal areas such as corporate law, and we work closely with our departments for energy, real estate, M&A, intellectual property law, dispute resolution and employment law, enabling us to rapidly expand our core team with additional resources, if required.


Expertise