Castrén & Snellman Partner and Doctor of Laws Tuomas Lehtinen has been invited to serve as professor of practice in advocacy in the University of Helsinki starting on 1 January 2018. This professorship is unique, as it is the first of its kind in the world. It is a part-time position and the appointment is for five years. Tuomas will continue with his full workload as a partner at Castrén & Snellman throughout this time.

Teaching and research

His duties as a professor will include teaching and research in the field of advocacy law in Finnish law. The professorship will also support the teaching of procedural law in Finnish universities. Arbitration and mediation proceedings have become an ever more important form of dispute resolution alongside traditional court proceedings, and attorneys play a key role in all of these types of processes. ‘I am very grateful to have been invited to serve as a professor in this internationally respected, top-tier university. The university is a familiar working environment for me, and I feel privileged and excited to be party to the development of an entirely new and valuable discipline in the University of Helsinki’, he says. 

Practising

Mr Lehtinen practices in international construction and projects, dispute resolution and banking. He is a doctor of laws and a docent in contract law and international trade law at the University of Turku and is highly experienced in representing clients in dispute proceedings in both civil courts and arbitration institutes.

Honour

Castrén & Snellman’s Managing Partner Sakari Lukinmaa says of the appointment: ‘This professorship is a great honour for Tuomas, but also for our firm. Our clients know Tuomas as a very experienced, high-calibre expert who puts his whole heart into the demanding work of an attorney. This makes Tuomas an excellent choice for professor of practice in advocacy. We wish him great success in this new role and believe that it will also provide us with a great opportunity to develop the day-to-day work of attorneys in our firm.’