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According to clients, Petri is a “really talented dispute resolution lawyer.”

(Chambers Europe, 2019)

“Petri is systematic and very thorough.”

(Chambers Europe, 2020)

“Lauded for having a great strategic mind” and “thinking ahead in a case.”

(Chambers Europe, 2018).

“Has a wealth of experience.”

(The Legal 500, 2014)

"A leading member of the Finnish dispute resolution community.”

(Chambers Global, 2014).

“Unique business understanding.”

(Chambers Global, 2015)

“Petri is one of the top three litigators in Finland.”

(Chambers Europe, 2012)

“Petri is focused and into the detail, he doesn’t miss anything and presents everything in an understandable way.”

(Chambers Europe, 2016).

As a dispute resolution specialist, I have in-depth experience of arbitration, litigation and alternative dispute resolution spanning over three decades.

In 2020, having been a partner at Roschier Attorneys Ltd for twenty years, I set up my own practice dedicated to serving as independent arbitrator and mediator in international and domestic disputes. In addition, I provide expert opinions for arbitration or court proceedings in Finland and for the purposes of legal risk management.

During my career I have been involved in more than 200 major disputes as counsel or arbitrator. The matters in question have included several landmark and high-value cases relating to energy, construction, shareholders' agreements, product liability, securities law and personal liability of directors, as well as a wide variety of contractual matters involving among others M&A, private equity, distribution, IT and telecom.

I have participated in the development of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in Finland and internationally and served on the Board of Finland Arbitration Institute and on the Mediation Board of the Finnish Bar Association. Currently I am the member nominated by Finland in the ICC International Court of Arbitration. My working languages are Finnish, English, Swedish, French and German.

Services

Arbitration

I serve as an independent arbitrator in international and domestic disputes, both as a sole or presiding arbitrator and as a party-nominated arbitrator. My arbitration experience as counsel and arbitrator covers arbitration proceedings under a number of different laws and rules, including the ICC, the Finland Arbitration Institute (FAI), the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, the Swiss Rules and the UNCITRAL Rules and includes expedited proceedings and statutory arbitrations (squeeze-outs of minority shares in listed companies).

Before being nominated as member in the ICC International Court of Arbitration in 2018, I served on the Board of the FAI for five years in 2013-2018. I have been actively involved in the work of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR since the 2004 and he headed the Finnish delegation with the ICC Commission between 2012 and 2018. Over the years I have held several other positions of trust and participated in working groups in the area of international arbitration. I have written numerous articles and book chapters on arbitration and alternative dispute resolution, and my comparative study on the current Finnish Arbitration Act was published in Paris in 1997. I have been a frequent speaker in conferences and seminars and have been on the faculty of the Finnish Arbitration Academy as of its inception in 2015.

Mediation

Mediation is an efficient way of resolving disputes in a less adversarial setting quickly and confidentially. Mediation is in essence a structured negotiation process in which an independent third party, the mediator, assists the parties to reach an amicable settlement to their dispute. Mediation may be conducted as an ad hoc arrangement or under specific rules, such as the ICC Mediation Rules, the FAI Mediation Rules or the Mediation Rules of the Finnish Bar Association.

I have had a central role in the introduction and promotion of facilitative mediation as an alternative for the settlement of commercial disputes in Finland. I was one of the members of a small working group set up by the Finnish Bar Association that prepared the Mediation Rules of the Finnish Bar Association in 1998. I have had key responsibilities in the training of mediators at basic and advanced level ever since. I was a long-time member and Chair of the Mediation Board of the Finnish Bar Association. I was  originally trained in mediation by the Harvard Team and have polished my skills as a mediator in numerous subsequent trainings, including training for mediator trainers by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR). I serve as mediator in international and domestic disputes. My mediation experience covers both serving as the mediator in contractual and IP disputes and acting as counsel in mediations, including ICC ADR proceedings.

Expert Opinions

In complex international arbitrations and in cross-border court proceedings there is sometimes a need for legal expertise on issues of substantive and procedural law. Independent legal expertise may also be useful for the purposes of legal risk management and early case evaluation in the case of a pending or threatening dispute.

My relevant experience in this area covers a wide variety legal risk assessments and assisting clients faced with a threat of civil, criminal or administrative proceedings in Finland and abroad in matters pertaining to many different areas, such as securities and company law, disagreements with long-time partners, compliance issues and professional malpractice. Over the years I have also provided expert testimony for court proceedings in several different jurisdictions.

Curriculum vitae

Career

  • Taivalkoski Attorneys Ltd, Partner (2020-)

  • Roschier Attorneys Ltd (1991-2020), Partner (2000-2020), head of the Dispute Resolution practice in Finland (2012-2019), Member of the Board (2011-2018)

Education

  • Université Panthéon-Assas Paris II, DEA (1996)

  • University of Helsinki, LL.M. (1990)

Professional Appointments

  • Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration (2018-)

  • ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR, head of the Finnish Delegation (2012-2018)

  • Arbitration Institute of the Finland Chamber of Commerce, Member of the Board (2013-2018)

  • Mediation Board of the Finnish Bar Association, Chairman (2007-2013)

  • Club Español del Arbitraje, Nordic-Baltic Section, Member of the Board (2017-)

  • Ethics Committee of the Finnish Bar Association, Member (2010-2013)

  • CCBE Working Group on the Uniform Code of Conduct, Finnish representative (2008-)

  • Guild of Law and Ethics of Advocates, Secretary (2001-2017), Board member (2017-)

  • Member of the IBA Working Group on the UNIDROIT Principles (2016)

Publications

  • “Facilitation of Settlements by Arbitrators, Review of Methods and Techniques”

    with O. Toivonen, in the Austrian Yearbook on International Arbitration 2020

  • “Ensuring Enforceability of the Award against Challenges Based on Alleged Violation of Due Process”

    Spain Arbitration Review (Revista del Club Español del Arbitraje) 35/2019

  • “Den partsutsedda skiljemannens ställning: Myten om den partsutsedda skiljemannen"

    (“Position of the party-nominated arbitrator: Myths about the party-nominated arbitrator”), in Det 41 Nordiska Juristmötet Helsingfors 24–25.8.2017, 2018

  • “Asianajajaoikeuden merkityksestä liikejuridisissa asioissa”

     (Impact of the Code of Conduct in the Area of Business Law), Defensor Legis 2/2017

  • “Asianajajaosakeyhtiön osakkaan lakiin perustuva henkilökohtainen vastuu – Oikeusvertaileva katsaus”

    (“Statutory personal liability of an advocate-shareholder – A comparative overview”) with M. Vammeljoki, Defensor Legis 5/2016

  • “The Courts and Bar Association as Drivers for Mediation in Finland”

    with A. Pynnä, in C. Esplugues & L. Marquis (eds), New Developments in Civil and Commercial Mediation – Global Comparative Perspectives, Springer, 2015

  • “Professional secrecy of Lawyers in Finland” 

    with J. Vuori, in the Bar of Brussels (ed), Professional secrecy of Lawyers in Europe, Cambridge University Press, 2013

  • Finnish chapter in “EU Mediation Law and Practice”

    G. De Palo and M. B. Trevor (eds), Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2012

  • “Uudistetut UNCITRALin välimiesmenettelysäännöt”

     (“Revised UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules”) with P. Airas, Defensor Legis 4/2011

  • “Asset Tracing & Recovery in Finland”

    with P. Puusaari, in B. H. Klose (ed), Asset Tracing & Recovery, The FraudNet World Compendium, Erich Schmidt Verlag GmbH & Co., Berlin, 2009

  • “Enforcement of Arbitral Awards, in Law and Practice of Arbitration in Finland”

    edited by Mika Savola, Hakapaino Oy, 2004

  • “La jurisprudence finlandaise retient une conception large de l’arbitrabilité en droit des sociétés, note sous Cour supreme finlandaise”

    (“Commentary of the Finnish Supreme Court decision 14 May 2003 regarding arbitrability”), in Revue de l’arbitrage, 2003 II

  • “Riidanratkaisulausekkeista kansainvälisissä sopimuksissa”

    (“Dispute resolution clauses in international agreements”), Defensor Legis 4/2001

  • “Finland Attachment of assets”

    with T. Salisma, in L. W. Newman (ed), Attachment of assets, Juris publishing, New York, 2001

  • “Inlösen av minoritetsaktier i ett börsbolag enligt den finska aktiebolagslagen”

    (”Redemption of minority shares in a listed company according to the Finnish Companies Act”), Nordisk tidskrift for selskabsret, 2000:3/4

  • “Asianajajan eettiset säännöt ja sovintomenettely”

    (“Code of ethics of the legal profession and mediation”), with C. Wallgren, Defensor Legis 4/2000

  • “Osakeyhtiölain mukaisesta vähemmistöosakkeiden lunastuksesta pörssiyhtiössä”

    (“Redemption of minority shares in a listed company according to the Companies Act”), Defensor Legis 6/1998

  • “Sovellettavasta laista kansainvälisessä välimiesmenettelyssä”

     (“The applicable law in international arbitration”), Defensor Legis 2/1998

  • “Le nouveau droit finlandais de l’arbitrage international”

    (“International arbitration according to the new Finnish Arbitration Act”), in “Recherche sur l’arbitrage en droit international et comparé”, L.G.D.J., Paris, 1997

Contact

Petri Taivalkoski

Attorney-at-law, Helsinki

Arbitration, mediation, independent expertise

+358 10 200 9120

+358 40 769 8237

petri@taivalkoski.com