Former partner of the leading Nordic law firm Hannes Snellman, Mr Magnus Pousette, and a former senior tax advisor at KPMG Baltics, Ms Aidi Kallavus, joined TGS Baltic

05.10.2011 Former partner of the leading Nordic law firm Hannes Snellman, Mr Magnus Pousette, and a former senior tax advisor at KPMG Baltics, Ms Aidi Kallavus, joined TGS Baltic

From October, a former partner of the leading Nordic law firm Hannes Snellman, Mr Magnus Pousette, and a former senior tax advisor at KPMG Baltics, Ms Aidi Kallavus, will join TGS Baltic.

Mr Pousette worked at the Helsinki office of the law firm Hannes Snellman for 27 years, 22 of these years as an equity partner. During the years Magnus served with Hannes Snellman it grew from a domestic Finnish law firm with 7 fee earners to a Nordic law firm with a strong presence in Russia with around 170 fee earners. Today, the firm has 5 offices in 4 countries and is mainly focused on transactions and conflict management. Magnus retired from active legal practice in Finland in 2009 and now lives permanently in Tallinn.

“A year ago we merged to form a single pan-Baltic law firm; today, considering the changed economic situation and needs of clients, we need to contribute even more to the improvement of the quality of service. Hannes Snellman has been the flagship of the Nordic legal market for decades, and we are very happy that their long-time partner, Mr Magnus Pousette, was willing to join us. It is the first time such an experienced lawyer from the Nordic countries joins a law firm in the Baltics,” the firm’s managing partner Mr Aare Tark noted.

Mr Pousette sees this new challenge as a fascinating opportunity to put his experience to use in developing one of the largest law firms in the Baltic countries. He is convinced that his knowledge will help to make the services of TGS Baltic even more client focused. Hannes Snellman has been known for providing efficient and flexible but also innovative and transparent service to its clients, and it has developed high standard in house training practises and service routines. “I hope I will be able to share much of the valuable experience gained during the years in Hannes Snellman with my new colleagues in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania,” Mr Pousette said.

October will also see a considerable strengthening of firm’s tax law practice group by the addition of a recognized tax expert, Ms Aidi Kallavus. Before joining TGS Baltic, Ms Kallavus worked for KPMG Baltics AS as a tax advisor for 7 years and for the Estonian Taxpayers Association as a lawyer for around 4 years. She has assisted a large number of companies in finding tax efficient solutions, has participated as a speaker in hundreds of tax related training seminars and has published articles on both Estonian and international taxation. Ms Kallavus is also the co-author of a number of tax publications.

According to the head of TGS Baltic’s tax law team, Mr Rolan Jankelevitsh, the expansion of the firm’s tax practice was inevitable due to the rapid growth of the volume of work in this area. “We are especially glad that Aidi is a recognised expert with experience in the tax law of all the three Baltic States. This is exactly the kind of experience our clients need more and more,” Mr Jankelevitsh added.