In 2025, the environment in which our clients operate grew more complex on economic, regulatory and geopolitical fronts. This was no longer a temporary condition to navigate through. It became the landscape itself.
That complexity showed up directly in our clients’ decisions and in the range of work we did alongside them. While transaction and dispute activity extended well beyond any single sector, the green transition remained a particular driver in the Finnish market, especially in energy and infrastructure, where activity on both the transactional and disputes sides remained strong. As to the sustainability regulatory landscape, it shifted materially. The EU Omnibus package introduced significant modifications to CSRD and CSDDD, and what had been compliance architecture was reopened for negotiation.
For our clients, 2025 continued to present a specific kind of pressure: not the uncertainty of the unknown, but the harder challenge of having to act in an unstable business environment. In an environment where financing conditions remain guarded, shaped by geopolitical instability and shifting political priorities, understanding clients’ business risk has become as fundamental to our work as the legal analysis itself.
This is the environment our Powerhouse model is built for. The value of a trusted adviser in this environment lies not in manufacturing certainty where none exists, but in helping clients move deliberately toward their goals and remain well-positioned as the picture continues to evolve. That work is increasingly collaborative, with our clients and with other advisers alike. For the fourth consecutive year, we received the Excellence in Client Relations award in the “Law Firm of the Year Finland” survey, and our Great Place to Work results improved further. The more demanding the environment, the more our collaborative approach and people-first culture prove their worth.
I am proud of the working environment we have built at D&I: collegial, psychologically safe, and genuinely invested in everyone’s individual and professional growth. It is not a backdrop to our client work but the condition that makes exceptional advice possible. We invest in it continuously and measure it rigorously. On diversity, equality and inclusion, our position has not changed and will not change with the political weather. Equality is a fundamental right. We act on that conviction through concrete measures: in how we recruit, develop, and hold ourselves accountable, and we will continue to do so.
In 2025, AI kept reshaping how legal work is organised, and we were actively investing in that change. Beyond adopting new tools, we continue to redesign how our teams collaborate, how projects and workflows are planned and managed, and how we work alongside our clients. The real opportunity is in getting the architecture right, not just in adoption. Responsible use of AI means pursuing those gains while protecting the qualities that our clients value: critical thinking, sound judgment, and the human capacity for communication, negotiation, and argument that no tool can truly replicate. As AI handles more of the technical load, we believe the premium on those capacities grows.
Going into 2026, we continue to serve clients across every sector we work in, with the same dedication that has always defined us. Right now, we focus particularly on defence and security, health technology, and the green transition. All three are drawing significant investment, new ventures, transactional and, inevitably, disputes activity across the Nordics, and our work in each of them reflects that momentum. What remains constant is our role as the trusted legal adviser our clients have always needed, adapting how we work without compromising why we work. Thinking ahead remains our commitment and our method.
Read more: Sustainability Review 2025
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– Gabrielle Dannberg
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