Ilkka Leppihalme
Partner
Head of Competition & Public Procurement
Ilkka Leppihalme remains one of the leading individuals in the Finnish competition law market for assistance with high-value merger control filings and investigations into allegations of anti-competitive behaviour.
– Chambers Europe 2025, Competition/European Law
He is very skilled in the area and very good at explaining matters to non-legal people.
– Chambers Europe 2025, Competition/European Law
Ilkka Leppihalme is very bright, responsive and, at the same time, amicable.
– The Legal 500 2025, EU and Competition
Ilkka Leppihalme is a very professional, modern and international practitioner. He is an excellent lawyer.
– The Legal 500 2025, EU and competition
Ilkka Leppihalme is meticulous, pleasant and clear. He is easy to deal with, provides quick and well-founded views and conducts clear analysis swiftly. He is experienced, positive and energetic.
– Chambers Europe 2025, Competition/European Law
Ilkka Leppihalme is an outstanding lawyer.
– The Legal 500 2025, EU and competition
Ilkka Leppihalme is a very strong lawyer who quickly creates a trusting relationship with the customer and always gives a sense of unhurriedness.
– Chambers Europe 2025, Competition/European Law
Ilkka Leppihalme stands out for his approachability, his wealth of knowledge and experience and his ability to put that knowledge and experience to use to quickly and accurately advise on complex matters.
– The Legal 500 EMEA 2024, EU and competition
An outstanding practitioner and is our go-to contact whenever it comes to competition law in Finland.
– The Legal 500 2024, EU and competition
He consistently delivered a very strong performance across the board. His client service was exceptional, always going the extra mile to meet our needs.
– Chambers Europe 2024, Competition/European Law
Ilkka Leppihalme is experienced, reliable, extremely clear and precise, and also fast. He has good situational awareness and an excellent service attitude.
– The Legal 500 2024, EU and competition
Ilkka Leppihalme and Toni Kalliokoski have shown an extreme professionality within competition law. One of their most important features is the capability of guiding their customers and making the customer feel very good and secure even in difficult situations.
– The Legal 500 EMEA 2024, EU and competition
Ilkka Leppihalme is recognised as one of the best within competence and experience.
– The Legal 500 2023, EU and competition
He finds the best solution for the customer.
– Chambers Europe 2023, Competition/European Law
llkka Leppihalme is our go-to partner in the Finnish competition law market. He has excellent communication skills which he combines with top knowledge in the competition field.
– The Legal 500 2023, EU and competition
He is a very good lawyer who understands perfectly the needs of the client on a deal-by-deal basis
– Chambers Europe 2023, Competition/European Law
Ilkka is calm and very knowledgeable and he provides clear advice.
– Chambers Europe 2021, Competition/European Law
He understands and respects customer needs, has good people skills and follows up to make sure that issues have been solved.
– Chambers Europe 2021, Competition/European Law
Ilkka is responsive, practical and solutions-oriented – he doesn’t just quote the law to you but takes the time to think through the issues and give carefully considered advice. His English is excellent, which is reflected in the quality of his advice. He is also mindful of and responsive to the demands of an international client.
– Chambers Europe 2020, Competition/European Law
Service areas
Ilkka Leppihalme has more than a quarter of a century of experience in competition law – including also in Brussels. He has been involved in various landmark competition cases, including the largest cartel cases in Finland and many ‘first-ever’ situations. He possesses significant experience in both national and multijurisdictional merger control procedures across a wide range of industries as well as in foreign direct investment (FDI) control.
Leppihalme has represented clients in numerous significant competition law related damages cases. He defended two companies in the precedent-setting asphalt cartel damages cases until the end of the hearing in the Helsinki Court of Appeal – all of the claims against both companies were dismissed.
Leppihalme has been a Non-Governmental Advisor to the International Competition Network – a network of more than 130 competition authorities – since 2010. He was one of the few members of the Competition Law Expert Group of the Finnish Bar Association in 2010-2024. He is a regular chairman and speaker at competition law conferences and seminars, including being chairman of Finland’s biggest annual commercial competition law conference annually since 2009.
Leppihalme is listed as a leading competition law expert in all major international ranking publications, including e.g. being again ranked in ‘Band 1’ by Chambers Europe in 2025, being again ranked in ‘Hall of Fame’ by The Legal 500 EMEA in 2025, being the only Finnish competition lawyer ranked as ‘Global Elite Thought Leader’ in Lexology Index – Competition 2025, and being the only Finnish competition lawyer Lexology Index awarded the ‘Client Choice’ award in the Lexology Index Client Choice 2025 report.
Dittmar & Indrenius Attorneys Ltd. (2016–present)
Peltonen LMR Attorneys Ltd., Partner, Head of Competition (2011–2015)
LMR Attorneys Ltd., Senior Associate; Partner, Co-Head of Competition (2004–2011)
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Brussels), Associate, (2001–2004)
District Court of Vantaa, Trainee Judge (1999–2000)
Timo Esko & Sami Uoti Attorneys Ltd., Associate (1998–1999)
King’s College London (LL.M., 2001)
University of Helsinki (LL.M., 1998)
Ranked in Band 1, Competition/European Law, Chambers Europe, 2025
Ranked in Hall of Fame, EU and Competition, Legal 500, 2025
Ranked in Client Choice, Lexology Index Client Choice 2025 report; Leppihalme is the only Finnish competition lawyer to have achieved the ‘Client Choice’ recognition in the 2025 report.
Ranked as Global Elite Thought Leader, Lexology Index, Competition 2025; Leppihalme is the only Finnish competition lawyer to have achieved the ‘Global Elite Thought Leader’ recognition in the 2025 report.
Ranked as Leading lawyer, Euromoney’s Expert Guides, Competition and Antitrust – The world’s leading lawyers chosen by their peers, since 2012.
- Finnish Bar Association
- International Bar Association
- Non-Governmental Advisor to the International Competition Network
Several articles in various international competition law publications over the last approx. two decades, incl. e.g. an article “Economic Continuity of Liability in Antitrust Damages – CJEU Preliminary Ruling in C-724/17 Skanska et al.” in Richard Whish KC (Hon.) Liber Amicorum ”Taking Competition Law Outside the Box”, published by Concurrences in 2020.
In 2021, regarding that article, Leppihalme was nominated for the international Antitrust Writing Awards 2021 by Concurrences and the George Washington University for the best Academic article in the subcategory of Private Enforcement. He was one of only 10 nominees in that subcategory as well as the only nominee from Finland in any of the categories. All in all, there were 1,200+ papers submitted for consideration to the Editorial Committee that year.
Several competition law presentations in various events over the last approx. two decades; Chairman of Finland’s biggest annual commercial competition law conference annually since 2009.
English
Finnish
Swedish
French
News
