Ilkka Leppihalme

Partner
Head of Competition & Public Procurement

Ilkka Leppihalme

Partner
Head of Competition & Public Procurement

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Fantastic.

The Legal 500, EU and competition

Recognized since 2015 in The Best Lawyers in Finland for work in: Competition Law.

Best Lawyers

Highly respected business adviser; Very international; Very good relationships with the relevant authorities.

The Legal 500 (various editions), EU and competition

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 EMEA 2024, EU and competition

An excellent, careful and commercially-minded lawyer.

Chambers Europe 2018, Competition/European Law

Ilkka Leppihalme is recognised as one of the best within competence and experience.

The Legal 500 EMEA 2023, EU and competition

An outstanding practitioner and is our go-to contact whenever it comes to competition law in Finland.

The Legal 500 EMEA 2024, EU and competition

Included in
the Hall of Fame.

The Legal 500, EU and competition

Partner Ilkka Leppihalme has been ranked on Global Competition Review’s guide WWL: Competition as one of the world’s leading practitioners in this field.

Who’s Who Legal, WWL: Competition (most recently in 2024)

Ranked “among the very best in the world in the competition field”.

Who’s Who Legal 2018, Thought Leaders – Competition

One of the easiest people to work with in the Finnish market.

Chambers Europe, Competition/European Law

Dynamic lawyer Leppihalme has a strong track record in competition litigation.

The Legal 500 2018, EU and competition

He finds the best solution for the customer.

Chambers Europe 2023, 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

Ilkka Leppihalme enjoys a fantastic reputation in the market as “a brilliant all-round expert of competition law”.

Who’s Who Legal, WWL: Competition 2018

Leppihalme is ‘one of the best ’.

The Legal 500 2017, EU and competition

Partner Ilkka Leppihalme has been recognized on Who’s Who Legal’s Thought Leaders: Competition 2018 edition. Who’s Who Legal’s research identifies Thought Leaders as being truly outstanding practitioners and the very best in their field.

Who’s Who Legal, Thought Leaders - Competition 2018

Leppihalme “provides practical solutions-based advice and goes the extra miles to deliver his advice on time.”

Chambers Europe 2019, Competition/European Law

lkka 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 EMEA 2023, EU and competition

Ranked as a leading lawyer in Euromoney’s Expert Guides – The world’s leading lawyers chosen by their peers, Competition and Antitrust since 2012.

Expert Guides, Competition and Antitrust

Ilkka is calm and very knowledgeable and he provides clear advice.

Chambers Europe 2021, Competition/European Law

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

A very thorough and experienced lawyer in competition –
communicative, flexible and responsive.

Chambers Europe 2017, 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

Service attitude that makes us feel as if we are his only client.

Chambers Europe, Competition/European Law

Listed as one of only three partners from Finland included in the first edition of Who’s Who Legal: Competition – Future Leaders 2017.

Who’s Who Legal 2017, Future Leaders – 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
Dittmar & Indrenius > People > Ilkka Leppihalme

Focus on high-profile EU and Finnish competition law matters; litigation and arbitration proceedings.

Ilkka Leppihalme is known for having been involved in various landmark competition cases, including the largest competition cases in Finland. He regularly assesses potential competition law issues in a transactional context and possesses significant experience in both domestic and multijurisdictional merger control procedures across a wide range of industries.

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. He has also acted as a counsel and as an expert on Finnish law in some of the most notable international competition damages cases.

Prior to joining Dittmar & Indrenius Ilkka Leppihalme made a distinguished career as a Partner and Head of Competition in another leading law firm in Finland. Prior to this, he was with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Brussels.

Leppihalme was one of the few members of the Competition Law Expert Group of the Finnish Bar Association in 2010-2024. He has been a Non-Governmental Advisor to the International Competition Network, a network of more than 130 competition authorities, since 2010. He is a regular chairman and speaker at competition law conferences and seminars. He is listed as a leading competition law expert in all major international ranking publications.

Education

University of Helsinki (LL.M., 1998)

Trained on the bench (2000)

King’s College London (LL.M., 2001)

Admitted: Finnish Bar Association

Languages

Finnish, Swedish, English and French

Experience

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