Successful Fondia to feature on the Financial Times (FT) Innovative Lawyers Awards shortlist

The legal service company Fondia Oyj has been chosen as one of Europe’s most innovative legal companies. The company was awarded at the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards in London on 4 October 2018. The study results also reveal that there is demand for the kind of services Fondia provides.

Fondia’s Legal Department as a Service (LDaaS) and MyFondia service was ranked at no. 3 at the international FT Innovative Lawyers Awards on Thursday, 4 October 2018. Fondia’s CEO Salla Vainio explains that their success in the competition is proof of Fondia’s genuine innovativeness.

“We are proud of our achievement. This was a victory shared by all of us,” Vainio rejoices.

The FT Innovative Lawyers Awards were held for the 12th time. The list of candidates included 87 European law firms, legal service companies and company in-house legal departments selected from over 800 applicants. Fondia has also had success in the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards in the past: in 2013, Fondia won the “Most innovative law firm in corporate strategy” category and, in 2015, Fondia ranked no. 2 in the “Top Game Changers of the past 10 years (non-UK)” category. This year, in addition to Fondia, there were two other companies from the Nordic countries.

As part of its ongoing efforts to develop its business, Fondia conducted a survey last summer on how legal services are purchased. More than 100 CEOs responded to the survey. The results revealed that there is demand, both in Finland and Sweden, for an innovative and transparent law firm like Fondia. Fondia’s continuous legal service operating model LDaaS combined with MyFondia’s digital operating environment provides customers with easy-to-predict costs, smoother communication and improved legal service resource management.

“Even though legal services are generally thought to be pricey, more than 40% of customers do not even know the price beforehand. Up to 80% of the respondents felt that transparency and communication are key to choosing a law firm. The customer should always feel secure and clear about what they are buying,” Vainio continues.

“Especially growing companies often have scarce resources for buying legal services and lack the experience of buying them. In a way, we operate in an underserved sector by combining in our LDaaS the business expertise at hand of a company in-house legal department and the expertise in the different areas of the law of an external law firm.

The LDaaS and MyFondia service awarded by the esteemed jury of the Financial Times was developed by Fondia’s experienced lawyers and IT personnel – from a practical point of view and in close cooperation with the customer,” Vainio concludes.