International law firm Bird & Bird appoints rising star and dual qualified finance lawyer Mirja Sikander as partner in Stockholm. Mirja will be heading up the Swedish Finance & Financial Regulation practice in Stockholm, and will be joined by newly recruited Senior Associate Eleonora Pavliouk who has a substantial background in fintech and financial regulation, as well as Bird & Bird Associate (Finance & Financial Regulation) Julia Klingberg.
Mirja is a finance lawyer with 16 years of experience advising clients on various financing transactions in both Sweden and Finland. Throughout her practice, Mirja has advised lenders and borrowers on various cross-border and domestic debt financing and debt capital market transactions, such as investment grade, leveraged grade/acquisition, real estate and project finance (including renewable energy projects), as well as factorings, securitisations, restructurings and bond financing.
Mirja’s appointment is part of Bird & Bird’s strategy to continue to grow its Nordic private equity practice. Over the past couple of years, the private equity practice has grown considerably, especially with the recruitment of Morten Rosenmejer at the end of 2020 and Mette Mernø Hans Jakobsen in January of 2023 as partners in Denmark.
Michael Juenemann, Giuseppe D’Agostino and Joss Hargrave, co-heads of Bird & Bird’s international Finance & Financial Regulation practice, comment: “We’re thrilled to welcome Mirja to Bird & Bird. Her expertise advising clients on all aspects of debt transactions will not only strengthen our Finance & Financial Regulation offering in the Nordics, but across Bird & Bird’s international network.”
Mårten Willamo, head of Bird & Bird in Sweden, says: “I am delighted to have Mirja join our Stockholm office at Bird & Bird as we continue to grow our private equity practice across the Nordics. With Mirja’s energy focus, we can continue to tap into the booming ESG and renewable energy sector in Sweden, and continue providing an excellent service for clients in this space.”
Mirja herself, adds: “I am very excited to join the talented team of practitioners at Bird & Bird and have the opportunity to be involved in international cross-border transactions for clients in various jurisdictions.”
