Fondia

Fondia is a Finnish business-law services company founded in Helsinki in 2004 by Saarikko Jansson. Rather than operating as a traditional law firm, Fondia is structured as a legal services business that sells productised, packaged legal services to companies. Its flagship offering is Legal Department as a Service (LDaaS), an ongoing, adaptive model in which Fondia acts as an outsourced in-house legal department for client organisations. It also provides traditional assignment-based legal advice and digital tools such as the VirtuaaliLakimies legal knowledge bank. Fondia employs roughly 120 lawyers across four countries — Finland, Sweden, Lithuania and Estonia — and maintains offices in several Finnish cities as well as Tallinn, Vilnius, Stockholm, Malmö and Gothenburg. Its lawyers typically have in-house counsel experience, which the firm presents as a differentiator in giving practical, hands-on advice. Fondia positions itself as a modern, customer-obsessed legal business, offering both ongoing service models and project-based work. In spring 2017 Fondia listed on the First North Finland marketplace, becoming the first Nordic business-law company whose shares are publicly traded. The company has received recognition including a national entrepreneur award in 2017 and a third-place ranking in the international FT Innovative Lawyers Awards in 2018 for its LDaaS and MyFondia services. It publishes a voluntary annual sustainability review and emphasises employee well-being, flexible working and corporate responsibility.

Fondia was founded in Helsinki in 2004 by Saarikko Jansson, who had graduated from the University of Helsinki with a Master of Laws degree. Jansson initially served as the company's CEO and later moved into a role leading sales, marketing and communications, leaving her commercial leadership duties at Fondia in 2017. The company was established as a business-law services provider rather than a conventional law firm: its structure does not follow the Finnish Bar Association requirement that partners be lawyers, which allowed it to operate as a commercial legal services business. From the outset Fondia focused on serving companies, and it became the first operator in the Finnish business-law field to offer packaged, productised legal services. Its core innovation was Legal Department as a Service (LDaaS), an ongoing model in which Fondia functions as an outsourced legal department for clients, complemented by traditional assignment-based advice. The firm also developed digital tools, notably the VirtuaaliLakimies legal knowledge bank, which grew to more than 1,700 articles available in Finnish and English and expanded to cover Sweden in 2014. Fondia expanded geographically beyond Finland, establishing a presence in Sweden, Estonia and Lithuania. By the late 2010s it had offices in several Finnish cities as well as Tallinn, Vilnius, Stockholm, Malmö and Gothenburg, and its headcount reached around 110 employees in 2017. In spring 2017 Fondia listed on the First North Finland marketplace, becoming the first Nordic business-law company to have its shares publicly traded. Its revenue in 2020 was EUR 16.4 million. Leadership has changed several times over the company's history. CEOs have included Jorma Vartia, Salla Vainio and Leena Hellfors, and Harri Savolainen has served as interim CEO. Juha Sarsama has served as Chairman of the Board. Fondia has received a range of recognitions: in 2015 the Financial Times named it among the European companies that had changed their industry most over the past decade; in 2016 it won a silver medal as a well-managed expert firm in a competition organised by the Managing Partners' Forum (London) and was named Helsinki Entrepreneur of the Year; in 2017 it received a national entrepreneur award; and in 2018 its LDaaS and MyFondia services placed third in the international FT Innovative Lawyers Awards. In the 2020s Fondia has continued to emphasise its modern, customer-obsessed positioning and employee experience, earning a Future Workplaces certificate in 2021 and again in 2022. It published its first voluntary annual sustainability review for the year 2024, using ESRS standards as a framework where applicable and covering governance, environmental responsibility, HR-related sustainability, compliance, and data protection and cybersecurity.

• 2024

  Fondia publishes its first voluntary annual sustainability review, covering the year 2024.

• 2022

  Fondia receives a Future Workplaces certificate again.

• 2021

  Fondia receives a Future Workplaces certificate.

• 2020

  Fondia's revenue reaches EUR 16.4 million.

• 2018

  Fondia's LDaaS and MyFondia services place third in the international FT Innovative Lawyers Awards.

• 2017

  Fondia lists on the First North Finland marketplace, becoming the first Nordic business-law company with publicly traded shares; receives a national entrepreneur award.

• 2017

  Saarikko Jansson leaves her commercial leadership duties at Fondia.

• 2016

  Fondia wins silver as a well-managed expert firm at the Managing Partners' Forum competition and is named Helsinki Entrepreneur of the Year.

• 2015

  Financial Times names Fondia among the top European game changers of the past 10 years.

• 2014

  VirtuaaliLakimies legal knowledge bank expands to cover Sweden.

• 2004

  Fondia founded in Helsinki by Saarikko Jansson.

Modern, customer-obsessed legal business offering productised and agile legal services tailored to each client.

• Legal Department as a Service (LDaaS)

  Ongoing, adaptive legal service model in which Fondia acts as an outsourced legal department for clients.

• VirtuaaliLakimies

  Legal knowledge bank with more than 1,700 articles, available in Finnish and English, expanded to Sweden in 2014.

• MyFondia

  Digital service recognised alongside LDaaS in the 2018 FT Innovative Lawyers Awards.

• Assignment-based legal services

  Traditional project-based legal advice for companies.

• ESG legal advisory

  Assistance for companies on sustainability legislation, risk management and compliance.

1. 1Legal Counselling for businesses - Contact Us Today | Fondiafondia.com
2. 2Join Fondia, for Law Careers Tailor-made for Professional Growthfondia.com
3. 3Fondia for Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment & Pro Bonofondia.com
4. 4Fondia - Wikidatawikidata.org
5. 5Fondia - Wikipedia (Finnish)fi.wikipedia.org