We talked to Sven Farbrot, partner at Advokatfirma Tofte in Kristiansand, Norway, and current president of Jurismus International, to find out more.
Most recently, Advokatfirma Tofte won the competitive tender and renewed its collaboration with Statens Vegvesen, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. The NPRA plans, builds, operates and maintains national and county roads. Sven Farbrot specifies, “the tender concerns land acquisition and expropriation. Norway is divided into four regions in total and this tendering process was specifically for the southern part. Hence, through this tender, we handle the whole acquisition for Statens Vegvesen when it comes to building roads in this area.”
“We have a strong profile towards governmental institutions,” Sven Farbrot tells us about his law firm. He further explains, “our company participates in tenders on a regular basis. If we sum up, our work for governmental bodies totals up to approx. 40 percent throughout the year.” Remarkably, the law firm has won the tender ever since it has been public and open. Sven Farbrot underlines, “It is tough competition. The big law firms, located in Oslo, are participating in this kind of tenders too. For this reason, we are even more pleased about this success!”
He continues providing interesting background information: after a change in government, a strong focus was set on road construction. Then, the new government, which got re-elected recently, decided, that the building of roads had gone too slow. As a result, a new company, called Nye Veier, was founded in 2015. Nye Veier took over the responsibility for the development and operation of major motorways. Its ultimate task is to speed up the construction of major roads through Norway. The overall goal is the connection of all parts of Norway.
It is worth mentioning at this point, that Advokatfirma Tofte also won the tendering process with Nye Veier. “At the moment, we are involved in all building of roads through these two companies in the southern part of Norway,” Sven Farbrot says. In addition, the law firm successfully participates in tenders in the energy sector as well as in the communications industry. Right now, it provides services to companies, such as Agder Energi, one of the leading power providers in the country, Statnett, the system operator in the Norwegian energy system and the Norwegian Communications Authority.
Upcoming work includes the acquisition of land, landowners to be cooperated with, and negotiations to be held. “Many times we enter into amicable agreements. But this is not always the case and we end up at court. What is more, it is not unusual to handle several hundred counterparts when land is being acquired, he explains.
Overall, the diversity of cases and questions that arise within is big. Sven Farbrot continues, “when you go to court you see many cases with that a lot of unresolved issues concerning land acquisition. Our Senior Partner, Ove Lyngholt, is an expert as he has been working on these cases almost his whole life. In the process, he has been to the supreme court numerous times. In his closing remark, Sven Farbrot underlines, that it is not only him but “many people at the law firm that work hard to continue to win these competitive tendering processes.”
Links:
Advokatfirma Tofte
Links to companies Advokatfirma Tofte has tenders with:
Statens Vegvesen - Norwegian Public Roads Administration
Nye Veier
Agder Energi
Statnett
Norwegian Communications Authority
