Piia-Noora Kauppi
Piia-Noora has a Master’s degree in law and is currently a member of the European
Parliament and the chairman of the Finnish National Coalition Party’s represention at the European
Parliament.
What I did as a B&K trainee
I have nothing but good memories of my time as a B&K trainee. I had not worked in legal
firms prior to B&K, and remember well my joy upon hearing that I had been accepted. I was in
seventh heaven; the feeling of getting a job at a respected law firm was fantastic.
I worked as a courier, running to the post office, buzzing around the city in B&K’s red VW
Bug, and learning to navigate in city in the process - which proved to be a useful skill in
later life. After all, I was an 'immigrant' from Oulu. At the office I organised the
library, ran simple errands and of course, helped the lawyers in all things possible and
impossible.
The most memorable experiences
The atmosphere at the office was always very relaxed. I felt that every employee was respected
and no stiff hierarchical structures nor any bowing and scraping existed. As a kind of a
jack-of-all-trades, I got a good general picture of the everyday work of a lawyer. My time as
a trainee made me respect the legal profession even more than before.
My most memorable experiences must have been the meetings with B&K’s prestigious clients,
whose names I think I’m still not allowed to reveal. It was exciting to get advance information
about things which nobody outside the office knew about. Somehow it made me feel that
I really had my finger on the pulse.
Sadly, my time at B&K was to be cut short, as I received an invitation to be the
substitute secretary for the National Coalition Party’s representation at the Finnish parliament. I
had, since the early 90s, been active in the Coalition Party and during my time at B&K I was
the vice chairman of the Youth League of the Coalition Party, so refusing the invitation from the
party representation was not an option. Later on, I got a permanent position as the lawyer for
the Coalition Party and my law firm career was suspended - for the time being. I still haven’t
totally buried the idea of working in a law firm; who knows what will happen in life?
How I benefited from my trainee period
My experience at B&K broadened my perspectives on the working life of a lawyer. I also
learned a lot about how important a good working atmosphere is for employees. Today, I’m the boss
for seven people at my office in the European Parliament, and I’ve made good use of the principles
I learned at B&K: lack of reserve, a relaxed attitude, encouragement, respect for individuality
and above all, the fact that every colleague at the office is as valuable as the next one,
regardless of his/her duties.
Summa summarum: Borenius&Kemppinen is still the best law firm in Finland in my view. I can, for my part, recommend B&K as a place to work at, a law firm to take care of your business or a partner - for anybody!
Piia-Noora Kauppi
Master of Laws, member of the European Parliament
chairman of the Finnish National Coalition Party at the European Parliament
