Kullervo Kemppinen was born in 1921 in the Karelian town of Terijoki, in the eastern part of Finland. In 1933, the Kemppinen family moved to Helsinki where Kullervo went to school and served as an air force pilot during the war. He completed his studies in record time and married Laila Kemppinen in 1943. The young couple started a family and Kullervo Kemppinen founded his own law office in Kauhava, western Finland.

The friendship of Kullervo Kemppinen and Heikki Borenius Jr. begun in secondary school and continued during their law studies. They also shared the hobby of choir singing. The law office of Borenius & Borenius was therefore a natural choice for Kullervo whenever he needed to consult with a colleague or required assistance for delivering writs to courts of justice in Helsinki.

In 1961, when Heikki Borenius Sr. reached the age of 75, he told his son to look for a new partner to replace him and Kullervo Kemppinen was the first person that Heikki Borenius Jr. considered. It was soon agreed that Kullervo would acquire Heikki Borenius Sr.’s share in the beginning of 1963. The reason for this arrangement was that Kullervo Kemppinen requested some time to close his law practice in Kauhava and move the family of 5 small children to Helsinki. However, Heikki Borenius Sr. passed away unexpectedly in February 1962 and Kullervo Kemppinen became a partner of the firm already on 1 March 1962.

Although Kullervo Kemppinen was almost completely unknown in Helsinki, he soon established a good reputation, helped by the fact that he had been chosen by Heikki Borenius Sr. to continue his work. In the early years, Kullervo Kemppinen’s practice focused on civil cases concerning family, inheritance and obligation law, but he soon specialised in issues regarding copyrights and corporate law as well as legal questions relating to foundations.

Continuing the traditions set by Heikki Borenius Sr., both Heikki Borenius Jr. and Kullervo Kemppinen continued in positions of trust in the boards of directors of the Finnish Bar Association and the Association of Finnish Lawyers, as well as in the Board of Arbitration of the Central Chamber of Commerce and in several committees and boards of arbitration, especially relating to patents and copyrights.

Kullervo Kemppinen practised law without interruption for 50 years. His merits were acknowledged in 1986 when he was nominated as Chief Judge by the President of the Republic of Finland. In 1991, having reached the age of 70, he retired but became “of Counsel” of B&K.

Kullervo Kemppinen has published a number of books dealing with Finnish law and the history of the firm.