Transparency

Statement in accordance with the Norwegian Transparency Act

Advokatfirmaet Hjort AS (“Hjort”), organisation no. 929 191 811, engages in the provision of legal services pursuant to Section 231 of the Norwegian Courts of Justice Act. The firm is located at Universitetsgata 1 in Oslo. Hjort is owned by Hjort’s partners.

Hjort has a total of 92 employees, of whom 70 are senior associates/associates with a licence/authorisation to practice law. Hjort is headed by a board of directors consisting of six board members, two of whom are elected by and among the employees. The chief executive is Managing Partner Anne Marie Due. Hjort has an administrative management consisting of five people which is led by Director Christopher Helgeby. Hjort’s board of directors has assigned the Managing Partner responsibility for conducting the due diligence. The practical implementation of the due diligence is carried out by the director together with one of Hjort’s lawyers, who is also responsible for compliance.

Hjort is governed by the Norwegian Transparency Act.

Business activities

Hjort provides legal services to private individuals and legal entities in Norway and abroad, and conducts its activities within the framework of the Norwegian Courts of Justice Act and Regulations for Lawyers. Hjort’s hourly rates are announced on the firm’s website in accordance with the Norwegian Price Information Regulations.

Hjort practices law in accordance with good legal practice, which involves the provision of free and independent advice. Hjort has established procedures to ensure that there is no conflict of interest before accepting assignments. There is a dedicated lawyer in charge for all assignments. At the commencement of an assignment, the client will receive information about the lawyer who is responsible for the assignment, hourly rates, fee calculation and Hjort’s standard terms.

Hjort has routines for ensuring that all employees comply with statutory duties of confidentiality and secrecy. Hjort has drawn up ethical guidelines that are communicated to all employees.

Due diligence

Hjort is governed by the Norwegian Transparency Act. Hjort is obligated to conduct due diligence to safeguard basic human rights and decent working conditions in connection with the provision of our services. Hjort conducts ongoing due diligence in accordance with Section 4 of the Norwegian Transparency Act.

Assessment of own business activities
Hjort has assessed the risk of negative consequences for basic human rights and decent working conditions in our own business activities, with a specific focus on discrimination, working hours and use of overtime. Hjort’s values are based on equality and egalitarianism, whereby all employees should feel safe at all times and where emphasis is placed on a culture of open expression in order to safeguard the company’s values, the general working environment and individual well-being.

Hjort has established general whistleblowing procedures. Systematic HSE work is carried out with established HSE routines and procedures for reporting non-conformities, and the safety representative conducts safety inspections twice a year. Anonymised employee surveys are also regularly conducted to identify any undesirable behaviour, detect negative consequences and work preventively.

Hjort’s board of directors has adopted a clear diversity strategy that is communicated to all employees in which our overall position is that Hjort should reflect the society and people who Hjort provides services to. Hjort has also established a diversity committee which will contribute towards ensuring that the diversity strategy is complied with and is a continuous process. Hjort’s philosophy is that capable employees will achieve success with us, irrespective of gender, age and ethnicity, and that Hjort must be an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and respected. Hjort’s goal is to achieve a minimum gender balance of 40/60 and that at least 9% of Hjort’s employees should have a minority background.

All employees have written employment contracts in accordance with the requirements stipulated in the Norwegian Working Environment Act. Hjort’s premises are in compliance with the Norwegian Workplace Regulations.

Hjort processes personal data pertaining to clients, opposing parties, witnesses, etc. and Hjort’s employees as part of the legal services provided. This data is processed in accordance with the legislation that may be in force at any given time and Hjort’s adopted security measures, the statutory duty of confidentiality, the Norwegian Regulations for Lawyers and the Personal Data Act with Regulations. Based on the Norwegian Data Protection Authority’s guidelines for information security when processing personal data, Hjort has ensured that there are adequate routines and procedures for satisfactory information security and internal controls when processing personal data. Hjort has prepared a record of processing activities, cf. Article 30 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This record is updated in the event of changes and includes the various processing activities, purposes of the processing, categories of personal data and the legal basis for processing. The record also includes a risk assessment of potential undesirable incidents that may result in personal data going astray and an action plan with employees who are responsible for each measure and with deadlines.

Hjort has not uncovered any negative consequences or significant risk of negative consequences related to Hjort’s provision of legal services, Hjort’s employees or Hjort’s working environment.

External factors
Hjort has assessed and continuously assesses our suppliers and partners and has evaluated actual and possible negative consequences for basic human rights and decent working conditions.

Hjort uses interpretation and translation services from suppliers in connection with the provision of our services. In addition to rental of premises and insurance, Hjort’s largest business connections provide data services and hardware, food, beverages and cleaning services. Hjort’s assessments reveal that there is a low risk in our supply chain. In the assessment, we focused on where the goods and services are produced, and whether the individual supplier itself is covered by the Norwegian Transparency Act. Hjort has also not uncovered any negative consequences or significant risk of negative consequences through the due diligence conducted of suppliers.

Hjort conducts continuous assessments and is in dialogue with key suppliers to obtain concrete feedback regarding how these suppliers work with identifying and assessing negative consequences.

This statement was signed by Hjort’s Board of Directors and Managing Director on 6 June 2023.