1. How did you get into law/your area of practice? Why did you become a lawyer?

My dream, when I was young, was to become a captain. I heard countless stories of old relatives sailing to remote places and became fascinated by the excitement the sea provides. Although a high school degree was not a requirement to start in the captain programme, I was determined to graduate and receive the white graduation cap (comparable to college in the United States).

I started my AB studies, a primary stage in the journey of becoming a captain, with few other high school graduates. From the beginning, our education to become ABs concentrated solely on practical matters without any theoretical subjects. It is worth mentioning that I excelled in welding aluminum and splicing cable wire.

After one semester of studies, I joined a Finnish flagged oil tanker to do my practice. I spent the first period of the practice in the engine room and the second period on deck. Since I was the only girl onboard, a few of my colleagues took pride in showing what real seamen’s life was all about.

The turning point in my career happened while in Bordeaux. I called my boyfriend, now husband, Jon from a phone booth with a handful of coins. During our call I dropped the coins and expressed my annoyance with rather strong words. After a short silence Jon replied that he could hear that I had at least learnt something... His comment made me question whether becoming a captain was what I really wanted to do.

I pondered on whether I should apply to study law or economics. Luckily enough, while I was pondering this, I got accepted to study geography and conducted law studies to ensure myself.

Since I still had an interest in vessels and maritime, I began my studies with a clear ambition to specialise in maritime law.

2. If you were not a lawyer, what would you do?

That is a difficult question as Ulla back in her younger years had so much less experience than I have now. However, in the present I feel very strongly about global warming and ensuring that our legacy to the next generation will be better than it currently seems. Therefore, I would now choose a profession that would enable me to make my contribution to the future – possibly more rapidly than the maritime sector does.

The education of women and children is also especially important to me.

3. What advice would you give to someone new to being a lawyer?

Be curious and explore different fields of law, even ones that you could not originally see yourself working in. Be active in building your own network even as a young lawyer – and join the AIJA, IBA and WISTA – and have fun! I’m still close friends with many of my colleagues whom I met while being a member of the AIJA.

4. What area of your work do you enjoy the most? The least?

I really enjoy client work involving complex contracts and large cases where everything is connected. Coming from a rather smaller jurisdiction, I am at my best in maritime cases. What I like the least is invoicing...

5. What are the current challenges facing your area of practice?

The war in Ukraine affects us all and the rapidly changing nature of the situation creates a challenge, not least the humanitarian crisis Ukraine is facing. Our geographical location and the fact that Finnish companies are used to trading with Russia adds a lot of tension as well. Juridically speaking, the effect of sanctions extends to many companies and clients and is not only limited to the official implications but also applies to reputational issues. Thus, it is important to consider all the imposed sanctions while practising law and working with clients. All the withdrawals of different companies from Russia create their own juridical challenges.

6. What has been the biggest challenge of your career? How did you overcome it?

As a mother of two and a wife of a naval officer, the biggest challenges relate to work–life balance. At one point in my husband’s career when our children were still young, he was away for about 220 days a year, and as a young partner in a law firm, time was limited. It should also be mentioned that in Finland we do not normally have ‘nannies’.

The good part of that experience was that meetings were kept short – contrary to the endless Teams meetings these days.

7. If you could put together a wish list of changes you would bring about in the profession, or to your area of practice, what would you include?

In my area of practice, I think it is important that environmental, social and governmental (ESG) values are respected. I want to emphasise that the values should not be respected only through fancy speeches but rather by concrete actions. Climate change is an extremely valid issue, and it should be acknowledged more thoroughly in the area of maritime law as well. As a mother of two, I worry about the world we leave behind for our children.

When speaking about the profession as a whole, I want to underline the importance of equality. I know I may be challenged, but in Finland inequality is not as central of a problem as it is in too many other countries, but the matter is very important to me. I wish that the position of women in our industry (and overall) would be improved on a global scale through structural changes in society. From experience, for example, ensuring easy access to daycare and school meals for children will in turn have an enormous impact on mothers advancing their careers.

8. What do you do in your free time? How do you relax?

I spend a lot of my free time with my family. We have two cabins, both by the sea. One is on the Kemiö archipelago, and the other is on the Åland Islands. The latter is a small cabin on its own island without any fresh water or electricity, but it is an excellent place for me to calibrate my ‘compass’. I enjoy sailing and racing, and during the winter months I practise winter sports. Travelling and visiting new places with my family is also one of my favourite activities and I have been lucky enough to have met up with several of my good IBA friends around the world.