Legal Work Award to Markku Fredman

The Board of the Finnish Bar Association decided, in accordance with proposals made by local chapters, to award the Legal Work Award to attorney-at-law Markku Fredman. The award was presented at the assembly of the Finnish Bar Association's Council on June 6, 2025, in Jyväskylä.

The award citation states the following: Markku Fredman has worked as a lawyer for 36 years, and he has become known as a steadfast defender of legal protection: He has participated as a protector of fundamental and human rights in numerous high-profile criminal cases, been a pioneer in bringing cases to the European Court of Human Rights, and argued domestically in 53 cases leading to Supreme Court precedents and 19 cases leading to Supreme Administrative Court precedents. 

In his acceptance speech, Markku Fredman emphasized the significance of having been able to represent the legal profession in various societal projects.

Fredman has served as a member of the Committee for the Development of the Judiciary, the Committee on Preliminary Investigation and Coercive Measures, and the Committee on Evidence. In addition, as an expert he has represented the legal profession in dozens of legislative projects in various parliamentary committees.

He emphasized the importance and effectiveness of voluntary work, especially when done by a professional with their own special expertise. He encouraged new generations of lawyers to ensure that various actors in society can always find the best expert in each field of law at the Finnish Bar Association, and that these experts are offered the opportunity to do voluntary work for society for the benefit of the profession and especially its clients.

Fredman also emphasized the importance of research-based knowledge. There is far too much speculation about, for example, the reasonable level of legal aid fees, when information about the production costs of public legal aid in private law firms, or what the taxable earned income of a private lawyer specializing in public legal aid work amounts to, could be relatively easily obtained through research.

The award itself is Veikko Myller's sculpture Defensor Legis.