Glenn Svarts started his career at Trade Partners in 1982 and took over as Federal Lawyer from Herbert Söderlund in 1992. Glenn was Trade Partners’ Federal Lawyer until the summer of 2016, when Anna-Karin Abdon took over the role. Anna-Karin and Glenn had already started working together at the Fylgia law firm in 2011 and he felt she was the right person to gradually take over his role.
“The best years were probably from 2011 to 2016, when Anna-Karin came on board and I was still active at the law firm. But I also have fond memories of the time with Herbert Söderlund.”Glenn says.
A significant project during Glenn’s time was the updating of a commentary on the “Lag om Handelsagentur” (the Commercial Agency Act) published in 1992, originally written by Herbert. After Herbert’s death in 2005, Glenn took it upon himself to update the book with the help of a colleague at Fylgia. This resulted in a new edition published by Norstedts Juridiska ‘Gula bibliotek’ (Norstedts Judicial ‘Yellow Library’). It is a commentary on the law that is valuable for lawyers who come into contact with agency law still today.
Another important part of Glenn’s work was taking members and clients through legal processes. He remembers two cases in particular that went all the way to the “Högsta domstolen” (The Supreme Court). The first case from the late 80s to early 90s, between a Portuguese supplier and a Swedish agent, concerned which law should apply to the parties’ oral agency agreement, Portuguese or Swedish law. The Tingsrätten (The District Court) found that Swedish law should apply, while the Högstadomstolen (The Court of Appeal) found that Portuguese law was applicable. The agent appealed and had the case heard by the Supreme Court, which ruled that Swedish law should be applied, resulting in the agent receiving half a million SEK in back commission.
“It was an exciting case, although it was a challenge to get our claims through and get the other party to pay the amount awarded,” says Glenn.
The second case, which started in 2002 and lasted until 2008, concerned whether a computer product should be classified as a goods or a service. A prerequisite for the Commercial Agency Act to apply is that the goods are brokered by the agent.
Both Tingsrätten (The District Court) and Hovrätten (The Court of Appeal) considered that it was a question of a service. However, the parties had agreed that the Commercial Agency Act would apply to the contractual relationship. Tingsrätten (The District Court) granted the agent full severance pay as the agent had claimed. However, Hovrätten (The Court of Appeal) found that the agent was not entitled to full severance pay but a reduced one. Högsta domstolen (The Supreme Court) made the same judgment on compensation as the Court of Appeal.
When Glenn looks back on his time with Trade Partners, it is with pride and joy. He finds the most enjoyable part is being able to help members and clients. Glenn’s contribution to Trade Partners is invaluable, and his efforts in providing legal advice have shaped the direction and some of the successes of the organisation.
