Tuomas Pöysti is a Senior Counsel, Head of Investigations at Geradin Partners, where he leads the investigations and cross-border trade practice, working from the Helsinki and Brussels offices. 

Prior to joining Geradin Partners, Tuomas served as the Chancellor of Justice of the Government of Finland. As defined by the Finnish Constitution, the Chancellor of Justice is the supreme guardian of the law in Finland, responsible for overseeing the constitutionality and legality of actions taken by the Government and the President of the Republic at the Cabinet Minister level, as well as courts, public authorities, and all entities and persons performing public tasks, and also supervised the professional conduct of attorneys-at-law and their regulatory framework. As Chancellor Tuomas conducted both systemic and case-specific investigations, initiated either by complaints or on his own initiative, and provided independent legal advice to the President and the Government and oversaw the legality of public sector digitalization and automation. His specific remit also included organization of anti-corruption efforts and addressing issues related to state aid, competition, and public procurement law. Chancellor’s focus areas encompassed ex ante constitutionality and EU law compliance reviews of draft legislation, safeguarding the rights of future generations, and establishing and maintaining Finland’s independent external whistleblowing channel and ensuring proper follow-up for reporting.

Tuomas’s distinguished career spans numerous high-level roles across the legal profession, government, and public administration. He has extensive experience in strategic legal advisory, compliance, governance and risk management, investigation and law-making. His previous positions include Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Governance Policy and Digitalization at the Ministry of Finance, Finland (2017), Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (2015–2017), Auditor General of Finland (2008–2015), and Government Controller-General (2004–2007) at the Ministry of Finance. He has also held positions of trust at the European level, including Chair and Member of the Supervisory Committee of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) at the European Commission (2013–2016), where he oversaw the performance of the OLAF investigations independently and in accordance with the law without undue delays and the co-operation with Member State judicial authorities, and previously contributed to the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and OLAF.

Tuomas has received several honors for his public service, including the Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland and the Golden Medal of the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities.

At Geradin Partners, Tuomas advises clients on regulatory matters, complex and contentious investigations, risk management, and compliance. His expertise and advice to clients includes cross-border regulatory, trade, and investment issues, competition law, and related litigation. He leads the firm’s investigations practice, providing both preventive (ex ante) and responsive (ex post) corporate investigation services.

Tuomas is widely acknowledged in Nordic countries for his expertise in technology law, administrative law, EU law and regulatory policy and regulation with specialization to issues such as governance of artificial intelligence and cyber and information security and regulated sectors such as digital services and platforms, health and social services, and pharmaceuticals. Tuomas is known for his deep understanding of the geopolitical, security, policy, economic, business, and technological contexts of law. His context-aware, creative legal problem-solving and implementation skills are complemented by excellent writing, negotiation, interviewing, and communication abilities. He consistently connects legal solutions with governance and risk management, offering future-oriented strategies and problem-solving.

Tuomas holds the title of Docent in Administrative Law at the University of Helsinki and actively publishes academic research. He teaches and supervises academic work on law and technology, administrative and EU law, and AI and cybersecurity governance. He also holds recognized qualifications for professorships in legal informatics and administrative and information law at the University of Lapland. He is a regular speaker on topics including the rule of law, legal certainty, governance, regulation, and legal issues related to AI and digital technologies, as well as the provision of health and social services.

• Chancellor of Justice of the Government of Finland (1.1.2018 – 31.7.2025, on leave from 1.5.2025)
• Permanent Under Secretary of State /(Public Governance and Digitalization), Ministry of Finance, Finland (2017)
• Permanent Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (2015-2017)
• Chair & Member, Supervisory Committee of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), European Commission (2013-2016)
• Auditor General of Finland (2008 – 2015)
• Controller General of the Government, Ministry of Finance, Finland (2004-2007)
• Senior Legal Adviser, Ministry of Finance, Finland (1999-2004)
• University researcher, University of Helsinki (1995-1999) and University of Lapland (1997-1999)

In his role as Chancellor of Justice, Tuomas conducted and led numerous investigations into constitutional and regulatory compliance with both national and EU legislation. He provided legality oversight and related strategic legal advice at the Cabinet minister level on all major governmental matters, including balancing national security and public health with fundamental rights and the rights of enterprises and legal certainty. His work also covered legal issues related to Finland’s NATO accession, European Union legislation and financing, structural reforms, and complex & sizeable procurement and financial arrangements.

As Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Tuomas was responsible for the reform of health and social services, including associated digitalization and AI programs. He focused particularly on the legal aspects of law drafting, data governance, digitalization, and related government policies. Later as the Under-Secretary of Starte for Public Governance and Digitalization he led the launch of a whole-of-government data strategy aimed at advancing digital government and the development and deployment of AI. He also oversaw the establishment of DigiFinland, a state-owned company providing digital platform services for public healthcare and social services. Additionally, he advised on the potential use of freedom of choice and market mechanisms in public healthcare provision, addressing competition law, state aid law, and public law considerations.

At the National Audit Office, Tuomas gained specific experience in auditing and accountability arrangements for support measures directed at banking and financial institutions. He reviewed regulatory governance, ICT and data governance, and government procurement of ICT systems. As the head of one of Finland’s constitutional accountability institutions, he also had responsibilities related to political and election finance oversight. He represented Finland in EU-level cooperation with the European Court of Auditors, other Supreme Audit Institutions, the OECD, and private sector stakeholders.

Within the Ministry of Finance, Tuomas contributed to significant legislative drafting and structural and management reform programs. These included reforms of laws governing government transfers, state aid, government loans, and guarantees. He represented Finland in the European Union efforts to stabilize the aviation insurance markets following the 2001 terrorist attacks and served as a back-office adviser to the Government and the Council of the European Union presidency team in several cases before the European Court of Justice.

• University of Lapland, Rovaniemi (LL.M.) 1995
• University of Lapland, Rovaniemi (LL.D.) 1999 

Finnish, Swedish, English, French and literate in German.

Tuomas is a member of the Advisory Committee of Scandinavian Studies in Law at the Stockholm Institute for Scandinavian Law, University of Stockholm. He has authored and co-authored dozens of articles and a couple of books on topics including law and digitalization, technology law, administrative law, the governance of artificial intelligence, cyber and information security, regulation and governance of health and social services, and public governance and good regulation more broadly.  He is a regular speaker on academic and professional conferences and other events on topics including the rule of law, legal certainty, governance, regulation, and legal issues related to AI and digital technologies, as well as the provision of health and social services.