Our lawyers are among the most recognized experts in the field of litigation in Germany. For this reason, clients on both the plaintiff's and the defendant's side turn to us with confidence when it comes to large-volume proceedings with amounts in dispute of several hundred million euros. Our advice is free of any conflicts of interest. We place the greatest value on discretion and loyalty and therefore go far beyond our professional obligations to avoid conflicts of interest and generally reject business relationships with opposing parties during ongoing proceedings. We have been involved in some of the most important proceedings in Germany, have successfully litigated before all instances in Germany and have earned a reputation as a consistent pursuer of our clients' interests. We advise our clients in civil proceedings, inheritance proceedings, criminal and administrative offences, constitutional complaints as well as in injunctive relief proceedings under competition law and disputes under stock corporation law. From the outset, we treat all disputed proceedings as a comprehensive, complex process in which strategy, experience and knowledge of the interests and motives of the persons involved play a decisive role in the success of the proceedings. Our attorneys also act as arbitrators and mediators or are mandated as advisors in such proceedings. 

Selected references in the area of Litigation & Mediation

Corporate Governance and advising company organs has, over the last few years, increasingly become an independent field of activity for our lawyers. We do not only support companies and investors with respect to the company law implementation of appropriate structures, but rather we also actively incorporate our experience and commercial knowledge into our advice. In this manner, we act as regional ambassadors for INSEAD's International Directors Program in Germany. With respect to advising company organs, we support management and managing directors as well as supervisory boards and boards of advisors in their adherence to their institutional duties and advise them proactively with respect to their obligations and the avoidance of possible breaches, as well as in defending against alleged violations of duty.

Selected references in the area of Corporate Governance & Institutional Advice

Cross-border advisory on public takeovers and the acquisition or disposal of companies forms our core business. Over the last few years, we have advised upon numerous company transactions relating to insolvency situations, as well as to flourishing companies. We consider ourselves to be a comprehensive coordinator of the interest of our clients, which, in addition to the legal aspects of the transaction, may also include providing advice on the commercial aspects. In so doing, we have been working very closely for many years now with qualified advisors, which makes it possible for us to obtain the best possible result from one single source.

Selected publicly known transactions in the area of Mergers & Acquisitions

Private Equity is a part of our lawyers’ DNA and we have many years of broad experience in the field. We create the appropriate acquisition structure, craft management participation models, negotiate purchase and investment contracts, advise on financial law aspects and undertake the legal implementation of the most suitable Corporate Governance structures. We advise both “classic” Private Equity investors of varying sizes, as well as Hedge Funds, Distressed Funds, Growth Funds and Sovereign Wealth Funds.

Venture Capital is an area which we value highly, above all due to the particular mix of innovative business ideas, modern technologies and entrepreneurship which it embodies. We are passionate about getting into the nitty gritty detail of new business models and technologies, to provide advice on investor participation which is well thought through and sustainable but also to provide advice on company growth by way of license or collaboration agreements. Our emphasis in this context is on investors, family offices and companies in their participation in young, innovative companies with strong growth potential, both here and abroad. We also have a strong background in advising founders and companies looking for capital.

Selected publicly known transactions in the areas of Private Equity & Venture Capital

Banking & Leasing

We advise on complex refinancing arrangement, from standard loan agreement, syndicate agreement, receivables purchase to participation agreement. The same applies to underlying collateral documentation such as assignment or pledge agreements, negative undertakings, guarantees or comfort letters. Leasing of moveable assets and real estate, excellent knowledge of industry and financing requirements: we are your experienced consultant. We advise beyond the leasing or finance agreement, including bank and banking supervisory requirements.

Structured Finance – Project Finance

We have expertise in international structured finance transactions and project finance. Structuring and implementation of cash-flow based, complex non-recourse asset and procurement finance and also project and infrastructure finance  which are providing in addition to classic financing and investment projects and PPP. We comprehensively and professionally assist and accompany your project from the structuring phase through negotiation until closing.

Transport Finance

In the area of Transport Finance we focus on procurement, financing, refurbishment and maintenance of all sorts of rolling stock – EMUs/DMUs, locomotives, railcars and special vehicles. Our competence stretches from tenders and financing of public transport, including all customary credit enhancements, to structuring of procurement of passenger coaches or rail cars for railway undertakings and freight carriers. We have profound industry knowhow, comprehensive technical understanding of the sales and aftersales markets and know the practice of supply, service and full-service agreements and spare parts contracts. 

Selected publicly known transactions in the area of Finance

For many years, we have been assisting investors, companies and their governing bodies with takeover and stock corporation law issues and have thus participated in some of the most challenging corporate takeovers and stock corporation law disputes of recent years.

We advise you comprehensively on all legal issues in connection with the acquisition of minority or majority shares in listed companies - whether by means of a public takeover offer or a direct purchase agreement. We prepare all legal documents for you, such as purchase prospectuses, purchase agreements and (voting rights) notifications, and can build on many years of contacts with authorities and market participants. 

Our range of services also includes the support of (critical) general meetings, stock corporation law suits, arbitration proceedings as well as the advice of board members with regard to their duties of loyalty and due diligence. We are not only consulted in release proceedings and official proceedings, but also in special matters such as short selling attacks or the employment or separation of board members.

Selected references in the area of Takeover & Stock Corporation Law

In the area of restructuring, we advise you on all restructuring-related issues. Among our most frequent clients are investors who have to overcome complex challenges such as the spin-off of business areas of large corporations across different organizations and countries. In addition to the relevant corporate, employment and insolvency law provisions, our transaction experience and negotiating skills help us to ensure a successful transaction. In addition, we also advise on company acquisitions arising from insolvency through planning procedures or direct purchase agreements. In the last 5 years, we have advised on more than 20 insolvency transactions. We are also happy to advise you on the restructuring of the capital structure of companies as well as on all those aspects from which liability risks may arise for corporate bodies and investors in connection with insolvency.

Selected references in the area of Restructuring

In the field of employment law, we advise and assist our clients in the implementation of corporate restructuring. We represent clients in negotiations and develop comprehensive, sustainable employment law solutions for you. Due to the extensive experience of our whole team, we are always at your disposal with interdisciplinary consulting expertise.

In addition to restructuring projects, we advise our clients on all questions of individual and collective employment law in day-to-day business practice. Amidst constantly changing working conditions, we are your first point of contact for the implementation of optimal and practicable employment law solutions. We support you in meeting the legal requirements throughout recruiting procedures, designing employment and contract conditions in the company in an advantageous manner, and in effectively enforcing changes or terminations of employment relationships. We have many years of expertise regarding collective bargaining and agreements with workers’ councils, employee councils and trade unions. In the event of conflict, we represent the interests of our clients in front of all German labor courts, regional labor courts and the Federal Labor Court.

Selected references in the area of Employment Law

One of our greatest strengths lies in the area of real estate law and in particular real estate business law. Our lawyers have market-leading expertise in consulting and assisting retailers, companies, and consumers in the acquisition of real estate, the development and implementation of projects - including the division of residential property - and the seamless coordination of complex real estate transactions. 

Additionally, our services include the conclusion of lease contracts as well as the enforcement of claims for rent and rent increases, in the context of which we provide judicial and extra-judicial representation. Comprehensive consultation regarding repairs, renovations and building alterations is also part of our services.

Due to this broad range of consultation services, our experts are able to represent you during the full duration of the real estate transaction and to assist you in a holistic manner in real estate matters, including within the context of real estate leasing as well as sale and lease back agreements and the transactions relating to it.

Many years of experience and expertise have enabled our highly qualified lawyers to advise you successfully and competently on all your general legal issues as well as on project- and transaction-specific real estate matters with foresight, and therewith offering you individually tailored solutions.

Our Digital Business practice group is primarily dedicated to legal issues relating to digital media and information and communication technology. On the one hand, we advise on transactions that affect a company as a whole, such as private equity, venture capital, M&A and capital market activities, and on the other hand on the drafting of contracts and regulatory issues relating to operations. This also includes contractual and regulatory requirements of broadcasting, telemedia services and telecommunications. Not least in view of current cloud computing business models and the entry into force of the Basic Data Protection Regulation, questions of data protection and data security, including the relevant compliance obligations of companies, have become increasingly important.

We advise and represent your interests in disputes relating to national and international intellectual property rights. This includes in particular patent infringement and nullity proceedings, licensing and other areas of industrial property rights. 

We use our thirty years of expertise in the field of international organizations to offer you assistance in matters of international servant law. We represent your interests internally before the international organization and externally before the courts, for example before ILOAT in Geneva.