The Legal 500

CMS’ ‘incredibly vast’ team gives comprehensive advice on national and cross-border matters, 
and is ‘always up to speed with legal developments’. It has been busy with high-value projects such as advising new client E.ON 
and affiliated companies on reorganisation matters, and acting for WestLB on employment and co-determination law regarding its reorganisation. Other clients include Telefónica Germany, Daimler and Burger King. Eckhard Schmid and ‘fantastic lawyer’ Björn Gaul are recommended.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s ‘superb team’ is adept at domestic and cross-border mandates. It is advising Sauer-Danfoss on the carve-out of its sales and marketing division in 13 European countries. Other highlights were advising Karstadt on the spin-off of premium department stores. The team provides ongoing advice to UPS, BP and Porsche. Thomas 
Müller-Bonanni and Klaus-Stefan Hohenstatt are recommended. However, the experienced Ulrike Schweibert and Jochen Leßmann left to set up their own boutique.

‘Always commercial and not afraid to be innovative’, Gleiss Lutz features some of Germany’s best-known employment lawyers, among them Jobst-Hubertus Bauer, but is 
also recommended for its ‘extremely strong younger lawyers’ and ‘consistent top-level service throughout the team’. It is advising Nokia Siemens Networks and Allianz on restructuring, and acting for Stanley Black & Decker Group on merging and restructuring the German business. Robert Bosch retains the firm for ongoing advice, and ExxonMobil has instructed the team in company pension disputes. Burkard Göpfert is also recommended.

Baker & McKenzie frequently acts for multinationals in cross-border projects, most recently for Abbott Laboratories on the global labour and employment aspects of corporate reorganisation. The team is also advising Conergy SolarModule on the restructuring of a factory, and assisting Opel with its ongoing restructuring. Günther Heckelmann heads the practice, which includes Christian Reichel, who has ‘an excellent know-how of company pension schemes’, and the ‘pragmatic’ Gregor Dornbusch, who ‘gets things done’.

Beiten Burkhardt provides broad services to its extensive roster of longstanding clients. It is advising Fiat Group on works constitution issues; publishing group Weltbild on collective bargaining matters; and BHF-Bank on the realignment of company pension schemes. The team extensively advises Charité CFM Facility Management. Alexius Leuchten heads the practice.

Employment boutique Kliemt & Vollstädt, member of Ius Laboris gives ‘superb advice’ and has ‘an established market position’. The team assists clients such as Santander Bank and 
Merz Pharma with restructuring, and also provides a range of other advice to clients 
such as Accenture, Air Liquide, TomTom, and E-Plus. The highly regarded Michael Kliemt is 
the key figure.

Küttner Rechtsanwälte is an impressive boutique with specialist knowledge of company pension schemes, for which Commerzbank is a client. The team has acted for BASF in litigation, advises Zurich Group and Lekkerland on restructuring, and also acts for clients such as Ford and Nissan. Bernd Esser and Tim Wißmann are recommended.

Noerr’s broad practice advised ARAG insurance group on its SE transformation, represented Aviapartner in collective bargaining disputes with works councils, while Air Berlin and EADS are further clients. However, the departure of Georg Annuß to Linklaters LLP was a blow for the team now headed by the ‘very skilled’ Andreas Butz.

Allen & Overy LLP’s frequently recommended young practice has expertise 
in industrial action, company pension and compensation schemes. The team advised Fraport regarding a ban on industrial action 
and acted for Commerzbank in litigation. 
Tobias Neufeld ‘translates legal issues into a context that is easily understood’, Thomas Ubber 
is ‘excellent’, and Hans-Peter Löw is also recommended.

Clifford Chance is ‘always up-to-date on labour law trends and issues’, and frequently advises on issues in the context of transactions. It is acting for the works council of WestLB 
on the bank’s final restructuring; KfW in 
two disputes with board members; and Netzwerkpartner on its compliance programme. Nicole Engesser Means provides ‘the best support I have ever seen’, says one client.

DLA Piper advises Staples on compliance, AT&T Group on compliance and company pension schemes, and also acts for H&M. Rolf Kowanz joined Heisse Kursawe Eversheds, prompting two internal promotions of new counsels Kai Bodenstedt and Pascal Kremp. Volker von Alvensleben and Michael Magotsch are recommended.

Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek traditionally has a strong national client base but is increasingly acting for international clients as well. Highlights were advising Volvo Auto Bank on restructuring matters, assisting Otto with staff reductions, and advising Diehl Stiftung on co-determination structures. Wilhelm Moll is ‘one of the best in Germany’ and gives ‘advice of excellent quality’.

Hogan Lovells International LLP recently advised Allianz on employee data privacy issues, and assisted Axa with its reorganisation. The team also gives comprehensive advice to Gucci. Eckard Schwarz ‘comes up with strategies that lead to success’ and Tim Wybitul is recommended for data protection and compliance advice. Hendrik Kornbichler heads the practice.

Latham & Watkins LLP has strong expertise in restructuring matters, where clients include Novo Nordisk, and the firm has substantial experience across the healthcare, insurance and pharmaceuticals sectors. It is advising Merck on a global HR project. Airbus Operations and HSH Nordbank are longstanding clients. The ‘very accurate’ Claudia Heins has ‘outstanding business acumen’ and is ‘a good negotiator’. Stefan Lunk is also recommended.

Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH is ‘more than excellent’, and its expertise spans numerous industries. The team recently advised the state of Hesse on new statutory regulations and assisted Metro with restructuring. It also provides comprehensive advice to Remondis. Axel Braun heads the practice, which also includes Robert von Steinau-Steinrück.

Taylor Wessing’s ‘highly regarded standalone practice’ is increasingly attracting international work from clients such as Infor Global Solutions, which it recently advised on restructuring. On the contentious side, the team represented ERGO Versicherungsgruppe in a variable remuneration case before the Federal Labour Court. Matthias Kast ‘understands the strategic implications of legal aspects’, and ‘gives fast, clear recommendations’.

Tschöpe/Schipp/Clemenz’s areas of expertise include works constitution law, company pension schemes and restructuring. Clients include Canon and Jil Sander. All three name partners Ulrich Tschöpe, Johannes Schipp and Susanne Clemenz are recommended.

CBH Cornelius Bartenbach Haesemann & Partners is strong in personnel representation law and has numerous healthcare sector clients. Other clients include Allianz, Toyota, Carglass and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Ernst Eisenbeis is the name to note.

Kasper Knacke is known for its retail sector expertise, where its clients include Lidl and Schlecker. Representing senior-level employees is another area of strength and Daimler Protics is one of the team’s longstanding clients. Wolfgang Hesse is recommended.

Linklaters LLP bolstered its team by hiring Georg Annuß from Noerr in September 2012, helping the practice to branch out beyond transactional advice. The group co-ordinates global employment matters for Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, advises Sensient on restructuring matters, and recent work also includes acting for Triton on its acquisition of K+S. Michael Tepass heads the team.

Schlütter Bornheim Seitz’s practice has experienced dynamic development recently. It is utilising its retail sector expertise to advise new client Praktiker on its large-scale restructuring and its strong automotive experience in advising Opel on personnel reductions. Esprit is a notable new client. Stefan Seitz, Marc Werner and Heinke von Netzer are ‘extremely good’.

Boutique firm Schrader Straube Siebert maintains a large portfolio of longstanding clients, including Bahlsen and Salamander, and has been busy with a raft of restructuring and contentious advice recently. Gildemeister and Volkswagen are also clients. Name partners 
Peter Schrader and Gunnar Straube are recommended.

White & Case LLP excels at restructuring and transactional matters, and recently advised the German Ministry of Finance on the planned privatisation of TLG Immobilien. It also acted for Janssen-Cilag, the German subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, on employment aspects of a worldwide outsourcing. Karl-Dietmar Cohnen is ‘particularly good’ and the team as a whole provides ‘a very high service level’.

Buse Heberer Fromm routinely handles employment work for its extensive roster of longstanding clients, among them Capgemini, and in one high-profile mandate represented 
a law firm regarding overtime remuneration 
for associates. The team also advised MCS 
during insolvency. Sabine Feindura is the name to note.

Heisse Kursawe Eversheds recruited the well-regarded Rolf Kowanz from DLA Piper 
and increasingly acts on cross-border matters such as advising DS Smith on its proposed acquisition of SCA Packaging, spanning 33 jurisdictions. Avon Cosmetics is also a client. Stefan Kursawe and Susanne Giesecke head 
the practice.

Boutique firm Pusch Wahlig Legal is emerging as a key market player, representing corporations such as Imperial Tobacco Group in litigation and regularly acting for Bombardier Transportation and Gaz de France Deutschland. Tobias Pusch and Thomas Wahlig are highly regarded.