The Legal 500

Hengeler Mueller’s excellent two-partner team is headed by Thomas Paul and Edgar Wallach, and represents a large number of both national and foreign investment companies and banks. An area of strength is the foundation, restructuring and liquidation of investment companies and real estate investment funds. The team is also experienced in the development of fund supermarkets and global clearing platforms, and offers a full service to KAGs in foundation, merger and compliance matters.

Clifford Chance’s investment funds team is led by Sven Zeller and deals with all aspects of the sector. Its main activities in 2010 related to real estate transactions and restructuring deals for investment companies, and the implementation of the new German Investment Act. The team has a number of longstanding high-profile clients such as Barclays, Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas, and recently advised Barclays on prospectus updates on the intended sale of new UCITS sub-funds. It also assisted Bausparkasse Schwäbisch Hall on the implementation of the Consumer Credit Directive for loan brokers.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s three-partner investment funds team has been increasingly busy in regulatory matters. The practice advised ING on a comprehensive range of products, and assisted BlackRock as a leading foreign provider of exchange traded funds and their distribution in Germany. Deutsche Bank and Deutsche Bank Luxembourg also instructed the team, on the acquisition of the Sal. Oppenheim Group. Thomas Emde, Gunnar Schuster and Konrad Schott are all recommended figures in the practice.

Alexander Vogt heads the team at Linklaters LLP, which focuses on the real estate, infrastructure, renewable energy and private equity sectors. It advised KfW Bankengruppe on the structuring and establishment of an innovative microfinance fund, and CB Richard Ellis on the structuring of a Luxembourg real estate fund. Tottenham Hale also instructed the team, on a Turkish inbound structuring transaction involving the design of a new financing structure. Markus Wollenhaupt is recommended.

Norton Rose LLP had a successful year, garnering several new clients. The team advised SEB and SEB Asset Management on the sale of Investmentservice to Fondsdepot, and UniCredit on its bid for SEB’s German retail banking unit. Frank Herring, Martin Krause and Caroline Herkstroeter are all highly recommended.

GSK Stockmann + Kollegen’s team includes Rainer Werum in Frankfurt, who has a background in, and focus on, real estate investment matters, and Markus Escher in Munich. The firm has recently advised various clients on liability risks. Clients particularly note the firm’s expertise in real estate transactions in Germany.

SJ Berwin LLP’s team is headed by the well-respected figure of Sonya Pauls, and has a strong emphasis on fund formation and infrastructure funds. Key clients of the group include Allianz, Generali, Triton, TVM Capital and Siemens. The Munich office has notable expertise in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe. The team works closely with Christian Schatz to ensure a seamless tax service for investment fund clients.

The renowned Marietta Lienhard leads White & Case LLP’s investment funds team, which provides the full range of services to major investors wishing to be introduced to the German market. The team has many high-profile clients, such as Allianz Invest, HSBC, Goldman Sachs and Vanguard, and has recently added a number of Irish and French investment companies to its client list.

Baum Financial Services Law Team, the Hamburg-based boutique, has an excellent reputation in investment funds, with areas of expertise including funds structuring and registering, and acts for longstanding clients such as Threadneedle, Franklin Templeton and AXA Investment Managers. It maintains correspondence relationships throughout Germany and other jurisdictions. Roland Baum and Michaela Engler are recommended.

Gleiss Lutz’s investment funds team is jointly led by Helge Kortz and Stephan Aubel, and advises on the structuring and placement of foreign and German investment funds. It advised Lend Lease Real Estate Investments and Majid Al Futtaim Asset Management on private placements of investment funds in Germany.

Hogan Lovells International LLP’s investment funds team is headed by Michael Leistikow in Dusseldorf, with noteworthy recent experience including several real estate deals. The team advised DTTC on an enforceability option, and UBS Real Estate on the sale of property at Frankfurt Airport.

Benedikt Weiser heads Mayer Brown LLP’s investment funds team, and has a notable expertise in innovative fund structures. The firm advised Generali Deutschland Immobilien on an open infrastructure fund involving the structuring and establishment of a feeder fund in Luxembourg, and also assisted AXA Konzern on a derivative bond related to a hedge fund portfolio.

P+P Pöllath + Partners’ investment funds team is led by Andreas Rodin, who has an excellent reputation in fund structuring, and includes Uwe Bärenz and the well-respected Patricia Volhard. The firm carried out a fund structuring for Eigenkapitalfonds für deutschen Mittelstand, and advised D/S Alternative Assets on the structuring and placement of D/D Neuseeland.

The team at Simmons & Simmons LLP works closely with the firm’s London office. Led by Jochen Kindemann, it currently advises over 50 national and international funds, especially hedge funds. It acted for Marshall Wace on the listing of an Irish exchange-traded fund on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and Estlander & Partners on the implementation of a commodity-based strategy in a UCITS fund structure.