The Legal 500

Within Antitrust, tier 4

Hogan Lovells International LLP’s ‘highly qualified, motivated and creative practitioners’ always ‘take into account global aspects’. In a particularly noteworthy case, it represented the FCO in a lawsuit concerning GN Store Nord’s €1.1bn claim for damages for official liability. It also advised Tank & Rast on antitrust, procurement and contract law pertaining to the re-awarding of fuel distribution rights at German highway service stations. Marc Schweda ‘develops tailor-made solutions’, and the ‘very customer-focused’ Martin Sura has ‘outstanding industry knowledge’.

Within Bank lending, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP shows ‘exceptional business acumen’. It has been busy advising on restructuring matters and often works with the firm’s strong London practice. The team advised Parcom Deutsche Private Equity on financing the acquisition of Westfalia-Automotive Holding, and Prostrakan on refinancing matters. Katlen Blöcker provides ‘excellent support in negotiations’, ‘knows the relevant players’ and ‘solves all matters promptly’.

Within Capital markets , Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP significantly boosted its ECM expertise by recruiting one of the country’s leading practitioners, Michael Schlitt, from Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. Other key names in the practice are Sina Hekmat, who is ‘dedicated to his clients and the success of their businesses’, and Sven Brandt, who leads on the debt side. The group advised SoFFIn as major shareholder of Commerzbank on the €625m buyback of trust preferred securities, and Erste Abwicklungsanstalt on the establishment of its €20bn debt issuance programme.

Within Large deals, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Christoph Louven heads Hogan Lovells International LLP’s practice, which has increased its business advising US corporations in Europe, partly thanks to the merger, and boosted the Berlin office with a team of five from Broich. The team advised News Corporation and Fox Mobile on the sale of Fox Mobile Group, and FMS Wertmanagement on its acquisition of risk assets and non-strategic business units from Hypo Real Estate.

Within Dispute resolution , Hogan Lovells International LLP is a second tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP’s merger broadened its international client base, and allowed it to manage international litigation in a more ‘cost-effective, quick and very practical’ way. It represented PwC in a professional indemnity dispute with the Free State of Saxony regarding the collapse of the formerly state-owned bank Sachsen LB, and earned new clients such as Chartis Europe and the German Federal Cartel Authority, the latter of which was defended against a €1.1bn claim for damages. Practice head Detlef Hass is recommended along with Jürgen Witte, who ‘knows the industry very well’, and Ina Brock, who ‘gets things done’. Thomas Gädtke left with a team to join DLA Piper.

Within Employment , Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP suffered a blow when two of the team’s flagship partners, Hans-Peter Löw and Thomas Ubber, joined Allen & Overy LLP. However, the firm has been rebuilding and brought in compliance expert Tim Wybitul from Mayer Brown LLP. Hendrik Kornbichler heads the team, which ‘clearly spells out risks and benefits’. Recent instructions include advising HRE on the implementation of a new remuneration system for 800 employees, and Honeywell on restructuring.

Within Litigation, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a first tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP remains a good choice for complex, cross-border litigation, providing ‘precise, fast-acting multi-country support’. It has a substantial focus on pharmaceuticals and telecoms, in each case displaying ‘a very good understanding of the industry and its needs’. It recently defended HTC and Qiagen in respective patent infringement proceedings and represented Apple in its dispute with Nokia regarding smartphones. Martin Chakraborty ‘reduces complex problems to relevant points’, and Andreas von Falck and Andreas Bothe are also well regarded.

Within IP: trade marks , Hogan Lovells International LLP is a first tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP’s ‘simply brilliant’ practice has a client roster of leading multinational corporations including eBay, Dell, PepsiCo, Deutsche Telekom, Anheuser-Busch, Caterpillar and Red Bull. Estée Lauder is a client in product piracy matters. Andreas Bothe advises with ‘great sovereignty’ and ‘never leaves a question unanswered’.

Within Information technology and outsourcing , Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP makes use of its international network wherever relevant. The team advised a large provider of youth, social and educational support activities on IT outsourcing, and acted for Siemens Enterprises Communications on cloud computing matters. The loss of Wolfgang Büchner and Undine von Diemar to Jones Day was a blow, but Stefan Schuppert remains and is recommended for his ‘very good expertise’ and ability to ‘think outside the box’.

Within Restructuring, tier 4

Hogan Lovells International LLP has been able to draw on its US network to attract noteworthy instructions such as advising News Corporation on the sale of Berlin subsidiary Fox Mobile Group. It advised FMS Wertmanagement during its establishment and on the transfer of assets as part of Hypo Real Estate’s restructuring. Clients appreciate the team’s ‘very good service levels’, ‘responsiveness and level of expertise’. Heiko Tschauner leads the practice.

Within Media: Entertainment, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP remains a good choice for TV, film and entertainment matters but experienced several personnel changes when press law expert Stefan Engels left with a large team to join Bird & Bird. The remaining team features the highly regarded Christoph Wagner, who displays ‘excellent industry knowledge’ and ‘provides both legal and strategic advice’, and the ‘outstanding’ Andreas Grünwald. Clients include ProSiebenSat.1, News Corporation and Fox International Productions.

Within Media: Press and publishing Other recommended firms

Within Private equity , Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP has strong expertise in various sectors such as media, where the team regularly advises Holtzbrinck Ventures on private equity and venture capital transactions. It also advised Advent International on a large potential acquisition. Joachim Habetha heads this ‘very user-friendly’ team, which has ‘excellent business acumen’ and is ‘good value for money’.

Within Public sector , Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP frequently acts for international clients on environmental and planning law matters, often interacting with the firm’s real estate team, and clients say, ‘they give us exactly the advice we need and help us to save money in the long run’. The group advised Tank & Rast on the Trunk Road Act and implementation of the Fuel Supply 2013 project, and acted for several public utility companies to establish a distribution joint venture. The ‘very dedicated’ Thomas Dünchheim ‘always gets straight to the point’. Bernhard Kuhn heads the group.

Within Construction, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Wendelin Acker is the figurehead of Hogan Lovells International LLP’s small team, which advised Pierre & Vacances Center Parcs on a holiday resort development in Germany and acted for an energy provider on numerous waste-to-energy projects.

Within Real estate, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a second tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP’s broad practice is recommended by clients for its ‘tremendous experience’ and ability to ‘understand our business’, and is able to leverage the firm’s US offices when acting on German deals with a US angle. Highlights included advising Buss Group on its €16m acquisition of an office building in a development zone, and JER Partners on the €160m sale of a 40-unit commercial and residential property portfolio to Corestate. The ‘absolutely trustworthy’ Roland Bomhard is recommended along with Hinrich Thieme, who is adept at defusing tense negotiations. Ingo Winterstein joined Morgan Lewis.

Within Structured finance and securitisation , tier 4

Hogan Lovells International LLP focuses on advising funds and clients in the derivatives field, and has been particularly busy advising on securitisations of trade and leasing receivables. One area of expertise is auto loan receivables, where the team is known for advising Ford Bank, and the practice also acted for LBBW as arranger of a €100m trade receivables securitisation through an ABCP programme. The group notably advised on the establishment of Germany’s first and second bad bank. Sven Brandt is well regarded.

Within Tax , Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP, which provides a ‘remarkably high level of quality’ and ‘effective support’, has been busy advising in the context of financial markets stabilisation measures such as acting for Erste Abwicklungsanstalt on the acquisition of risk positions from WestLB. The team has capitalised on the firm’s enlarged US network and, for example, attracted instructions to advise News Corporation and its subsidiaries on the sale of Fox Mobile Group. Stephan Geibel is recommended along with Michael Dettmeier, who is ‘a truly exceptional tax lawyer with an excellent grasp of wider implications’.