The Legal 500

Germany

Employment

Employment - ranked: tier 5

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP frequently acts for international clients in restructuring and compliance-related matters. The team advised Fujifilm Imaging on the closure of its sites in Munich and Rostock, and assisted Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe with redundancy measures following the turnaround in energy policy. United Internet is among the team’s long term clients. Paul Melot de Beauregard is ‘smart, internationally minded and competent’ and team head Volker Teigelkötter is also recommended.

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Private equity

Private equity - ranked: tier 5

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP

Not least because of its ‘creative advice’ and ‘flair for clients and the other party’, McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP is considered an established contact for small and medium-sized private equity transactions. It handled numerous deals in the healthcare sector, including advising Great Point Partners on the acquisition of Clinical Supplies Management and assisting long-standing client Apax Capital Partners with the acquisition of Neuraxpharm. Another highlight was advising SüdBG on the sale of its shares in DBW Advanced Fiber Technologies to DMB Dr. Dieter Murmann Beteiligungsgesellschaft. Former King & Wood Mallesons partner Michael Cziesla, who joined the group led by the ‘reliable’ Nikolaus von Jacobs at the start of 2017, led advice on this matter. Sebastian von Lossow and Jan Hückel are also recommended.

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Tax

Tax - ranked: tier 4

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP is considered to be a good partner in business and tax investigations but also handles a wide range of advisory instructions. These instructions frequently stem from national and international family-owned businesses and include foundation structure, group taxation and international tax law matters, while large corporations and internationally operating SMEs routinely receive advice on transactions and various tax structurings including restructuring. Key figures include Dirk Pohl and Gero Burwitz.

Leading individuals

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Germany: Corporate and M&A

Corporate

Corporate and M&A: Corporate - ranked: tier 5

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP is primarily known for handling transactions, but is also well positioned to handle corporate law matters. For example, the group assisted IT service provider Fiducia & GAD IT with the spin-off of a business unit to Ratiodata. EHealth company CompuGroup Medical is another client which retained the group for advice on stock corporation law, its annual general meeting and the change of legal form from a public limited company (AG) to an SE. Christian von Sydow, Norbert Schulte and Stephan Rau are based in Düsseldorf, while the group also has corporate law capabilities in Munich and Frankfurt. Anja von Alemann left for an in-house position at Sana Kliniken in September 2017. Philipp Grenzebach made partner in early 2018.

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Germany: Dispute resolution

Arbitration (including international arbitration)

Dispute resolution: arbitration (including international arbitration) - ranked: tier 3

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP

Representing clients in international commercial arbitration constitutes the key element of McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP’s ‘recommendable’ practice. Sabine Konrad, who frequently advises investors and governments on investment protection issues and represents them in investor-state arbitrations, acted for several state banks, including Landesbank Baden-Württemberg and HSH Nordbank, in an investment arbitration procedure against Spain. Also having notable expertise in the energy and infrastructure sectors, she represented the plaintiff, a European construction company, in ICC proceedings pertaining to an infrastructure project against an Italian company and defended the same client against a counterclaim. Thomas Hauss and Boris Uphoff are also recommended.

Leading individuals

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Germany: IT and outsourcing

Information technology (including contracts)

IT and outsourcing: information technology (including contracts) - ranked: tier 5

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP’s IT team is noted for its ‘high level of expertise, very good industry knowledge and a very conscious use of resources’. The ‘competent advisors’ form part of the firm’s TMT industry group, frequently act for telecommunication providers and media corporations and also handle IT aspects of transactions, such as assisting Unister with the sale of the eBusiness company following the insolvency of the client and advising Cuneo on the purchase and sale of shares in various internet companies. Besides transaction-related advice the team also handled various matters for Deutsche Telekom, including cooperation agreements with Inmarsat regarding the European Aviation Network. The client base furthermore includes RTL, Signa Retail and Celanese. Ralf Weisser, who has ‘excellent industry and technical expertise’, and recently promoted counsel Claus Färber, who is noted for his ‘very good selbstbewusst qualifications’, are ‘recommended without reservation due to their engagement’.

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Germany: Industry focus

Healthcare and life sciences

Industry focus: healthcare and life sciences - ranked: tier 3

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP

Renowned for its ‘very good sector knowledge’, McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP was able to strengthen its healthcare and life sciences practice both in terms of workforce and clients despite the departure of Anja von Alemann to Sana Kliniken. A highlight for Stephan Rau’s group was advising Apax Capital Partners on the acquisition of generic drug manufacturer neuraxpharm and the acquisition of laboratory group Alpha Medical, which is active in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. On the regulatory side, advice given to Brunswick Corporation concerning medical products law is worth mentioning, which includes assistance with conformity assesments, market monitoring as well as labelling and advertisement matters. Katharina Wodarz advised Sonic Healthcare Germany on regulatory matters pertaining to the acquisition of Laborgruppe Staber and Medizinische Labore Bremen and Celle. The group used its cooperation agreement expertise when advising Sanford on the planned cooperation with a German stem cell therapy clinic.

Leading individuals

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Telecoms

Industry focus: telecoms - ranked: tier 3

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP continues advising on contractual and transactional matters, while recently noting an increase in regulatory work. The group led by Ralf Weisser and Wolfgang von Frentz mainly acts for media companies on digitalisation matters: For example, it represented ProSiebenSat.1 in preliminary injunction proceedings against Exaring concerning dissemination matters in connection with waipu.tv, particularly regarding the distinction of IPTV in closed cable networks with OTT services. Another highlight was representing Deutschlandradio in litigation against Unitymedia concerning the continued payment of cable feed-in tariffs. Claus Färber made counsel.

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Germany: Media

Entertainment

Media: Entertainment - ranked: tier 4

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP’s TMT practice was increasingly active in contentious proceedings in 2017. Wolfgang von Frentz and Christian Masch represented advertising marketer of the RTL group IP Deutschland in proceedings against Eyeo regarding the admissibility of ad blockers and ProSiebenSat.1 in injunction proceedings against the platform operator Exaring concerning distribution rights matters in connection with Waipu TV. RTL II regularly seeks the firm’s comprehensive advice on media law, including licence agreements and media law warnings, and the team continues to represent Deutschlandradio in proceedings regarding the continued payment of cable transmission charges against Unitymedia. The firm’s offering also includes media transactions and copyright advice. Von Frentz leads the practice together with Ralf Weisser.

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Germany: Private equity

Venture capital

Private equity: Venture capital - ranked: tier 4

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP stands out for its large ecommerce start-up portfolio, which includes Door2Door, a start-up that retained the group for the financing from a business angel and development bank KfW. On the investor side, many business angels rely on the group, such as VILITAS Deutschland, which was advised by Düsseldorf-based Sebastian von Lossow on investments in GHM Mobile, Builing10 and Fashionette. In Munich, Nikolaus von Jacobs acts for clients such as the Dr. Förster group and BonVenture.

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Germany: Real estate and construction

Real estate

Real estate and construction: Real estate - ranked: tier 3

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP’s ‘well-structured’ real estate team ‘is able to adapt to clients’ needs and provides pragmatic solutions’ and stands out for its ‘excellent transaction management skills’. Team head Jens Ortmanns is ‘a real personality’ and provides ‘an excellent balance of legal know-how and business risk assessment’. Alongside the ‘solution-oriented’ Thomas Beisken, he has been advising an international asset manager on the acquisition of various Frankfurt-based retail properties. Other recommended individuals include Ulrich Flege and Frankfurt-based counsel Nina Siewert; both are praised for their ‘quick response times and extensive knowledge’. Together, they assisted Oaktree Capital with the realisation and optimisation of the Adelaide non-performing loan portfolio by selling the properties in several individual and portfolio transactions.

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Germany: Restructuring and insolvency

Restructuring

Restructuring and insolvency: Restructuring - ranked: tier 4

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP’s ‘service and solution-oriented’ restructuring team ‘stands out for its professional and structured working methods’. Its out-of-court restructuring and refinancing advice is complemented by the firm’s litigation practice; the team often advises both insolvency administrators and executives on liability claims. It demonstrated its expertise in distressed M&A transactions in the representation of SIGNA Retail regarding the acquisition of the insolvent dress-for-less. In another highlight ‘strong negotiator and well connected’ Uwe Goetker assisted the insolvency administrator of Unister with the sale of its entire travel business division. Matthias Kampshoff advised the Kemmerich regarding an attempted out-of-court restructuring and subsequently handled the sale of the business operation to Sodecia. Besides insolvency administrators and companies the client portfolio also includes executives and investors.

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