Legal500

DLA Piper

HOHENZOLLERNRING 72, 50672 COLOGNE, GERMANY

Tel:: Work +49 221 277 277 0
Fax:: Fax +49 221 277 277 10

Web:: www.dlapiper.com/germany
Email:

Zagreb, Washington DC, Warsaw, Vienna, Tokyo, Tbilisi , and 75 more

What we say about the firm's legal practice in Germany

Banking and finance: Bank lending

Within Banking and finance: Bank lending, tier 5

DLA Piper witnessed a growth in its acquisition and credit finance work along with an increase in regulatory matters. The team, led by Wolfgang Richter, advised Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance and Indigo Capital on the financing of the acquisition of certain operating companies, and The Carlyle Group on a major cross-border merger involving a quoted entity.

Banking and finance: Project finance

Within Banking and finance: Project finance, DLA Piper LLP is a third tier firm,

DLA Piper’s three-partner project finance team is headed by Frank Roth and has significant experience in PPP and PFI projects in Germany, with transport infrastructure a particular strength. The team has advised UniCredit Bank on the financing of BARD Offshore 1, a €1bn development of 80 wind turbines in the North Sea. The firm also advised a syndicate of six banks on a DKK1.4bn PPP motorway project in Denmark. Antje Günther is recommended.

Capital markets

Within Capital markets , tier 4

DLA Piper was involved in the first IPO by a German issuer in Hong Kong, acting for Guotai Junan Capital and Samsung Securities in the HK$185m IPO of Schramm Holding. It also advised the Draeger family as major shareholders in TecDax listed Draegerwerk & Co, in connection with a rights issue and other matters. Andreas Meyer-Landrut and Kerstin Schnabel are both recommended.

Corporate and M&A: Mid-sized deals

Within Corporate and M&A: Mid-sized deals, DLA Piper LLP is a second tier firm,

DLA Piper was involved in several complex cross-border deals, among them advising The Associated Press New York on the sale of its German news agency business to ddp. EWE instructed the team on the €1.2bn sale of its asset of VNG to EnBW, and the team acted for Benteler Automobiletechnik on its acquisition of the automotive structures business of Norwegian Norsk Hydro. The team expanded its dedicated India group with new hire Benjamin Parameswaran from Hengeler Mueller. Christoph Papenheim heads the team.

Dispute resolution

Within Dispute resolution , tier 4

Clifford Chance fully makes use of its international reach, advising on sigificant cross-border matters. Highlights included defending Europe’s largest aviation, space travel and defence group regarding claims by investors alleging delays in delivery of a high-volume aircraft, and advising a large Russian pipeline manufacturer regarding an industrial construction project in Russia. The team represented an international bank in connection with the enforcement of claims for criminal offences. Clients praise the ‘good overall service and appropriate advice’. Head of team Uwe Hornung is ‘pragmatic, quick and uncomplicated’, and Sebastian Rakob is ‘very thorough and efficient’. Düsseldorf-based Michael Kremer made partner, underlining the team’s commitment to maintain a substantial team in both Frankfurt and Düsseldorf. Counsel Wolfgang Jäger moved to DLA Piper.

Employment

Within Employment , tier 4

DLA Piper has built up a significant base of longstanding clients, and frequently receives high-profile instructions from its network. Highlights included advising Benteler Automobiltechnik on the worldwide acquisition of the automotive structure business of Norsk Hydro, and Havells Sylvania Germany on the worldwide merger of Activision with Vivendi Games. Volker von Alvensleben and Michael Magotsch are recommended.

Information technology and outsourcing

Within Information technology and outsourcing , tier 4

DLA Piper advises technology sector clients, and is rated for the ‘exceptional IT lawyer’ Jan Geert Meents, who clients ‘would recommend without hesitation’. A leading IT and outsourcing provider instructed the team on numerous projects, while the firm provides ongoing advice to HanseNet Telekommunikation. Kabel Deutschland and ProSiebenSat.1 are outsourcing clients. Thomas Jansen is recommended.

Maritime, shipping and transport

Within Maritime, shipping and transport , DLA Piper LLP is a third tier firm,

Carsten Grau is DLA Piper’s key contact when it comes to marine work, advising Samskip Group on shipping, chartering, and logistics matters, and acting for Stiftung Hamburg Maritim on ship sale and purchase, and in litigation.

Public sector

Within Public sector Other recommended firms

What we say worldwide

Please choose another DLA Piper LLP office to view full details of what we say in that region, or choose from this list to view a specific editorial reference in context.

United Arab Emirates

Offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Australia

Austria

Offices in Vienna

Belgium

Offices in Antwerp and Brussels

Bahrain

Offices in Manama

Legal market overview : Legal market overview

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Offices in Sarajevo

China

Offices in Beijing and Shanghai

Czech Republic

Offices in Prague

Germany

Offices in Cologne, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin

Egypt

Offices in Cairo

Spain

Offices in Madrid

France

Offices in Paris

Georgia

Offices in Tbilisi

Legal market overview : Legal market overview

Hong Kong

Offices in Hong Kong

Hungary

Offices in Budapest

Indonesia

Foreign firms : Foreign firms

India

Foreign firms : Foreign firms

Italy

Offices in Milan and Rome

Japan

Offices in Tokyo

Kuwait

Offices in Safat

London

Offices in London

Netherlands

Offices in Amsterdam

Norway

Offices in Oslo

North West

Offices in Liverpool and Manchester

Oman

Offices in Muscat

Poland

Offices in Warsaw

Qatar

Offices in Doha and Doha

Foreign firms : Foreign firms

Romania

Offices in Bucharest

Russia

Offices in Moscow and St Petersburg

Scotland

Offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh

Sweden

Offices in Stockholm

Singapore

Offices in Singapore

South Korea

Foreign firms : Foreign firms

Slovakia

Offices in Bratislava

Saudi Arabia

Offices in Riyadh

Corporate and M&A : Corporate and M&A

Thailand

Offices in Bangkok

Turkey

Offices in Istanbul

Ukraine

Offices in Kiev

United States

Offices in San Francisco, Seattle, Palo Alto, San Diego (Downtown), Boston, Los Angeles, Tampa, Chicago, Baltimore, Washington DC, New York, Philadelphia, Dallas, Las Vegas, North Carolina, Austin,Texas, Houston, Texas, Reston, Virginia, Minneapolis, Atlanta, La Jolla, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Diego (Golden Triangl, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, Orlando, New Jersey, and Maryland

Vietnam

Legal market overview : Legal market overview

West Midlands

Offices in Birmingham

Yorkshire and the Humber

Offices in Leeds and Sheffield

Serbia

Offices in Belgrade

Search News and Articles

Legal Developments by:
DLA Piper LLP

Sentencing guidelines for corporate manslaughter

In February 2010 the Sentencing Guidelines Council (the SGC) issued definitive guidelines to courts on imposing appropriate sentences for corporate manslaughter and health and safety offences causing death. The SGC states that fines imposed on companies found guilty of corporate manslaughter should not fall below £500,000, while fines in respect of health and safety offences that are a significant cause of death should be at least £100,000. Crucially, the SGC declined to provide for a fixed link between the imposed fine and the turnover or profitability of the offending company. 

- DLA Piper UK LLP

Legal Developments in Germany

Legal Developments and updates from the leading lawyers in each jurisdiction. To contribute, send an email request to

Legal Express Issue 1

We are pleased to bring you our Legal Express, which covers the most significant legislative changes in Russia in December 2011 and January 2012.

- Noerr
Priority rental rights in insolvency

Parties to rental contracts for commercial premises often agree priority rental rights. In practice, this concept is used to cover a whole series of legal structures. These range from fixed options for the tenant to a promise made by the landlord as a business policy that if any additional premises become available, they will be offered to the tenant. In 2010 the Berlin Court of Appeal issued a ruling on such priority rental rights in insolvency; the decision has recently been published.

- SIBETH
Dispute Resolution

Introduction Simon Bushell Herbert Smith LLP 3

- GSK Stockmann + Kollegen
Germany – Debt-to-equity-swaps: a reorganisation and takeover instrument in Germany

by Charlotte Schmitt, LL.M, GSK Stockmann + Kollegen

- GSK Stockmann + Kollegen
GSK Update: AIFM Directive approved by the European Parliament - Outlook and Preparation

Managers of so-called alternative investment funds will in future be supervised and there will be an extensive catalogue of obligations for selling and marketing alternative investment fund.

- GSK Stockmann + Kollegen
Getting the Deal Through/Licensing

Law Business Research, 2011

- Bardehle Pagenberg Dost Altenburg Geissler
Rome I Regulation: choice of law for contractual obligations

The EU Rome I Regulation (593/2008) of the European Parliament and of the Council came into force on 17 December 2009 (Convention). The Convention sets rules to determine the (national) law applicable to contractual obligations in civil and commercial matters. This Regulation replaces the 1980 Rome Convention and is especially relevant to cross-border businesses. The intention of the Convention is to provide legal certainty in cases where the parties have not expressly chosen the applicable law governing their contract.

- Avocado Rechtsanwälte
Restriction of the shareholder’s right to information

According to a judgment of the German Federal Supreme Court from February 2010, the general assembly (Hauptversammlung) of a stock corporation (“Corporation”) may resolve to include a provision in its articles of association which comprehensively empowers the chairman to reasonably restrict the time available to shareholders to debate during the shareholder’s meeting.

- Avocado Rechtsanwälte
AIFM Directive approved by the European Parliment - Outlook and Preperation

Managers of so-called alternitive investment funds will in future be supervised and there will be an extensive catalogue of obligations for selling and marketing alternitive investment fund.

- GSK Stockmann + Kollegen
New alternatives in real estate financing

Equity currently appears easier to obtain than bank financing. Due to the changes in the financial sector, the financing of real estate acquisitions or project developments is more difficult than before the financial crisis. Banks are now requesting more equity. In addition, following Basel III (a new international regulatory framework for banks), the demand for equity will grow.

- GSK Stockmann + Kollegen