ADVANT Beiten > Frankfurt, Germany > Firm Profile

ADVANT Beiten > The Legal 500 Rankings

Media > Entertainment

ADVANT Beiten's IP, IT and media practice advises major players from the gaming and e-sports sector on contract drafting as well as on the implementation of tournaments and new product launches; Andreas Lober is a key contact here. He also represents clients in copyright and trademark disputes and jointly heads the practice with Holger Weimann. Weimann is primarly active in the media, corporate and antitrust law advice to the radio sector. Other key topics are traditional broadcasting and television law as well as sports law; Wotjek Ropel handles IT and e-commerce matters.

Intellectual property > Unfair competition Tier 2

Medium-sized companies and large corporations call upon ADVANT Beiten regarding a wide range of competition law issues, especially for litigation related to trade secrets and counterfeiting. The practice further impresses with its strategic capacity and is particularly active for clients from the sports, computer games, publishing and radio sectors. Electronic entertainment and technology are central focuses for practice head Andreas Lober: here he covers both non-contentious matters as well as representation before courts and authorities.

Germany > Private clients and non-profits Tier 2

ADVANT Beiten regularly advises family offices on succession planning and demonstrates particular expertise in the establishment and management of foundations, while succession and tax law issues are also covered. The practice is led by foundation and succession expert Gerrit Ponath and Lucas van Randenborgh, who focuses on tax law matters in connection with succession planning; he also covers the interface with corporate law. Ponath also advises foundations on non-profit law. Katharina Fink primarily acts at interface between foundation and inheritance law, including contentious proceedings, while Georg Tolksdorf made partner in January 2023 and focuses on execution of wills matters and succession planning.

Germany > Employment Tier 3

Under the leadership of Markus Künzel, ADVANT Beiten's employment team advises on the full spectrum of individual and collective employment issues with a focus on restructuring and reorganisation as well as transactions and collective bargaining issues. While Mark Zimmer (transaction support, employment compliance) joined from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in October 2023 and Andreas Imping from Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner in early 2024, the reporting period was marked by numerous departures: in October 2022, Andreas Reuther (restructuring, transaction support, business transfers) joined POELLATH, followed by the departure of a team of more than twenty lawyers at the beginning of 2023 to Seitz Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater, including Christopher Melms (works constitution law, collective bargaining law, industrial dispute rights), Wolfgang Lipinski (restructuring, transformation, remuneration and working time models), Daniel Hund (restructuring, transformation, deployment of external personnel), Stefan Lochner (restructuring, collective bargaining law, collective employment law), Kathrin Bürger (collective bargaining law, working time and remuneration models) and Christina Kamppeter (restructuring, transformation, compliance, litigation).

Information technology > Data protection Tier 3

ADVANT Beiten stands out thanks to the close cooperation of the IT and media practices. This expertise benefits clients from the gaming, finance and healthcare sectors. The client portfolio includes companies as well as public sector players, which the team advises on risk management, contract design, digitisation projects and compliance. The latter is a key competence of Susanne Klein, who made partner in November 2022. The partner roster was further strengthened with the addition of Birgit Münchbach (August 2022, previously at Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner) and Ariane Loof (October 2022, formerly KPMG Law in Germany). While Münchbach focuses on digital business models and cloud solutions, Loof acts at the interface between data protection and employment law. Practice head Andreas Lober is well versed in litigation and clients' representation before the supervisory authorities.

Intellectual property > Trade marks Tier 3

ADVANT Beiten advises medium-sized companies and large international corporations on trade mark matters, focusing on the sports, retail and automotive sectors. The group is particularly dedicated to portfolio development, management and enforcement and further impresses clients in the digital industries, such as gaming, with IT law expertise; this interface also mirrors practice head Andreas Lober's expertise, which includes electronic entertainment and digitalisation. Christina Hackbarth and Tanja Hogh Holub both assist with strategic matters as well as with trade mark enforcement and defense.

Media > Press and publishing Tier 3

ADVANT Beiten supports a client base consisting of online publications, publishers and press groups such as RTL and SPIEGEL in press law and copyright issues. Publishing law expert Holger Weimann jointly heads the practice with IT and media lawyer Andreas Lober and advises radio stations and newspaper publishers on various copyright and competition law matters. Marc-Oliver Srocke is experienced in defending several #metoo reports and primarily advises on free speech matters.

Public sector > Public procurement Tier 3

ADVANT Beiten predominantly focuses on procurement of IT, health and research projects and primarily acts on the procurer side. The strong team has increasingly been involved in digitalisation projects since the Hospital Future Act was passed and represents both insurance associations and hospital groups in numerous contract negotiations and award procedures. Stephan Rechten is primarily responsible for the health sector and also assists with large procurements for network expansion and high-technology projects at federal level; he jointly heads the practice with construction and real estate procurement expert Hans Georg Neumeier.

Industry focus > Energy Tier 4

ADVANT Beiten offers support in transactions and projects in the photovoltaics, geothermal, onshore and offshore wind sectors as well as charging infrastructure for electric vehicles; Christof Aha and Christian Ulrich Wolf regularly take the lead here. Aha and Wolf share management of the practice with Stephan Rechten, who is well versed in regulatory matters, including procurement procedures. These capacities are complemented by experience in litigation and arbitration, including claims for damages and delivery disputes; Ralf Hafner is a key contact here.

Information technology > Information technology and digitalisation Tier 4

Led by Andreas Lober, the IP/IT/media team at ADVANT Beiten advises across practices and locations and covers the areas gaming, banking and finance, healthcare and AI (in particular generative AI tools). The first two areas are a focus of the Frankfurt-based team, while healthcare matters are handled by the Berlin location; this is complemented by the Freiburg-based team's expertise in technology-related contracts and R&D agreements. The partner roster was significantly strengthened with the promotion of data protection expert Susanne Klein in November 2022, the arrival of Birgit Münchbach (technology transactions) from Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner in August 2022 as well as the additions of  Ariane Loof (employment law, employee data protection), who joined from KPMG Law in Germany in October 2022 and Peggy Müller from Klinkert Rechtsanwälte PartGmbB in January 2023. Müller focuses on IP issues.

Insurance > Advice to insurers Tier 4

ADVANT Beiten is primarily active in the area of ​​financial lines and the handling of such claims for insurers. Led by Florian Weichselgärtner, who is experienced in handling complex liability claims, the team covers various interfaces such as tax, criminal, employment and corporate law as well as M&A and insolvency law. Among the core topics are D&O insurance and professional liability as well as damage to trust and litigation.

Corporate and M&A > M&A Tier 5

ADVANT Beiten is ideally equipped to advise on cross-border matters within Europe due to its firm network and does so for strategic investors, family businesses and medium-sized companies in mid-cap transactions, with a particular focus on deals related to China and the US. Hans-Josef Vogel has particular expertise in the technology, transport and tourism sectors and jointly leads the corporate and M&A team with Barbara Mayer, who joined from Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner in August 2022. Other team members include Gerhard Manz (restructuring, shareholder disputes, company succession) as well as Christian Burmeister and Sebastian Weller, who made partner in January 2023; both are experienced in joint ventures and private equity.

Public sector > Planning and environment Tier 5

ADVANT Beiten's public sector practice primarily advises on environmental law and permitting issues in connection with development projects and real estate transactions. Hans Georg Neumeier oversees several urban infrastructure and residential construction projects and represents real estate companies and the public sector in planning approval and approval proceedings. Neumeier jointly leads the practice with procurement and energy lawyer Stephan Rechten. The team possesses further expertise in environmental and licensing disputes.

Real estate and construction > Real estate Tier 5

ADVANT Beiten real estate team is well versed in asset management and transaction support; the team also increasingly advises on contentious matters. Practice head Klaus Beine complements this with expertise at the interface with public and private construction law. The practice covers various asset classes, although recent instructions pertain to the commercial, logistics and office sectors.

Germany > Antitrust Tier 6

ADVANT Beiten focuses on the support in antitrust administration and fine proceedings, cartel damages and merger control, where the team also covers interfacing EU competition law and EU state aid law matters. Uwe Wellmann is well versed in merger control, including the international review and coordination of merger control filings, and jointly heads the practice with Dietmar Reich (merger control and public procurement law), who divides his time between Hamburg and Brussels. Christoph Heinrich (digital antitrust law) and Christian Heinichen (antitrust fines and merger control) are further key contacts of the team, which is experienced in the cosmetics and healthcare sectors.

Germany > Tax