Firm Profile > Flick Gocke Schaumburg > Bonn, Germany

Non-profit Tier 1

Non-profit Tier 1

‘Solid and leading institution’ Flick Gocke Schaumburg ‘does a good job’ advising clients in the non-profit sector and ‘deserves its top-tier ranking’. The firm acts for non-profit organisations on tax and non-profit matters and while it predominantly handles domestic work, it also advises at an international level, within Europe and beyond, including recently assisting a large US association with the establishment of a branch in Germany. Clients include larger non-profit organisations and foundations, DAX-listed companies, federal ministries, sports associations, research assocations and higher education institutions. As a result of the non-profit team sitting within the private client practice, the firm also covers the entire spectrum of succession, assets and foundations and acts for numerous wealthy individuals and family offices. Recent highlights include advising on the establishment of charitable foundations for an automotive manufacturer and a well-known athlete; the consolidation of charitable foundations and the assessment of the not-for-profit activities of non-profit organisations in Germany and abroad; succession concepts for non-profit institutions; and the separation of a hospital from an ecclesiastical foundation. Stephan Schauhoff is a board member of the Bundesverband Deutscher Stiftungen, the Association of German Foundations. Clients also single out Andreas Erdbrügger. Christian Kirchhain was promoted to partner at the start of 2018.

Tax Tier 1

Flick Gocke Schaumburg’s sizeable team is broadly positioned in group, inheritance and corporate tax law, as well as in national and international tax advice. Recent highlights include the tax advice provided by the renowned Thomas Rödder on transactions and restructuring in the energy sector and pharmaceutical industry, as well as Matthias Rogall assistance with the sale of the Wirtgen Group, which operates in the construction machinery industry, to mechanical engineering company John Deere with a total value of €4.4bn. The group, which is led by Karsten Randt and Jörg Schauf, has excellent criminal tax law expertise with regards to accusations of tax evasion pertaining to workers’ council payments, executive board defence and in the preventative area of tax compliance. In addition to eight equity partner appointments, the firm welcomed Michael Puls from Deloitte Legal Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH; he has headed the newly opened Düsseldorf office since January 2018. Eight associated partners also joined. Jens Schönfeld is also particularly well regarded.

Corporate Tier 5

Flick Gocke Schaumburg frequently acts for long-term clients - often family businesses. Burgbad, EWE, Fränkische Rohrwerke Gebr. Kirchner and Vattenfall, for example, are long-standing clients. A significant part of the work is handling restructurings, where it has handled recent work for Gelsenwasser and VNG - Verbundnetz Gas. Michael Erkens and Stephan Göckeler jointly head the team. Finn Lubberich made partner at the beginning of 2018 and Christoph Schulte is another name to note.

Energy Tier 5

Flick Gocke Schaumburg significantly expanded its energy regulatory practice – notably adding expertise in the electricity and gas space – with the arrival of Christoph Sieberg, Thilo Richter and Margret Schellberg from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. The team advised E.ON’s network operators on the revenue ceilings for the gas and electricity network in the third regulatory period. In the contentious space, the group represented Uniper power plants in various actions in connection with the payment of redispatch services and the prohibition of the temporary decommissioning of transmission system operators, and defended E.DIS against transmission fee refund claims by a grid customer. Other prominent clients include Bayernwerk, TenneT TSO and Vattenfall.

M&A: mid-sized deals (sub-€500m) Tier 6

Flick Gocke Schaumburg is a popular choice for medium-sized (family-run) companies. In recent work, it advised Schindler on the acquisition of Dralle Aufzüge, and assisted film production company Brainpool with the acquisition of MTS. Stephan Göckeler and Michael Erkens are recommended in the Bonn office, one of six German locations. In Frankfurt, Finn Lubberich joined the partnership in January 2018.