Schima Mayer Starlinger Rechtsanwälte GmbH > Vienna, Austria > Firm Profile
Schima Mayer Starlinger Rechtsanwälte GmbH Offices
Trabrennstraße 2B
A-1020
Austria
Schima Mayer Starlinger Rechtsanwälte GmbH > The Legal 500 Rankings
Austria > Projects and energy Tier 2
With an ‘absolute focus on the essentials,’ Schima Mayer Starlinger Rechtsanwälte GmbH is noted for its work for the gas and electricity sectors, with the former in particular forming the bedrock of the firm’s energy practice in recent years. Under the guidance of founding partner Thomas Starlinger, the firm has grown its renewables practice, advising on innovative projects in the renewable energy and geothermal heat sectors. The energy group is closely aligned with the firm’s competition, finance and real estate teams, enabling it to provide a full service to its energy sector clients.Practice head(s):
Thomas Starlinger
Testimonials
‘Schima Mayer Starlinger excels in all matters related to energy law, offering in-depth knowledge and unmatched expertise. Their dedication, precision, and cost-effective solutions, combined with deep insights into the Austrian energy market, make them the go-to choice.’
‘Great to work with, reliable, passionate, dedicated.’
‘Very efficient, to the point legal advice. Absolute focus on the essentials.’
‘Probably the best energy law firm/know-how in Austria.’
‘Thomas Starlinger has excellent expertise and experience in energy law.’
‘Thomas Starlinger has great knowledge in the energy sector and it is a great pleasure to work with him.’
‘Thomas Starlinger adds his personal experience and contacts to his professional advice, which is outstanding in the energy sector.’
‘Thomas Starlinger is very knowledgeable about all relevant energy laws/regulations and as such provided great services in guiding the strategic direction.’
Key clients
AGGM Austrian Gas Grid Management AG
Sizzle Acquisition
Trans Austria Gasleitung GmbH
Wien Energie
Work highlights
- Advised Wien Energie on the establishment of a joint venture with OMV AG regarding the exploitation of geothermal energy for district heating in Vienna.
- Supported Wien Energie in a cooperation project with RheinEnergie and Verbund at the Donaustadt power plant in Vienna, concerning a test using blended hydrogen and natural gas fuel.
Austria > Employment Tier 3
Schima Mayer Starlinger Rechtsanwälte GmbH‘s team stands under the joint leadership of Georg Schima
and Birgit Vogt-Majarek and is recommended by clients for its ‘attention to detail and pragmatic approach.’ Vogt-Majarek is well-regarded for acting in individual employment matters such as termination of employment cases, though his practice also extends to collective employment law. Vogt-Majarek, meanwhile, is a key contact for advice on employment contracts and restructuring matters as well as for advice on data protection issues. Philipp Gamauf excels at handling matters at intersection of employment and corporate law.
Practice head(s):
Georg Schima; Birgit Vogt-Majarek
Other key lawyers:
Philipp Gamauf; Stefan Burischek
Testimonials
‘Very professional, knowledgeable, and outcome-oriented. Provide clear guidance on legal cases.’
‘The team has an extensive experience in labour law but also in commercial law, which was very helpful for us. Their communication skills mean a lot when the matter is complex.’
‘We are directly working with Philipp Gamauf and his team. He is an energetic lawyer, having a large perspective that helps us in labor and commercial matters. He strictly follows all the details of the case, never stops fighting for his client, and guides in the best way possible. ’
‘The huge attention to detail and pragmatic approach is definitely outstanding. Additionally, there is this human touch and understanding of the broader context. I really appreciate the in-depth understanding of our business and willingness to learn more.’
‘Birgit Vogt -Majarek makes such a great team with Stefan Burischek. They work together very well to the benefit of the clients.’
‘The collaboration was excellent, and the extent of the advice we received was absolutely to our satisfaction. The prompt availability of the legal team was exceptional.’
‘Extremely professional and well-informed of all aspects of relevant case law to get the best outcome for the client. ’
‘Could not recommend more highly – exceptional professional partners.’
Key clients
Canon Austria GmbH
Canon Central Eastern Europe GmbH
Celebi Ground Services Austria GmbH
DXC Technology Austria GmbH
EntServ Enterprise Services Austria GmbH
Ecovium GmbH
EUROTAX Österreich GmbH
EDUSCHO Austria GmbH
Ibis Acam Bildungs GmbH
Johnson & Johnson Group Austria
Kleen-Tex Industries GmbH
Moet Hennessy Österreich GmbH
Moncler Deutschland GmbH
Stone Island Austria GmbH
ÖBB Business Competence Center GmbH
OMV AG
Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien AG
Raiffeisen-Holding NÖ-Wien
Remote
Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles Österreich
RHI Magnesita GmbH
RIMC Hotels & Resorts Group
Schülke & Mayr Gesellschaft m.b.H.
Temp Champ GmbH
Western Union International Bank GmbH
Wienerberger AG
Work highlights
- Advised Raiffeisenlandesbank NÖ-Wien on all aspects of employment law, including advice on internal restructuring of departments and review of salary regulations.
- Advised Remote on the international personnel leasing of 100+ Austrian employees to companies operating worldwide and the required legal steps regarding notifications, documentation, and employment conditions.
- Advised Moet Hennessy Österreich GmbH on all aspects of employment law.
Austria > EU and competition Tier 3
The ‘highly skilled, solution-orientated’ team at Schima Mayer Starlinger Rechtsanwälte GmbH acts on merger filings, antitrust cases and immunity applications in Austria and within the EU, with key clients coming from the energy, healthcare, tourism and automotive sectors. ‘Competition expert’ Christian Mayer leads the team, focusing on antitrust matters and merger control proceedings, while also advising clients facing sector inquiries by regulatory bodies. Moritz Am Ende, who is also admitted to the Frankfurt Bar, is noted for his knowledge of state aid law in addition to Austrian and European competition law.Practice head(s):
Christian Mayer
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Very, very smart and well-informed; very good understanding of various markets and market modalities; outperforms all other advisors on the market in my opinion; quick, precise and on point. Outstanding drafting and writing skills.’
‘Schima Mayer Starlinger has supported our company for many years and is the partner we always want to have. They support us exactly when we need it with their profound knowledge.’
‘Moritz Am Ende has outstanding abilities in quick understanding of complex matters. In a sensitive situation, we were very happy to have him as our advisor. He is solution-oriented and has deep knowledge in competition and antitrust law. He went the extra mile for us.’
‘Very nice and friendly team, always caring about the customer’s needs.’
‘In my view, Schima Mayer Starlinger’s EU and competition practice is among the best, if not the best, in Austria. This is evidenced by the highest professional level, close networks among EU bodies, speed, responsiveness and very sympathetic staff.’
‘The Schima Mayer Starlinger team is highly skilled, solution-orientated and provides services at the highest level.’
‘Christian Mayer is a competition expert, very focused, provides the client with superb expertise, straight to the point, it is great working together with him and having him in a team. Moritz Am Ende has great expertise in competition, it was great to work together with him.’
‘Christian Mayer is very pragmatic and very knowledgable. On top of this, he is easy to talk to and always finds good solutions. Moritz Am Ende is also extremely knowledgable and very precise. One can rely on him!’
Key clients
Adomo Group
Association of Austrian Hoteliers
Frimeco Group
Kronehit Radio BetriebsgmbH
Mediaprint Zeitungs- und Zeitschriftenverlag GmbH & Co KG
Montana Aerospace AG
Trans Austria Gasleitung GmbH
Videoslots Ltd
Wien Energie
Work highlights
- Advised Wien Energie on the establishment of a joint venture with OMV AG for the exploitation of geothermal energy as a heat source for Vienna.
- Supported Wien Energie in a cooperation project with RheinEnergie and Verbund at the Donaustadt power plant in Vienna that trialled a mixture of hydrogen and natural gas as a fuel source.
- Advised the Association of Austrian Hoteliers with respect to a wide variety of legal questions, including competition and state aid law.
Austria > Real estate Tier 4
Demonstrating a ‘strong commitment to putting clients first’ Schima Mayer Starlinger Rechtsanwälte GmbH covers a broad spectrum of real estate issues, assisting clients seeking new premises with leasing contracts, while also supporting real estate developers and investors with the construction and sale of commercial real estate. Markus Dax leads the team, with experience handling projects from initial structuring to sale, while Philipp Gamauf focuses on leases and transactions.Practice head(s):
Markus Dax
Other key lawyers:
Philipp Gamauf; Anna Woschitz
Testimonials
‘The real estate team responds perfectly to the customer’s situation and thinks out of the box.’
‘Markus Dax and Anna Woschitz are understanding and competent sparring partners.’
‘I had the pleasure of working with this legal team, and what makes them really special is their strong commitment to putting clients first. Their team not only has solid legal skills but also a friendly and proactive attitude that consistently gets great results.’
‘Philipp Gamauf always goes the extra mile and has excellent expertise in many areas. The most important thing for me as a business partner is accessibility and the time it takes to respond. Philipp Gamauf is outstanding here.’
‘Provide quick and comprehensive advice on various matters, monitor issues and co-operate with external experts, do in-depth analyses.’
‘Can translate complex matters for non-lawyers, highly service-oriented.’
‘They work as a team, so the client can benefit from the different fields of knowledge.’
‘Fast response rate.’
Key clients
AP55 Immobilien GmbH
Association of Austrian Hoteliers
CONSENTIA Group
EFFECTUS Holding GmbH
Gaugl Gruppe
Logistik Werfring GmbH/Silotransporte Werfring GmbH
Mandlbauer Bau GmbH
MEIN CHALET am Schneeberg GmbH
meinwert GmbH/mehrwert Immobilien GmbH
Moët Hennessy Österreich GmbH
MROOM Group
REMAX/T16 Immomarketing GmbH
Ritter Ox Immobilien GmbH
V & G Immobilien GmbH
Work highlights
- Advised Consentia on the acquisition of a property for development.
- Acted for the Association of Austrian Hoteliers on various real estate related matters.
- Assisted MEIN CHALET am Schneeberg, a real estate and tourism project in Puchberg am Schneeberg, on construction and transactional matters.
Schima Mayer Starlinger Rechtsanwälte GmbH > Firm Profile
sms.law – short for SCHIMA MAYER STARLINGER Attorneys at Law is a fast-growing, modern, and dynamic Austrian business law firm based in Vienna. The firm was founded in 2018 by a merger of two well-renowned practices, when the team around Georg Schima, focussing on Employment Law and Corporate Governance, and the acclaimed Energy and Competition boutique law firm Starlinger Mayer decided to join forces. Not too long after, they were joined by Stephan Schmalzl, who is now heading the Banking & Finance and Corporate/M&A practices, Markus Dax, covering the Real Estate practice, and Philipp Gamauf, who is rounding up the firm’s service portfolio with his Corporate, Employment & Real Estate expertise. At the start of 2024, Julia Andras joined the team, contributing her extensive experience in Dispute Resolution & Litigation, strengthening the team’s capabilities.
sms.law’s approach is to offer its clients not only efficient top-tier advice, spot-on communication, a quick response time, and availability, but also most importantly innovative entrepreneurial solutions. The lawyers are fiercely dedicated to their work and renowned for their in-depth knowledge and experience in a wide range of industries, from the energy sector to luxury products – where the team covers the full range of business law.
sms.law works with national as well as international clients across the world and industry sectors. Therefore, one of the firm’s additional big assets for their clients with cross-border matters is their memberships with two of the world’s highest acclaimed law networks – the Ius laboris and MARCALLIANCE platforms together provide access to over 2500 reliable and entrusted long-term partners and advisors in over 100 countries.
Main Areas of Practice
Employment: Leading in the area of employment law especially Georg Schima and Birgit Vogt-Majarek are named as highly renowned experts. In Austria, we are the sole partner of the worldwide and unique lawyer network Ius Laboris. Our services include, inter alia, collective and individual employment law, operational restructuring and business transitions, justification and termination of employment, manager employment contracts and variable compensation models for executives, design and adaptation of working time models, company pension schemes, and pension fund law, collective agreement special subjects, cross-border personnel deployment, immigration, wage, and social dumping as well as representation in proceedings before national and international courts as well as administrative authorities.
Energy: Our team, especially Thomas Starlinger, has many years of relevant industry experience, both from an industrial and consultant perspective. Our strength is advice regarding energy law in combination with our competition and European law expertise.
Competition and antitrust: Christian Mayer and Moritz am Ende are well-known experts and help clients to avoid risks and exploit opportunities. When needed they assist clients before national and international competition authorities and courts. Antitrust risk analysis, transaction planning and monitoring, development and implementation of compliance programs, contract review and contract design, merger applications – to give an example – are essential parts of our legal advice.
Corporate law, corporate governance, M&A: The teams around Georg Schima, Stephan Schmalzl, Christian Mayer, and Birgit Vogt-Majarek are very experienced legal experts, providing our clients with corporate advice tailored to their goals. We offer a wide range of services, inter alia, mergers, demergers, restructuring and reorganizations, due diligence, corporate governance-legal issues (organ-conflicts of Interest, related party transactions, delimitation of responsibilities, stock-option programs etc), creation and amendment of articles of association or company and syndicate contracts, rules of procedure and much more.
Dispute resolution, litigation: Dispute resolution starts with avoidance of dispute. If a process cannot be avoided, we first analyse opportunities and risks. With all our international experience and a well-rehearsed team of Georg Schima, Julia Andras, Christian Mayer, Thomas Starlinger, and Stephan Schmalzl, we always try to enforce the interests of our clients without lengthy and costly trials.
Banking and finance: Austrian and international financial institutions and companies of all size ranges rely especially on Stephan Schmalzl’s expertise and solution-oriented consulting approach in all areas of banking and finance law.
European and State aid: Our expert Moritz Am Ende advises clients on all aspects of Austrian and EU competition law, including State aid law, as well as general EU and EEA law.
IP/IT, media and data protection law:In today’s business, innovation and customer relations are key. We specialise in protecting intellectual property and guiding companies through complex business environments, offering expertise in contract negotiation, IP strategy, and data protection.
Public law: We assist companies regarding public law issues, in particular in connection with regulatory and employment law, procurement law etc, particularly noteworthy are Thomas Starlinger and Birgit Vogt-Majarek.
Real estate law: Our experts Markus Dax, Philipp Gamauf and Anna Woschitz provide legal advice in all matters relating to real estate and construction projects from the selection procedure through development and management to the transfer of payment or gratuitous transmission.
Industry Sector Expertise
Aeronautics | Advertising | Automotive | Beauty | Construction & Development | Consumer Product Manufacturing | Energy & Natural Resources | Employment Agencies | Financial Services | Food & Beverage Producers | Gaming & Entertainment | Health Care | Hotels & Tourism | Information Science/Technology & Communications | Insurance | Luxury Products | Media | Pharma & Life Sciences | Real Estate | Retail | Sports | Training & Education | Transportation & Ground Handling
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | Georg Schima, Birgit Vogt-Majarek, Philipp Gamauf | office@sms.law | |
| Energy | Thomas Starlinger | thomas.starlinger@sms.law | |
| Competition and Antitrust | Christian Mayer | christian.mayer@sms.law | |
| Corporate / M&A, Corporate Governance | Stephan Schmalzl | stephan.schmalzl@sms.law | |
| Dispute Resolution and Litigation | Georg Schima, Julia Andras, Christian Mayer, Thomas Starlinger, Stephan Schmalzl | office@sms.law | |
| Banking and Finance | Stephan Schmalzl | stephan.schmalzl@sms.law | |
| European and State Aid Law | Moritz Am Ende | moritz.am-ende@sms.law | |
| IP/IT, Media and Data Protection Law | Birgit Vogt-Majarek | birgit.vogt-majarek@sms.law | |
| Public Law | Thomas Starlinger, Birgit Vogt-Majarek, Stephan Schmalzl | office@sms.law | |
| Private clients, secession planning and foundations | Georg Schima | georg.schima@sms.law | |
| Real Estate Law | Markus Dax | markus.dax@sms.law |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Moritz Am Ende | Partner at sms.law | Attorney-at-Law | View Profile |
|
Christian Mayer | Equity Partner at sms.law | Attorney-at-law | View Profile |
|
Georg Schima | Equity Partner at sms.law | Attorney-at-law | View Profile |
|
Thomas Starlinger | Equity Partner at sms.law | Attorney-at-law | View Profile |
|
Birgit Vogt-Majarek | Equity Partner at sms.law | Attorney-at-law | View Profile |