Watson Farley & Williams LLP > Hamburg, Germany > Firm Profile

Watson Farley & Williams LLP > The Legal 500 Rankings

Industry focus > Energy

Watson Farley & Williams LLP impresses with its expertise in transactions and related regulatory issues. The advice focuses on the offshore wind sector, but also covers LNG, hydrogen, waste-to-energy and geothermal energy projects. Malte Jordan regularly takes the lead here; he advises on M&A transactions and corporate restructuring and is regularly instructed by investors, project developers and banks on financing and investment matters. Jordan jointly heads the team with Thomas Hollenhorst, who has banking and capital markets expertise and routinely advises on the financing structuring of energy and infrastructure projects. Regulatory issues are covered by Thorsten Volz (also M&A) frequently advises on regulatory matters pertaining to power plant projects and grid infrastructure as well as renewable energies, emissions trading and joint ventures.

Transport > Maritime and shipping

Watson Farley & Williams LLP focuses on transactions and financing and advises shipowners, lenders and cruise operators on ship and container financing and leasing structures as well as shipbuilding contracts. A key contact here is practice head Christian Finnern, who assists with shipbuilding and sales as well as matters pertaining to flag flying and the registration of ships; he also supports insolvency proceedings in the maritime sector. The financing expert Clemens Hillmer is well versed in leasing contracts and restructuring.

Banking and finance > Project finance Tier 3

Watson Farley & Williams LLP's traditional strength is the financing support for onshore and offshore wind projects, where the team and co-practice leader Thomas Hollenhorst assist national and international companies, banks and investors, with ECA and general trade financing as well as acquisition financing. This is complemented by expertise in the asset finance area, which is headed by co-head Clemens Hillmer. The focus here is on advising shipping companies and shipyards on ship and container financing, while interfacing matters pertaining to shipping and energy are also covered; this was recently demonstrated in advising on the refinancing of floating storage and regasification units and the financing of the construction of a liquefied gas investor.

Public sector > Public procurement Tier 4

Watson Farley & Williams LLP has recently attracted numerous new instructions, particularly in the healthcare and transport sectors, and impresses with comprehensive procurement and antitrust expertise as well as PPP knowledge. On both the contracting authorities and bidder side, the team regularly acts in award and negotiation proceedings for public transport expansion, the digitalisation of the health system and for various energy and broadband projects. Practice head Felix Siebler not only advises on the implementation of procurement proceedings, but also on the structuring of internal procurement systems. With the arrival of counsel Norbert Schleper (previously at Waldeck Rechtsanwälte PartmbB) in July 2022, the team gained a contract law expert.

Real estate and construction > Construction (including construction litigation) Tier 4

Watson Farley & Williams LLP focuses on construction law advice in the energy and infrastructure sectors as well as plant construction. Christian Bauer is a key contact person here, which was recently demonstrated in the advice on geothermal energy and motorway projects. He also has expertise in construction law in the area of ​​deep drilling contracts. He jointly heads the practice with Philipp Kärcher, who is well versed in ​​infrastructure-related litigation. The team assists investors, project developers and public sector clients.

Transport > Advice to the transport sector Tier 4

Watson Farley & Williams LLP demonstrates particular strength in ship financing and also advises on financing transactions in the rail and aviation sectors. Head of Germany Christian Finnern heads the group and is well versed in financing, construction matters as well as ship registration and management. Clemens Hillmer, head of the German assets and structured finance team, is another key contact for financing in the transport sector.

Corporate and M&A > M&A Tier 5

Watson Farley & Williams LLP's client roster includes private equity funds, investors, banks as well as municipalities and German companies, most of which stem from the transport and energy sectors, and advises them on joint ventures and mid-cap cross-border transactions. Christian Finnern has led the M&A practice since May 2022 and has particular expertise in joint ventures, investments and M&A transactions in the maritime sector. Marcus Bechtel acts for companies from the energy, infrastructure and real estate industries as well as private equity investors in joint ventures and M&A deals, while Dirk Janssen focuses on leveraged buyouts and cross-border deals.

Germany > Employment Tier 5

Watson Farley & Williams LLP's employment team focuses on restructuring and reorganisation advice and therefore routinely assists with staff reduction measures, negotiations on interest and social plan agreements, the introduction of new group structures and associated works council structure adjustments; Andreas Wiegreffe and practice head Nikolaus Krienke usually lead here. Expertise in the representation before conciliation bodies complements its service offering. Philipp Byers (compliance, employee data protection) joined Dentons in May 2023.

Industry focus > Telecoms