Firm Profile > Baker McKenzie > Berlin, Germany

Arbitration (including international arbitration) Tier 1

Baker McKenzie stands out for its strong international arbitration practice, which regularly acts in Asia as well as in matters related to Asia. The broad advice spectrum of the team predominantly includes the representation in construction, plant engineering and infrastructure as well as post-M&A disputes. Additionally, the group recently acted for several companies in the pharmaceutical sector. Heiko Haller in Düsseldorf is regularly instructed in relation to energy projects and has longstanding experience in this field. He jointly heads the practice with Günter Pickrahn, who also acts as arbitrator. Jörg Risse's expertise focuses on infrastructure and post-M&A disputes and Ragnar Harbst is admitted in both Germany and as a solicitor in England and Wales.

Compliance Tier 1

Baker McKenzie impresses with a strong compliance practice that cooperates closely across offices. The group advises corporations on a multitude of relevant topics such as compliance due diligence of transactions, the establishment and implementation of CMS as well as risk analysis; here, it often uses IT which has been specifically developed for its clients. Andreas Lohner has more than 20 years of experience in the field and jointly heads the practice with Nicolai Behr. After Thomas Grützner joined Latham & Watkins LLP in October 2018, Franz Clemens Leisch, who focuses on corporate law, is now another valuable key contact. Anika Schürmann, who has additional expertise in antitrust and white-collar crime matters, and head of the firm's international trade practice in Germany Anahita Thoms also stand out.  

Compliance Tier 1

Data protection Tier 1

Baker McKenzie remains a top player with its highly active IT and data protection practice. The diverse expertise of practice heads Michael Schmidl and Holger Lutz reflects the breadth of group's entire portfolio. A strong focus lies on regulated industries, including the financial, pharmaceutical, medical device and telecoms sectors, and highlight matters are often cross-border in their nature. The team is further expanding its data protection advice in connection with areas such as fintech and big data, the automotive sector and mobility. Contentious matters are increasingly part of the portfolio and the team is seeing more activity in the legal tech segment. Michaela Nebel, who provides data protection advice to multiple financial institutions, was promoted to partner in July 2018 and Julia Kaufmann  is also widely recognised. She has particular expertise in data protection in the pharmaceutical context.

Healthcare and life sciences Tier 1

Baker McKenzie's practice handles the full spectrum of health and life sciences sector work. Team head Thilo Räpple is one of the most renowned regulatory lawyers in pharmaceutical and medical device law but also demonstrates expertise in food and drug advertising law. The team is also a top advisor for compliance and antitrust matters as well as distribution law issues. In the transactional sphere, the team's integration into the firm's global network means that international mandates constitute a key portion of its workload, while, in other work, the team is experienced in handling complex public procurement procedures. Clients also benefit from the firm's experienced IT and technology lawyers as well as its well-known patent law team.

Outsourcing Tier 1

Baker McKenzie remains one of the big players for outsourcing advice on both provider and buyer side. The firm's range of services include advice on IT outsourcings, particularly in the area of managed operations, and the outsourcing and consolidation of data centres. In the team surrounding Michel Schmidl and Holger Lutz counsel Björn Helwig is the main contact on provider side for globally acting management consulting, technology and outsourcing service providers. Matthias Scholz has expertise in outsourcing transactions with a particular focus on the financial sector and the pharmaceutical industry.

Public procurement Tier 1

Baker McKenzie's two-partner procurement practice exhibits significant expertise in the health, pharma, arms and defence sectors as well as in the IT area. The practice is headed by the highly rated Marc Gabriel, who represents contracting authorities and companies in award and review proceedings. Susanne Mertens is another central figure and advises public contracting authorities and bidders especially in the infrastructure and transport systems fields as well as on urban development projects. The main contact in Düsseldorf is counsel Katharina Weiner, who has been assisting German and foreign companies with German and European procurement law for the past eleven years.

Telecoms Tier 1

Baker McKenzie focuses on advising national and international telecoms companies on regulatory and contractual issues. The team regular provides legal assistance in the design of new business models, with machine-to-machine communication providers accounting for a particularly high proportion of its mandates. Other key elements of Joachim Scherer's team include over-the-top services, broadband expansion projects and cyber security. Counsel Caroline Heinickel specialises in regulatory work and IT specialist Holger Lutz made partner in July 2018.

Trade, distribution and logistics Tier 1

Baker McKenzie's Commercial & Trade team led by Ulf Wauschkuhn is one of the market leaders in contract and distribution law matters, most notably for projects with international reach. Due to this multijurisdictional reach, its client portfolio includes a number of world-renowned companies with a focus on automotive, fashion and insurance companies. Wauschkuhn covers the full spectrum of commercial law and advises on the establishment and restructuring of distribution systems. The trend area of online sales is predominately handled by Katharina Spenner, while Johannes Teichmann has particular expertise in sales agent and distributor contracts involving an international dimension. The practice also assists clients with distribution litigation alongside out-of-court disputes.

Commercial litigation Tier 2

The dispute resolution team at Baker McKenzie impresses with deep sector expertise in the energy, infrastructure and plant engineering industries. The firm also has longstanding experience in the pharmaceutical sector. The matter portfolio frequently includes post-M&A disputes, often in relation to the Asian region. Heiko Haller, who jointly leads the practice with Frankfurt-based Günter Pickrahn, recently joined the Düsseldorf office to act as a key contact for industry clients there. Also notable are Jörg Risse and Ragnar Harbst, who both have experience in proceedings in the infrastructure sector.

Information technology (including contracts) Tier 2

Baker McKenzie's IT team continues to handle classic IT issues, including the drafting of IT contracts, but also has expertise in e-commerce and digital media, represents clients in IT litigation and advises them on financial aspects of IT and M&A deals in the IT sector. Recently the firm successfully expanded its practice in the new technology segment in connection with topics such as the connected car and autonomous driving. Automotive manufacturers companies in the chemical, pharmaceutical, mechanical engineering and finance industry seek the advice of the group surrounding Michael Schmidl (Munich), who is particularly active at the intersections with employment and pharma law, and Holger Lutz (Frankfurt), who has a big presence in the banking, telecoms and pharma sectors. Another strength of the practice is its close network with the firm's international offices – the German team often acts together with the teams in Luxemburg, Paris, Amsterdam, Palo Alto and San Francisco. Michaela Nebel, who focuses especially on e-commerce and data protection, was promoted to partner in July 2018.

M&A: mid-sized deals (sub-€500m) Tier 2

Cross-border transactions account for a large part of Baker McKenzie's M&A practice, which offers comprehensive assistance due to its good international network and wide-ranging practice scope. Per its China desk, the group frequently receives instructions from Chinese companies and also assists listed corporations with predominantly international transactions in numerous sectors such as the energy, health and financial sectors as well as the real estate and TMT industries. Heiko Gotsche advises international and family-led companies. Christian Atzler and Ingo Strauss jointly head the practice.

Antitrust Tier 3

Complex merger controls, international antitrust proceedings and antitrust compliance are the core competencies of Baker McKenzie. The team also covers new ground in the areas of digitalisation and innovation and was instrumental in the development of the Baker McKenzie Global Dawn Raid App. Nicolas Kredel regularly coordinates international antitrust matters for global clients and acts in multijurisdictional antitrust and merger control proceedings. He also focuses on the automotive, IT, telecommunications and insurance sectors. This is complemented by practice head Christian Horstkotte's expertise in consumer goods, financial services and commodities. Christian Burholt is the main contact for work in the segments pharmaceutical and life sciences. Latin America expert Johannes Weichbrodt, who is praised by clients for his 'know-how and his efficiency', was made partner in 2019.

Corporate Tier 3

Baker McKenzie is particularly skilled at the interface between compliance and corporate law, while also demonstrating strong expertise in assisting with cross-border mergers, providing ongoing corporate advice to listed companies as well as in corporate governance matters, restructuring, joint ventures and transactions. Christian Atzler, who frequently acts for Chinese investors, and Ingo Strauss jointly head the practice; Christian Vocke focuses on corporate governance and restructuring.  

Employment Tier 3

Due to its international network, Baker McKenzie pays special attention to major global projects such as global restructurings and employment law issues arising from M&A. Christian Reichel and Steffen Scheuer co-head the team, which, as part of the team's innovation strategy, also deals with various current topics such as crowdworking and the deployment of external personnel. The team assists with a wide range of employment and pension law matters, while Scheuer has a specialism in employment law compliance and Reichel is routinely called upon when handing remuneration matters and pension schemes. Global team head Günther Heckelmann has a specialism in advising German companies on matters at the interface with employment and human rights law, which arise from the clients' international supply chains. Healthcare, manufacturing and finance are key sectors for the team, which lost Hagen Köckeritz in spring 2019 to Mayer Brown LLP.

Energy Tier 3

As part of the firm's international energy and infrastructure team, Baker McKenzie's transactional practice regularly handles cross-border instructions with the segments offshore - and wind parks in particular - and other renewable sources of energy constituting the team's key area of expertise. Its expertise also extends to network and energy storage transactions, power plant projects and supply contracts. The team co-led by Tim Heitling and Thomas Dörmer has also been expanding its infrastructure offering and has become increasingly visible in the e-mobility sector. Frank-Rainer Töpfer retired in January 2019.

Internal investigations Tier 3

Baker McKenzie regularly assists corporations in the automotive, financial, construction, logistics and consumer goods industries with cross-border internal investigations, but recently also received instructions from the chemical and energy sectors. Andreas Lohner has longstanding experience in risk and crisis management and jointly heads the practice with Nicolai Behr, who is the key contact for white-collar crime matters. Anahita Thoms specialises in export control, sanctions and data protection. Thomas Grützner joined Latham & Watkins LLP in September 2018.

State aid Tier 3

Due to the close cooperation with other areas, such as the firm's procurement, real estate and especially corporate and M&A practices, Baker McKenzie's state aid practice has expertise in advising on state aid and grant law aspects of corporate transactions. Furthermore, the team assists companies from research and development-heavy sectors, such as the life sciences and technology industries. Also notable is state aid advice provided to clients from the real estate sector on housing creation projects. The group is led by Marc Gabriel. Counsel Janet Butler is another key contact. Frank-Rainer Töpfer retired in January 2019.

Structured finance and securitisation Tier 3

Baker McKenzie is rated for its 'extensive and client-focused advice with clear recommendations', which frequently pertains to its key areas of expertise auto ABS and multijurisdictional ABCP transactions in the segments trade, leasing and residual value receivables. Oliver Socher jointly heads the team with the 'pleasant and friendly' Sandra Wittinghofer.

Tax Tier 3

Baker McKenzie's main areas of expertise include corporate tax planning, sales and customs tax, transfer pricing, tax audits and tax litigation. The practice also advises on the tax structuring of M&A transactions and reorganisations, which are regularly in a cross-border setting, where clients benefit from the practice's capabilities at the interface between German and US tax law. Team heads Thomas Schänzle and Christoph Becker have particular experience in group and reorganisation tax law as well as in the taxation of partnerships. In January 2020, the team was augmented with the addition of Thomas Gierath, who previously led Reed Smith's German tax law team and who has extensive experience in national and international transaction tax law.

Trade marks Tier 3

Baker McKenzie is particularly active in an advisory capacity, while also continuously expanding its litigation practice. At the heart of its services lies the management and strategic development of large trade mark portfolios. This is routinely handled on a cross-border basis in conjunction with various offices across its international network. The team co-headed by Michael Fammler and Rembert Niebel is also an experienced partner for transactional matters. Its extensive client roster spans various industries but includes an increasing number of consumer goods sector clients.

Lending and borrowing Tier 4

Working in close junction with other practice groups and offices, the team at Baker McKenzie handles acquisition, corporate and project finance and strengthened its real estate finance offering with the arrival of Patrick Mittmann from Hogan Lovells International LLP in September 2018. While predominantly receiving instructions from lenders, corporates are also part of the team's client portfolio. Oliver Socher heads the team, which lost Anouschka Zagorski to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in January 2019.

M&A: large deals (€500m+) Tier 4

International transactions are one of the central pillars of Baker McKenzie's M&A practice. The group advises large German companies on matters abroad as well as foreign investors on transactions in Germany. Particularly the China desk in Frankfurt focuses on transactions by Chinese buyers, who contemplate acquisitions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; therefore, the team features six German and Chinese speaking lawyers. Christian Atzler and Ingo Strauss head the practice.

Patent litigation Tier 4

Among Germany's large patent law practices, Baker McKenzie's team led by Jochen Herr is the only team to have a practice head admitted both as patent attorney and attorney-at-law. Similarly, its senior associates include two dual qualified lawyers, one in computer science and one in physics. With co-head Günter Pickrahn, the team also has a partner experienced in arbitration. The team's close integration with its international patent law offering can be seen in the numerous cross-border proceedings with a particular geographical focus on Europe, the US and China.

Planning and environment Tier 4

Baker McKenzie's environmental and planning law practice includes waste law as well as plant and product-related environmental law, but also covers regulatory issues pertaining to transactions in the energy sector. A particular forte is the extensive advice offering on product-related environmental law. Here, the activity spectrum ranges from advising automotive corporations on future regulations of automated and autonomous vehicles to the coordination of global recalls and the assistance of textile and pharmaceutical companies with matters pertaining to use restrictions of certain ingredients. The team is led by Marc Gabriel and also frequently advises on environmental, construction and planning aspects of real estate transactions and financings. Ulrich Ellinghaus is the key contact in Frankfurt.

Real estate Tier 4

Led by Florian Thamm, the practice group at Baker McKenzie particularly stands out in the areas of commercial tenancy law and family offices. Thereby, the group has a significant focus on assisting with cross-border transactions. Accordingly, the advice to well-known fashion brands on retail space leasing following their German market entry as well as the comprehensive commercial advice to foreign private investors on high-volume acquisitions constitute the central pillars of the practice. Another strength of the practice relates to environmentally afflicted partial divestures of industrial sites. The public law expertise of experienced counsel Janet Butler is sought-after in relation to transactions and project developments across all significant asset classes. Furthermore, the practice was strengthened by the arrival of real estate financing expert Patrick Mittmann from Hogan Lovells International LLP in September 2018.

Unfair competition Tier 4

Baker McKenzie succeeded in further expanding its activities for consumer goods manufacturers. The team co-led by Michael Fammler and Rembert Niebel receives regular instructions on trade mark and competition law matters, such as those pertaining to actions against the sale of counterfeit products, particularly on the internet.

Venture capital Tier 4

Financial investors and clients investing in VC due to their business strategy, consult Baker McKenzie's team for advice on investments in start-ups and companies with high growth potential. Berthold Hummel was able to further expand the team's life sciences VC investor client base. Ingo Strauss heads the integrated private equity and venture capital practice, which lost transactions partner Gerald Schumann to DLA Piper in July 2018.

Restructuring Tier 5

Baker McKenzie advises investors and insolvency administrators on insolvency-related M&A scenarios, including distressed corporate takeovers, transferred restructuring and insolvency plan proceedings, and assists creditors with financial restructurings and the tax law aspects of restructuring models. In this context, the practice also handles debt equity swaps as well as the repayability of debt financing loans and liability risks, while it also represents insolvency administrators in the enforcement of recovery claims. With the departure of co-head Dorothee Prosteder, who subsequently joined Noerr in September 2019, the 'excellent' Holger Ellers became the team's sole practice head.

Transactions Tier 5

Baker McKenzie's client portfolio includes a large number of private equity funds, which regularly receive advice on transactions, many of which are in a cross-border setting, as well as on the reorganisation of portfolio companies and exit preparations. Berthold Hummel has particular biotech and life sciences experience and is one of the team's key individuals alongside practice head Ingo Strauss. Transactions partner Gerald Schumann moved to DLA Piper in July 2018.