Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP entered the German competition market with the statement hires of cartel damages litigators Rüdiger Lahme and Andreas Ruster in February 2025 , both from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, allowing the practice to act for a range of claimants in follow-on damages claims. On the merger control front, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP‘s Georg Weidenbach and Jan Vollkammer arrived in May 2025, overseeing the full spectrum of merger and FDI control challenges, with additional expertise in abuse of dominance matters.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Accolades
Client satisfaction: Lawyer & team quality
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Rüdiger Lahme has been active in competition litigation from the very beginning. He knows everything. Georg Weidenbach always has the right strategy.’
- ‘One of the very few teams in the competition landscape in Germany which is very active in both competition litigation and merger control. This clearly demonstrates how strong the team is.’
- 'The Willkie team is extraordinary and there has been a real boost to the team as Georg Weidenbach and Jan Vollkammer joined the firm recently. This is a perfect match.'
- 'Very competent and experienced competition litigation team, in particular Rüdiger Lahme and Andreas Ruster.'
- ‘Rudiger Lahme is a strategic thinker with a great sense of client's needs. He is highly trusted for his great instincts.’
- ‘Great team with a high quality skillset and great collaboration skills.’
- 'Willkie’s antirust team has been guiding us through a complex and long antitrust procedure with pragmatism and efficiency, bringing us to the best possible outcome in this matter. All levels were consistently engaged and efficient, with deep knowledge in a very well-oiled machine.'
- 'We have been particularly satisfied with the partner in charge, Georg Weidenbach, whose expertise and knowledge not only of the law and past proceedings, but also of the ways of working of the European Commission has brought us to a very satisfactory outcome in the circumstances.'
Key clients
- Westlake
- Burford Capital/ASG Ausgleichsgesellschaft
- CDC Cartel Damage Claims
- Insight Partners
- PAI Partners
- 3i Groupplc
- Summa Equity
Work highlights
Represented Westlake in competition damages litigation in Germany and handled strategy and coordination across Europe and beyond, with an amount in dispute of approx. €8bn EUR.
Represented several Burford-funded SPVs in collective damages actions across Germany, with an amount in dispute of approx. €1bn.
Represented CDC Cartel Damage Claims in a collective damage action, bundling claims from almost 1,000 injured parties and with an amount in dispute of approx. €359m.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Jan Vollkammer
Practice head
Rüdiger Lahme; Georg Weidenbach
Other key lawyers
Andreas Ruster; Jan Vollkammer