Linklaters was bolstered in October 2024 by the arrival of Marius Rätz from Freshfields, who was appointed head of the firm’s German fintech practice and advises banks, payment systems providers and wealth managers on licensing procedures and where necessary, represents them in bringing challenges against regulatory decisions. Alongside Rätz, head of the firm’s German finance practice Christian Storck is sought out for his expertise in overseeing digitisation and tokenisation projects. Sebastian Dey heads the firm’s German digital assets team and advises on the issuance of crypto securities and other DLT-related matters.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Linklaters Frankfurt has very experienced senior partners in this area and a long lasting track record.’
- ‘Extremely skilled and practical thinking lawyers with deep market and industry knowledge. That includes not only partners but associates as well.’
- ‘Jördis Heckt-Harbeck is our first choice for almost every transaction. Her legal skills plus her product and market knowledge are outstanding.’
Key clients
- KfW
- Eurex Clearing
- auxmoney
- topi
- DLT Markets
- DekaBank
- Clark
- AUTO1
- The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation
- Citi
- Jefferies
- Bees & Bears
- DWS
Work highlights
Advised KfW on its first and second blockchain-based digital bond in the form of a crypto security, making KfW the first issuer of a syndicated crypto security under the eWpG.
Advised Eurex Clearing on a pilot project with central and commercial banks for digital payment processing in connection with transactions involving digital securities and on the connection to HQLAx services for a DLT-supported provision of margin in the form of securities by clearing members to Eurex Clearing.
Advised DekaBank in connection with application for a crypto custody license under the German Act Kreditwesengesetz.
Practice head
Marius Rätz
Other key lawyers
Christian Storck; Jördis Heckt-Harbeck; Sebastian Dey