Frankfurt is a key location for White & Case LLP‘s global offering in international arbitration. Its practitioners are well versed in high-stakes cases across multiple jurisdictions and the team stands out for its frequent representation of sovereign states under various institutional arbitral rules. Practice head Markus Burianski is especially well regarded by clients in the automotive, energy, chemicals, electronics, and financial services sectors, while Christian Theissen’s broad practice includes niche focus on mobility and automotive sector technology. Alexandra Diehl departed for Clifford Chance in October 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The arbitration team is not only highly competent, very experienced and hard-working, they are also super responsive, innovative and easy to work with.'
- 'Strong legally and commercially, good strategic thought, sensible internal allocation of tasks.'
- ‘Christian Theissen is a superb advocate. Very strong cross-examination of a facts witness. Very strategic. Clear and sought after C-suite advice.’
- ‘Very strong international set-up with individual partners and teams very well acquainted with the jurisdiction in which they operate. Strong on AI, innovation on documents and presentations for hearing.’
- 'Christian Theissen is a brilliant and highly experienced lawyer, very sharp and articulate and a pleasure to work with. Alexander Lang is an excellent lawyer, a great legal mind and very hard-working.'
- ‘The team is very good, with no weak links. I would like to mention Markus Burianski as a very prominent lawyer that, in addition to his legal expertise, always takes into consideration the business needs and realities for the client. Federico Parise Kuhnle stands out as a younger partner with a similar mindset as his head of team.’
Key clients
- Republic of Albania
- Republic of Bulgaria
- Mercedes-Benz
- BioNTech
- UNIPER
- Republic of India
- Mitsui
- Alstom
Work highlights
Represented the Republic of India in a multi-jurisdictional arbitration concerning the enforcement of an arbitral award arising from a telecoms transaction.
Represented the Republic of Albania in an investment arbitration concerning a port concession.
Represented a Japanese client as claimant in ICSID investment arbitration proceedings against the Kingdom of Spain due to Spain's decision to change the feed-in tariff scheme for concentrated solar power plants.
Practice head
Markus Burianski
Other key lawyers
Christian Theissen; Alexander Lang; Federico Parise Kuhnle; Priscilla Tatschner