Seitz occupies a leading position in the employment arena and comprehensively covers all individual and collective law issues. The team's strengths include assisting with major employment projects, such as restructurings, transformations and transactions, as well as advising boards and executives. Most recently, the firm advised on remuneration issues in companies and on employment compliance. The core team includes Stefan Seitz, Marc Werner, Wolfgang Lipinski, Stefan Lochner and Kathrin Bürger, who are all well versed in collective bargaining law, the restructuring experts Daniel Hund and Christina Kamppeter, as well as Christopher Melms and Thomas Kania, who are both experienced in works constitution law. Thomas Dorando (collective bargaining and works constitution law), Annika Hausmann (restructuring, negotiation of collective agreements) and Maximilian Schmidt (restructuring and transformations) made partner in January 2024. In June 2024, Jens Günther, who is well versed in collective bargaining and works constitution law, joined from Gleiss Lutz, while a three-strong team led by Bernd Weller (works constitution law, compliance) joined from Heuking in January 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
'Highest precision work - very good and appropriate advice, take their time - client orientation at all times.'
'Available even at inconvenient times, very quick response, top quality.'
'Extremely good expertise, union knowledge and contacts, super pragmatic approach to finding solutions.'
'Maximilian Schmidt: Very easy to reach, technical and industry knowledge; creative solutions, pragmatic approach.'
'The firm is one of the few, if not the only one, that deals with the reorientation of HR and framework conditions and has a great deal of expertise and practical implementation experience. This means that advice from a company perspective is very well guaranteed.'
'Wolfgang Lipinski: A very good contact who succeeds in convincing management of a new approach while still clearly identifying the risks and challenges.'
'The Seitz team guided us excellently through the closure of one site and the downsizing of two other sites. We received a complete package, including preparation, management and completion of negotiations.'
'Stephan Pötters: Has a very good understanding and solution-oriented approach. He is also very well connected and is now our first point of contact for all legal issues.'
Key clients
- Agfa Gevaert
- Allianz SE
- Alstom Group
- Apleona/Gegenbauer
- Bayer AG
- BayWa AG
- Deutsche Lufthansa Group
- Deutsche Post DHL Group
- DOUGLAS GRUPPE
- DuMont Mediengruppe
Work highlights
Advising Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof on all employment issues within the corporation. This includes the handling of the second protective shield procedure in 2023, including staff cuts of more than 7,000 employees and the closure of more than 40 locations. In addition, renewed instruction from the insolvency administrator to advise on all employment issues relating to necessary personnel measures in standard insolvency proceedings in 2024, including collective bargaining with ver.di and expansion of the mandate to support issues relating to company pension schemes.
Employment support during the integration of the Gothaer and Barmenia insurance groups, with around 10,000 employees. In addition, ongoing advice on overall employment strategy, IT co-determination, corporate restructuring and compliance.
Employment advice to Fujitsu Services GmbH on the restructuring of an IT services company spun off from the Fujitsu Group in 2024, including restructuring and reorganisation, negotiations on reconciliation of interests and social plan, and litigation.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Stefan Seitz
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Maximilian Schmidt
Practice head
Stefan Seitz; Kathrin Bürger; Jens Günther; Daniel Hund; Christina Kamppeter; Thomas Kania; Wolfgang Lipinski; Stefan Lochner; Christopher Melms; Marc Werner
Other key lawyers
Stephan Pötters; Piero Sansone; Andreas von Medem; Johannes Traut; Thomas Dorando; Annika Hausmann; Maximilian Schmidt; Bernd Weller