Taylor Wessing continues to operate at the top of the German venture capital market, assisting with substantial equity rounds, as well as every other step on the investment value chain. Recent areas of growth and focus for the practice have been in AI, defence and climate tech, and the team has also been prominent in the increasing market for down rounds and rescue financings. Jens Wolf heads the VC group, leading advice to start-ups and investors on business-angel investments and unicorn funding rounds. As technology, media and communications head, Norman Röchert has a strong presence in the firm’s teams of VC counsel, and he is particularly experienced in acting for national and US investors. Niclas von Woedtke is a further key name and stands out in the biotech and e-commerce sectors. Armin Bartsch and Philipp Hoegl are additional key figures, indicating the strength in depth.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Good knowledge of the VC markets and market terms and standards. Also, excellent reputation and standing in the VC legal market, being recognised as one of the law firms once would frequently encounter in German VC deals.’
- ‘Hassan Sohbi leads by example. He is prepared to get his hands dirty and lead a transaction, while also knowing when to involve specialists when needed.’
- ‘The team is extremely capable - hands down the best in VC in Germany. I've been working them for over a decade and continue to be impressed at how good they are.’
- ‘Jens Wolf has been present as a leading advisor for both tech companies and VC investors for more than 20 years now. We started working with him in 2012 and he is still the trusted counsel of the company. Jens combines legal skills with business insights. He is a psychologically experienced negotiator. Philipp Hoegl is a very creative and responsive lawyer.’
- ‘Taylor Wessing is one of the few big firms that have a separate group for venture capital and tech M&A. All their lawyers, including the younger ones, have an impressive knowledge of the legal possibilities of their clients in an investor-company relation.’
- ‘Norman Röchert is an excellent professional who solves problems with a can-do-attitude and consistently provides top quality advice, always taking business needs into consideration.’
Key clients
- Accel Partners Balderton Capital Faber Capital FJ Labs Flink SE General Catalyst Cherry Ventures Google Ventures HAWK HHLA Next GmbH Illuminate Capital Leitmotif Lightspeed Venture Partners Lingotto Investment Management MPN Networks GmbH numa group GmbH Patient 21 SE Phase Software GmbH sennder Technologies SoSafe SE Speedinvest SPRIND GmbH Visionaries Club Xempus AG YZR Capital Fund I GmbH & Co. KG ZeKju GmbH
Work highlights
Advised General Catalyst as lead investor in the $450m Series C financing of Helsing.
Advised Lingotto Investment Management as lead investor on the €120m Series B financing round of NEURA Robotics.
Advised Balderton Capital on a €160m financing round for Quantum Systems.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Practice head
Jens Wolf; Norman Röchert
Other key lawyers
Niclas von Woedtke; Armin Bartsch; Philipp Hoegl; Hassan Sohbi