Dr. Alexander von Bergwelt is a Partner at Dentons’ Munich office and Co-Head of the German Corporate/M&A practice group. In more than three decades, he has gained extensive experience in corporate law matters, M&A transactions, joint ventures, cooperations and private equity. Alexander has advised on numerous international and cross-border transactions and restructurings of companies and corporations. Global listed corporations count among his clients as well as medium-sized German companies from different sectors, inter alia IT, financial institutions and companies from the media and automotive industries. He led the Munich office as Office Managing Partner from 2016-2021. Alexander speaks German, English, Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese.
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Andreas Haak is Düsseldorf Managing Partner and Co-Head of the German Public Sector practice group in Germany.
Andreas advises clients on all issues of EU, public procurement and state aid law as well as trade compliance (export controls, sanctions). His practice also includes protecting clients’ rights before national and European courts, the European Commission and procurement review bodies. He has extensive project experience with public-private partnerships (PPP) and privatization projects. In addition, he advises clients on compliance issues. He has experience in project management and in-depth knowledge of the following sectors: Defense and Security, Energy and Utilities, Healthcare, High Technology and Communications, Public Sector/Infrastructure projects.
Andreas studied law and business administration. He worked in the European Parliament and for an international law firm in Brussels and Düsseldorf. Prior to assuming the role of Managing Partner of Dentons' Düsseldorf branch in January 2019, he was a partner at an international law firm in Düsseldorf (since 2003), for which he was local managing partner (2013 to 2015) and head of the practice area Competition, EU and Trade (2009 to 2013 and 2014 to 2018) and the industry group Life Sciences and Healthcare (2013 to 2014).
Andreas is a member of the Committee Europe of the Federal Bar Association and the Advisory Board of the European Doctorate for Law and Economics Program. He is one of the authors of a respected commentary to public procurement law; he regularly publishes articles in specialist journals and presents lectures on his main topics. Andreas is security checked according to the SÜG (Sicherheitsüberprüfungsgesetz “Security Screening Act”).
Andreas Ziegenhagen is Germany Managing Partner and European Head of the Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy group. He covers the areas of Mergers and Acquisitions (legal and tax advice), Corporate Recovery and Insolvency Law, Corporate and Tax Law as well as Banking and Finance.
Andreas regularly acts as representative of bondholders and promissory note loan creditors (Schuldscheindarlehensgläubiger). He also acts regularly as a double-sided trustee in distressed situations. In debtor-in-possession insolvency proceedings Andreas acts as a fully authorized representative (Chief Insolvency Officer) for restructuring by insolvency plan proceedings. He is one of the few German lawyers who is both a qualified accountant and a tax consultant.
Andreas is a Partner at Dentons in Frankfurt/Berlin and Director of Dentons GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft Steuerberatungsgesellschaft. Prior to joining Dentons in 2006, Andreas spent his entire career at Haarmann Hemmelrath & Partner, where he became partner in 2001 and head of the Corporate Recovery and Insolvency practice group in 2004. He is member of the Global and European Board of Dentons. Andreas is also the editor-in-chief of the insolvency law magazine with the highest circulation in Germany, ZInsO FOKUS Sanierung, Wolters Kluwer Verlag and a member of the Executive Committee of the Insolvency and Restructuring Working Group of the German Bar Association (DAV).
Dr. Andreas Berberich is a Partner in the Munich office. He is a member of the Tax practice. He focuses on tax advice in connection with mergers and acquisitions, asset finance and tax compliance-related issues. Andreas has extensive experience in the insurance and financial institutions sector as well as in the real estate and transport sector (in particular aviation). He also represents clients in connection with tax audits and tax court proceedings. Andreas regularly publishes on domestic and international tax law matters. Prior to joining Dentons, he worked as senior associate at another international law firm. Andreas has gained his doctorate on European tax law issues. Andreas is admitted in Germany as lawyer and certified tax advisor.
Dr. Arne Klüwer is a partner in the Frankfurt office and Head of Banking and Finance Germany as well as Head of Structured Finance Europe. He provides legal advice on a broad range of transactions from the structuring and implementation of a variety of structured finance transactions over workouts and complex restructurings to loan trading transactions.
Arne’s experience includes advising market participants in various roles and functions in the context of arranging and securitisation of loans (including CMBS), over the securitisation of trade and consumer receivables, inflation-indexed hereditary building rights and to the structuring and implementation of complex portfolio transactions, including advising various transaction parties on the sale, the acquisition and the financing of NPLs and other non-core assets to various restructurings and debt recovery advice (in and outside of insolvency proceedings). In this context, Arne has also advised on various bank rescue measures during and following the financial crisis of 2007/2008 covering total asset volumes well in excess of €50 billion.
Dr. Arne Friel is a partner in Dentons’ Berlin office and Co-Head of the German Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy practice group. He advises national and international clients on all aspects of corporate law, in particular in connection with M&A transactions and corporate reorganizations. His practice focuses on restructuring and insolvency, particularly distressed M&A. Arne also acts as a notary public.
Dr. Axel Schlieter, MBA (Durham / EBS), is a Partner in Dentons’ Dusseldorf office. He is a member of the Banking & Finance practice group and specializes in corporate lending, project and acquisition financing transactions with a particular focus on real estate and infrastructure finance. Axel also advises clients on structured corporate loans, as well as hybrid financing structures comprising bank facilities, promissory loans, bonds and notes.
He is a member of the Real Estate, Energy and Infrastructure sector groups of Dentons and has longstanding experience advising banks, institutional investors, funds and sponsors on all types of debt instruments. In addition, he is a core team member of the Global Sustainable Finance Group of Dentons and regularly advises in relation to ESG-linked financing transactions. Axel holds a double degree Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Durham Business School and EBS Business School, which additionally qualifies him to consult with clients on commercial and economic matters.
Axel is recognized by Best Lawyers (in cooperation with Handelsblatt) as one of the leading lawyers in structured finance and real estate finance in Germany and has been assigned with authorship of the reputable commentary C.H. Beck Münchener Kommentar HGB, Band 6 banking contract law (Bankvertragsrecht) for trade finance document LCs and collection arrangements.
Dr. Christian Schefold, LL.M., is a Partner in the Berlin office of Dentons, a member of the Corporate practice and co-heading the German Compliance practice. He focuses on compliance, corporate and data protection law. Christian headed the compliance consultation department at Daimler AG where he was co-responsible for setting up a compliance network within the Daimler group worldwide. Prior to this task, he worked several years as senior counsel with Daimler Financial Services AG being responsible inter alia for IP, IT & DP law, international commercial law, financing, M&A and public private partnerships (namely for the legal set-up of the German motorway tolling system Toll Collect). He is constantly practicing data protection law since 1996.
Christian’s favorites are setting up compliance management systems (CMS), especially Data Protection CMS as well as Data Transfer Regimes for international corporations to fulfill GDPR requirements.
Dr. Christian Miercke, LL.M. is a partner in Dentons' Frankfurt office. He is a member of the Regulation and Public Procurement practice groups. He focuses on advising bidders and contracting authorities on public procurement law in complex procurement procedures and represents them before national courts, public procurement tribunals and the relevant authorities.
Christian Miercke has extensive industry knowledge primarily in the regulated telecommunications and information technology sectors as well as in the healthcare sector. He also specializes in national and European state aid, as well as subsidies and grants law. In addition, Christian has many years of experience in drafting contracts and negotiating national and international infrastructure projects, in particular in the field of sensitive infrastructure.
A particular focus of Christian’s work are the legal, regulatory, and strategic matters relevant to network operators, municipal companies, and joint ventures in fibre optic roll-out. This includes the negotiation of operational telecommunications contracts as well as conducting regulatory proceedings, including representing companies in proceedings before the Federal Network Agency and before administrative courts.
Dr. Christiane Zedelius is a Partner in Dentons’ Munich office. She has many years of experience in the areas of distribution and commercial law, with a special focus on advising consumer goods companies in the development of international multichannel systems, including online distribution. Her practice includes franchise, agency and licensing agreements as well as sourcing and quality agreements. Christiane Zedelius has considerable experience in setting up selective distribution systems for luxury brands, including the management of European brands in Asia.
Christine Seiz is a lawyer at Dentons' Munich office. She focuses on intellectual property and corporate. She provides legal advice in particular regarding commercial contracts such as distribution agreements, supply agreements, license agreements, (software) development agreements, service agreements (e.g. SaaS agreements). Besides, she gives advice regarding franchising, M&A transactions, IP related transactions as well as competition law and regulatory aspects. Christine Seiz also sets a special emphasis on the protection of intellectual property, especially of trade secrets. Her clients come in particular from the information technology (IT), consumer goods, life sciences and automotive industries.
Dr. Christof Kautzsch is a partner in Dentons' Berlin office and Co-Head of Dentons’ European and Global Corporate Group. He advises numerous German and international clients, mainly in the areas of corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions/private equity, reorganization and privatization. The focus of his practice is advising companies of regulated industries (healthcare, energy) on cross-border transactions as well as on national and international transactions.
Christoph Zieger is a partner in the Munich office. He focuses on litigation as well as commercial and IT law. Christoph has years of experience advising and representing his clients on all contentious matters and in litigation. Besides assisting in legal disputes, he advises his clients among other things on all questions of general commercial and IT law, including German and European privacy legislation. He acts for clients in the insurance and technology sectors mainly. Christoph holds a law degree from Ludwig Maximilians University Munich where he graduated in 2005. Before joining the practice, he worked as an Of Counsel at another global law firm in Munich. Christoph is admitted as a German lawyer and as a specialist lawyer for employment law. He is a German native speaker and fluent in English.
Christopher Mayston is an attorney and partner in the Munich office of Dentons. His main areas of experience include venture capital, private equity, M&A, banking and capital markets law, finance and general corporate law. Christopher advises on transactions involving international investors as well as start-ups and other (privately held or listed) companies, in particular in the health care, life sciences and technology sectors. He also advises banks and financial service providers on aspects of banking and capital markets law. His work includes advising fund managers on matters of investment law, including fund formation and compliance with regulatory requirements Christopher also works in the areas of corporate finance transactions and general corporate law and has broad litigation experience in particular regarding corporate disputes and claims against board members. Before joining Dentons, Christopher Mayston worked for several years at international law firms in Munich in the field of capital markets.
Dr. Clemens Maschke is an emerging markets specialist, as such using an established network helping clients capitalize on evolving trends in the marketplace—whether on domestic markets or frontier markets such as Africa, China, India, the Middle East or elsewhere by making sure client’s perspective to a deal is adequately reflected, both in terms of legal implications always bearing cultural nuances in mind. Legal 500 recognizes such expertise at the “intersection with M&A transactions and joint ventures.”
Clemens is part of Dentons' Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity practices. He is also a member of Dentons’ global Venture Technology group and the Dentons Iran team.
Rendering advice in a pragmatic and collaborative manner Clemens is contributing to the venture technology ecosystems both in terms of pro bono work, e.g. when partnering with Sigma Squared Society and accelerators in support of founders tackling legal and commercial issues on their way building a successful start-up / scale-up, and as trusted advisor for VC funds and start-ups / scale-ups.
Clemens has advised on numerus domestic and cross-border transactions, the structuring of joint ventures, complex restructurings and venture technology deals, with a strong industry focus on automotive and TMT. Further, Clemens has extensive experience with international integration and compliance projects. He has worked across a wide range of industries, in particular, for global clients relating to their post-merger integration and subsidiary management, including, performing worldwide integrity checks followed by rectifications relating to the non-compliance matters / discrepancies observed and conducting business partners due diligences.
Before joining Dentons, Clemens worked at other leading global law firms where he led governance, risk and compliance practices and the Iran desk. He holds a doctorate from Heidelberg University.
Dr. iur. Constantin Rehaag, M.A., is a partner in Dentons' Frankfurt office and Co-Head of the IP/T practice group in Germany. He has more than 15 years’ experience in intellectual property, unfair competition and trade secrets’ law. He focuses on unfair competition and IP litigation, anti-counterfeiting and related criminal law matters, as well as trademark and design prosecution. His IP-litigation practice encompasses trademark, design, copyright and patent litigation. In view of the latter, he represents companies in patent infringement proceedings before the patent litigation chambers in cooperation with patent law firms. In particular in connection with unfair competition issues and in situations of crisis, Constantin advises and represents clients in privacy matters.
Numerous national and international groups and companies rely on his advice and proven litigation experience. His sector experience covers the following industries: pharma, e-commerce, entertainment, air transportation, luxury goods and fashion, automotive, toys, music and publishing, printing and office machinery.
Constantin is certified specialist lawyer for intellectual property law (“Fachanwalt für gewerblichen Rechtsschutz”) regularly publishes articles on intellectual property law as well as business secrets. He is a lecturer-in-law at the University of Passau as well as at the German Judicial Academy (Deutsche Richterakademie) where he provides advanced training to German judges and public prosecutors. He also gives courses at EUROJUST, the European prosecution service, where he trains public prosecutors from all Member States of the European Union. Constantin is a frequent speaker on litigation and business secret issues at patent and IP conferences.
Constantin was recently appointed to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) Observatory Legal Expert Group. The Group, comprised of 29 individuals, provides support to the European Commission, works on case law, and carries out studies related to legal matters such as trade secrets, copyrights and blocking orders, and other intellectual property topic.
Dr. Daniel Neudecker is a counsel in Dentons’ Berlin office and a member of the M&A / Corporate and Energy / Infrastructure practice groups.
Daniel is experienced in M&A transactions, joint ventures and projects with a focus on regulated industries, namely the energy and infrastructure sector, including fiber networks and waste management systems. He advises domestic and foreign enterprises, sponsors, banks and financial investors with respect to M&A, joint ventures, projects and related financings.
Daniel Friedemann Fritz is a partner in Dentons’ Frankfurt office. He is a member of the Restructuring practice and focuses on restructuring and insolvency law related matters, incl. European and international insolvency law. Daniel has extensive experience in insolvency administration and representing enterprises, management and creditors in restructuring, debtor-in-possession and regular insolvency proceedings, where he acts as a legal counsel or Office Holder (Chief Insolvency Officer). Daniel regularly advises in (distressed) M&A transactions. He represents his clients in and out of court in commercial and insolvency matters related to the resolutions or defense of claims by negotiation and litigation and arbitration. Daniel’s industrial focus includes the automotive, retail and healthcare sectors.
Daniel F. Fritz serves as Private Expert to the European Commission in relation to the introduction of a preventive restructuring framework and as speaker of the Working Group Europe of the German Bar Association’s (DAV) restructuring and insolvency wing. He regularly publishes and comments on German and European insolvency law.
David Zafra Carollo is a partner in Dentons’ Dusseldorf office. He is a member of the Real Estate practice and focuses on transactions in the real estate industry in Germany and Europe. David is also highly experienced in the restructuring of industrial sites, in real estate financings and in the representation of clients in out-of-court settlements and litigation before state courts with respect to complex real estate matters. He conferences with respect to real estate related topics and is a lecturer at Beck Akademie.
Dirk Schoene is a partner in Dentons’ Berlin office. He advises on restructuring, insolvency law, banking and finance, securities and litigation.
In restructuring matters, Dirk advises companies, directors and shareholders in restructuring processes of distressed companies to avoid insolvency proceedings and to prevent personal liability risks for directors. This includes legal advice and administration of trusteeships (double-sided trusteeships). If insolvency cannot be avoided, he has strong experience advising on the successful restructuring in the context of a protective shield proceeding (Schutzschirmverfahren) as well as debtor-in-possession proceedings (Eigenverwaltungsverfahren) with a focus on restructuring by means of an insolvency plan. His capabilities extend to advising hospitals in debtor-in-possession proceedings.
Dirk is also fully experienced in representing potential investors and sellers (including insolvency administrators) in the M&A process regarding the sale or acquisition of companies in distressed situations or in insolvency proceedings. He also regularly advises banks, institutional investors and other secured creditors (including suppliers) on the implementation, administration and realization of securities in distressed situations or insolvency proceedings.
In insolvency proceedings, Dirk supports and represents creditors and has particular insight in developing a defense against Paulian actions, and in creditors’ committees (Gläubigerausschüsse). He regularly advises Dentons GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft Steuerberatungsgesellschaft as a common representative (Gemeinsamer Vertreter von Anleihegläubigern) in insolvency proceedings.
The main focus of his publications is distressed M&As and debtor-in-possession proceedings under German Insolvency law.
Dr. Dominik Thomer is a Partner in Dentons’ Dusseldorf office. He is a member of the Tax and Real Estate practice and focuses on tax issues arising from national and international mergers and acquisitions and aspects of domestic and international transactions. Dominik has extensive experience in real estate and leasing funds as well as in real estate transactions and tax litigation matters. He also represents clients in preliminary investigations by tax investigators and prosecution authorities in respect of suspected fiscal offences.
Dr. Florian Wiesner, LL.M. (Cambridge), is a partner in our Dusseldorf office and Co-Head of the Competition & Antitrust group in Germany. He advises on all areas of EU and German competition law, specializing in merger control, cartel investigations, cooperation and distribution agreements, compliance and all antitrust aspects of the day-to-day business.
Florian has particular experience advising and coordinating multinational merger control proceedings. He advises clients from a wide range of industry sectors, with a special focus on the automotive, e-mobility and energy sector.
Prior to joining Dentons, Florian worked for 10 years for two leading international law firms in Duesseldorf.
Dr. Florian-Alexander Wesche is a Partner in Dentons’ Dusseldorf office and specialized in energy law.
Florian advises companies in the energy and the industrial sectors (including the automotive and chemical industry) as well as financial investors on all aspects of German and European energy law with a special focus on energy contract law and energy regulation. He is particularly experienced in energy retail business, power production and distribution projects (renewable and conventional sources, including contracting), energy procurement concepts and contracts and e-mobility charging solutions. He has extensive experience in drafting and negotiating energy supply contracts and power plant related agreements.
In addition, Florian has wide-ranging expertise of the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) including the support scheme for renewable projects as well as the relief scheme for industrial companies regarding the EEG levy (EEG-Umlage) including respective litigation and energy regulatory compliance monitoring for industrials. He also has an in-depth knowledge of the areas of German and European regulation concerning grid access to gas and power grids and access to gas storage systems.
Florian is regularly invited to speak on topics relating to energy law and often publishes articles in his fields of expertise. Before joining Dentons in 2021, Florian was a partner and head of energy law for several years in other international law firms.
Frank Tepper-Sawicki, EMBA, is a Partner in the Corporate practice of Dentons' Düsseldorf and Munich offices. He advises German and international clients on corporate law/mergers and acquisitions. He focuses on advising national and international companies and investors on M&A transactions, corporate restructuring and reorganization.
His clients include private equity and venture capital investors as well as (multi-)national companies and emerging growth companies. His work focuses on advising companies and investors in the field of technology and regulated industries (energy). He advises, for instance, companies in the IT industry as well as in the biotechnology and automotive sectors, and also advises groups and emerging growth companies on the implementation of innovative digital business models (including the use of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology).
Dr. Gabriele Haas is a partner in Dentons’ Frankfurt office and a member of the Corporate / M&A practice group. Gabriele leverages her extensive in-house experience as an executive in the energy sector, advising on energy law, regulatory law and compliance.
Within her energy and regulatory practice, her main area of focus is energy transition issues, such as decarbonization, sector coupling, energy storage and advising on the regulation of hydrogen, green gas, clean and low emission fuels, e-mobility, emissions reduction and emissions trading as well as the wholesale energy market and its regulation.
In addition to her energy and regulatory practice, she advises clients on current compliance and ESG issues, such as the EU Taxonomy Regulation, the Supply Chain Duty of Care Act and the implementation of preventive measures for sustainable corporate governance, among others. She also advises on the development of customized compliance management systems, organizational structures and procedures, as well as on the risks of fines and civil liability. She further advises on the prevention of market manipulation and insider trading, bribery and corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing as well as violations of human rights.
Heiko Heppner is co-head of the German Dispute Resolution practice group and professor of law concentrating on international arbitration and litigation with a focus on Germany and common law jurisdictions.
Heiko has particular experience with defending clients against mass and class securities litigation and special expertise in Banking and Capital Markets litigation, including the liability of credit rating agencies and for the mis-selling of derivatives. Moreover, Heiko represents clients before the European courts in matters of European Banking Regulation.
Heiko has advised on litigation and arbitration matters in Germany, the United States, Hong Kong, England and various other jurisdictions. Apart from court proceedings, he has represented clients in International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), German Institution of Arbitration (Deutsche Institution für Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit - DIS), and ad hoc international arbitration proceedings, often regarding issues of Contract or Corporate law. Heiko also gives preemptive advise to help avoid future disputes and draft dispute resolution clauses and regimes.
Heiko’s second focus is on cross-border litigation and arbitration in Germany and abroad, often involving issues of common law. His two full legal educations in Germany and the United States offer clients a particular added value in matters that cross the common law/civil law divide. As a New York attorney, Heiko advises on litigation in US courts, including US discovery in Germany and in Germany on commercial litigation involving issues of US law. As an English Barrister and Solicitor Advocate Heiko represents parties in international arbitration proceedings under English law and advises on litigation in England. He is also a lecturer of common law at the University of Bonn.
Due to his extensive experience in China, Heiko increasingly acts as a counsel in international arbitration proceedings that involve Chinese parties. Heiko has been lecturing as a professor of international arbitration at Fuzhou University since 2015.
Dr. Holger Ellers is a partner in Dentons’ Berlin office and a member of the Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy practice group as well as the Corporate/M&A group. He advises local and international clients on restructuring matters, corporate transactions and distressed M&A transactions as well as on insolvency law.
Holger’s main focus is on advising stakeholders in restructurings, special situations and formal insolvency proceedings. He frequently advises on corporate restructuring matters, acting on behalf of the company, its management or shareholders. Acting on the creditor side, Holger represents clients in large-scale insolvency proceedings, where his focus is on enforcing his clients’ claims in and out of court, while preserving value in existing business relationships.
Holger also regularly advises on corporate reorganizations and M&A transactions. He has broad experience advising on carve-out transactions and acts frequently for investors or administrators on acquisitions or disposals out of formal insolvency proceedings.
Ilka Mehdorn is the Office Managing Partner of Dentons' Berlin office, Co-Head of the German Public Sector Practice Group and Co-Head of the European Life Sciences Regulatory Practice. She advises on public law as well as strategic aspects and on the drafting of contracts in regulated industries, in particular in all questions of product-related environmental law, in particular packaging and labeling, and as a specialist lawyer in medical law in health care. In addition, Ilka advises in these areas on a regular basis on compliance matters. She regularly advises on environmental and technical requirements for products, such as the European regulations on WEEE, RoHS or REACH / CLP.
Dr. Jan Seelinger is Partner in Dentons' Berlin office and covers the areas of mergers and acquisitions and corporate law, with a focus on insolvency, restructuring, private equity and venture capital as well as litigation. Jan has diverse experiences in advising financial investors as well as entrepreneurs and management. Jan is a member of the Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy practice group of Dentons.
Johanna Redlefsen is a counsel in Dentons’ Berlin office and a member of the Competition and Antitrust practice group with a particular focus on litigation and dispute resolution. Johanna Redlefsen advises and represents companies in litigation before state courts across all instances, in arbitration proceedings and in out-of-court dispute resolution. She advises domestic and foreign clients in all areas of European and German antitrust law, in particular on abuse of dominance and antitrust proceedings as well as antitrust damages.
Dr. Jörg Karenfort, LL.M. (LSE), is and ESG Specialist and Global Head of the Competition and Antitrust practice group (Berlin/Brussels). He advises clients in European and German competition and regulatory matters. Jörg has comprehensive expertise in dealing with German and European merger control as well as in cartel and abuse of dominance proceedings before European and national competition authorities and courts. He also advises national and international companies and trade associations in connection with ESG issues and regulatory proceedings both at national and EU level. Jörg is an experienced litigator in complex competition cases and an expert for complex settlement matters. His comprehensive sector expertise covers automotive, banking, energy, TMT as well as life sciences. Jörg is a lecturer on EU and German Competition Law at the University of Potsdam and regularly publishes on EU and national competition and regulatory matters.
Jörg is CEO and one of the founders of YUVEDO Foundation—an organization that aims to eliminate Parkinson’s disease from the list of incurable diseases by 2032.
Dr. Josef Hainz advises clients on all matters of European and German competition law. Based in our Berlin office, Josef assists in behavioral (antitrust and cartel) investigations and merger control proceedings by the European Commission and the German Federal Cartel Office as well as in coordinating multinational merger-control proceedings.
Josef advises clients from a wide range of industry sectors, including telecommunications, automotive, healthcare and life sciences. He has particular expertise in the energy sector, with a focus on oil- and gas-related matters as well as renewables (mainly onshore and offshore windfarms). He regularly speaks and publishes on competition law topics and is a lecturer for German and European competition law at the EBS Law School in Wiesbaden.
Judith Aron co-chairs the Global Compliance and Investigations practice, in addition to her appointment as co-head of the Compliance and Investigations practice in Europe and Germany. She advises clients in connection with all phases of compliance, investigations and remedial and enforcement actions and counsels global companies on how to prevent and detect violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other applicable anti-corruption laws. Judith helps organizations design, enhance and implement customized compliance programs, assists with third-party screenings, and advises on remediation efforts and other compliance obligations. She has conducted internal investigations involving issues in Angola, Germany, Portugal, Morocco, Russia, the CIS, Central and Western Africa, as well as South Africa. As a fluent French, English and Russian speaker, Judith has conducted internal investigations and remediation actions that include interviewing employees, and reviewing records in French and Russian, in addition to English.
Judith brings more than 10 years of international transactional corporate work to her investigation practice. She previously worked in Russia for nearly a decade, advising on complex cross-border joint ventures, M&A and divestitures across a range of industries including oil & gas, luxury goods, automotive, agroindustry and real estate, after qualifying as a New York attorney.
Judith is a founding member and Secretary of Women’s White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA) Germany. She is a member of Dentons Women's Advancement Committee, focusing on advancing women lawyers and leaders.
Judith coordinates pro bono legal assistance to Kiron Open Higher Education, a non-profit EdTech organization providing an online learning platform for refugees worldwide and underserved communities in the Middle East and the Ohhh! Foundation which provides advice and tools to improve the health, awareness and wellbeing of teenagers and young adults.
Dr. Julia Pfeil is a partner in Dentons’ Frankfurt office. She is a member of the Public Policy and Regulatory practice, and focuses on administrative compliance, in particular on export controls, sanctions and embargos as well as on environmental and technical requirements for industry and products. Julia has extensive experience advising on EU and US sanctions imposed on Iran and Russia. She also assists clients with the development and implementation of compliance programs and during internal or external audits by authorities. In addition, Julia advises clients on questions under environmental laws, including on compliance with environmental and technical requirements for products, such as the EU WEEE, RoHS and REACH/ CLP programs.
Dr. Kai Goretzky is a partner in Dentons' Frankfurt office where he leads the insurance practice. Kai has specialized in European insurance supervisory law, intermediary law and insurance contract law as well as the specific compliance issues of insurance. He has more than 20 years of professional experience in cross-border insurance matters. Kai advises insurers, intermediaries and insurtechs in the context of the continuous adaptation of their business models to the requirements of European insurance supervisory law (Solvency II, IDD) and sustainability requirements for financial-service providers (SFDR). His current focus of legal practice is on the digitalization of the insurance industry through insurtechs, automated processes and artificial intelligence (AI). Furthermore, Kai advises banks and funds on the regulatory structuring of capital investments for insurance companies.
Dr. Maren Tamke, LL.M. (Durham) is a partner in Dentons’ Berlin office and a member of the Competition and Antitrust practice group. Maren has worked across many industries, with particular experience in the following sectors: tech/e-commerce, consumer products, insurance, banking, media and healthcare/life sciences.
Maren advises clients on complex transactions, high-profile cartel investigations, dominance cases, follow-on damages claims and compliance matters. With her considerable experience gained in the course of merger control and conduct cases, as well as work on compliance issues, she has a keen understanding of the workings and needs of businesses.
Prior to joining Dentons, Maren worked for more than 12 years for a leading international law firm in Berlin.
Dr. Maria Brakalova is a partner in Dentons' Berlin office and a member of the Competition, Antitrust and Regulatory Practice and of the Public Procurement Practice. She focuses mainly on foreign trade law and public procurement law.
Maria advises on export control matters, appearing before regulatory authorities in Germany. She supports clients in setting up or improving their internal export control compliance organization. She also advises clients on the practical implications of EU/German as well as US sanctions on transactions relating to Russia, Venezuela, Iran and other sanctioned countries. Another major area of Maria’s expertise in foreign trade law relates to German foreign direct investment control (FDI control). She supports foreign investors and German targets on the implications of FDI control on M&A transactions and prepares the clearance process, closely interacting with the Federal Ministry for Economics and Energy.
Maria is chairwoman of the working committee “Foreign Trade/Export Control” of the German Institute for Compliance (DICO).
Apart from her foreign trade law expertise, Maria has substantial expertise in public procurement law. She advises bidders in public procurement procedures, in particular in the IT, healthcare and energy sectors and supports contracting authorities and sector contracting entities regarding the preparation and the execution of public procurement procedures, as well as with regard to specific procurement law issues.
In addition, Maria advises national and international companies and trade associations on anti-corruption law compliance issues.
Dr. Markus Diepold is a partner at Dentons' Berlin office and Co-head of the Employment and Labor practice group in Germany. He is a specialist in labor law and advises companies on all aspects of individual and collective employment law, on matters related to employment and corporate law, and on social security law. He represents his clients nationwide before labor, civil, social and administrative courts.
He specializes in collective labor law and advises on all types of restructuring of companies (such as staff reduction measures, the splitting and merging of companies, organizational changes) within and outside insolvency proceedings. He also focuses on assisting clients in conciliation proceedings, drafting employment agreements, collective bargaining negotiations and transfers of undertakings, as well as standard day-to-day employment law matters.
Markus Diepold advises clients in a variety of different sectors, including the metal and electrical industries, the financial and services sectors, as well as the healthcare sector. His clients appreciate his reliable solution-oriented advice.
Dr. Matthias Hadding, LL.M, FCIArb is a Partner in Dentons’ Dusseldorf office and a member of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group. He is specialised in international commercial arbitration and has extensive experience in construction engineering and post-M&A disputes. Another key focus of his work is global commercial disputes, including the representation of clients in mass-litigations. Matthias also advises on project development, including the drafting, negotiation and enforcement of commercial contracts as well as advising on project risk management.
Dr. Maximilian Schulte is a partner in Dentons’ Frankfurt office and a member of the Real Estate practice group. He focuses on advising both national and international clients on real estate transactions and their financing. Maximilian has extensive experience with project development, repositioning commercial and mixed-use properties as well as portfolio transactions.
Max also acts as notary public.
Dr. Michael Malterer is a Corporate, M&A, Global Compliance and Investigations and Automotive partner in the Munich office of Dentons. Michael is a global automotive expert and car enthusiast, focusing on transactions, strategic and regulatory work in the automotive and related sectors in Europe, co-leading the Global Autonomous Vehicles Team of Dentons. Michael advises clients on connectivity, autonomous driving, sharing, and electrified driving. Michael frequently participates in all major automotive conferences. Michael has a deep technical understanding of producing cars and the interaction of the industry with new technologies. In his compliance practice he has advised on several internal investigations, compliance restructurings and pre-M&A ABC due diligence exercises. Michael qualified in 1999, provide advice to automotive companies for more than 20 years. Michael graduated from the University of Regensburg (law degree, 1996; Dr. jur. 1999) and was admitted as a lawyer (Rechtsanwalt) in Munich, Germany, in 1999.
Dr. Michael Krömker is a Partner in Dentons’ Dusseldorf office and a member of the Corporate / M&A and Energy practice groups. He advises strategic and financial investors on domestic and cross-border M&A transactions, corporate reorganizations, joint ventures and corporate law matters, with a particular focus on the Energy & Infrastructure, Automotive & Industrial and IT and Media sectors.
In addition, he frequently advises Chinese clients on their investments in Germany and Europe.
Michael Graf is is the Office Managing Partner of Dentons' Frankfurt office and Co-Head of the European Tax practice. He is an MBA (Diplom-Kaufmann), a lawyer admitted to the German Bar and a certified tax advisor. He specializes in tax law and mainly advises multinational corporations with respect to their national and international tax questions. His advice comprises tax optimized structuring, monitoring tax field audits, filing administrative appeals as well as representing clients before finance courts and the Federal Finance Court (Bundesfinanzhof). Furthermore, he advises on tax optimized structures in connection with M&A deals.
Oliver Dreher, LL.M. (King’s College), is a partner in Dentons’ Frankfurt office and Head of the Debt Capital Markets (DCM) practice group in Germany. His main areas of expertise include corporate, bank and sovereign bonds, MTN-, CP- and structured issuance programmes, structured finance products, Schuldschein loans and registered bonds (Namensschuldverschreibungen), derivatives and advising on financial infrastructure, such as the clearing and settlement of financial instruments.
Dr. Peter Braun is a partner in the Dentons’ Frankfurt office and Co-Head of the German Public Procurement group. He specializes in national and international matters of public procurement law, privatizations, public private partnerships (PPP) and compliance.
He regularly advises public sector authorities, such as federal agencies and municipalities, in structuring complex public acquisition processes, predominantly in the area of IT. He is also experienced in litigating procurement matters on behalf of public sector institutions or private sector companies in front of review chambers in Germany. Peter’s practice includes extensive experience in assisting private sector clients in developing effective strategies for participating in tender procedures, together worth more than €5 billion.
He has published widely on public procurement, advised on the implementation of EU Public Procurement Law and is a regular speaker on national and international conferences and training seminars on the subject.
Peter regularly defends clients before the World Bank Sanctions Board against allegations of corrupt practices in World Bank procurement, advising in relation to international financial institutions (EBRD, EIB, EU, et al.) to avoid debarment and cross-debarment and on the structured disclosure of past misconduct.
Peter Homberg is a partner in the Dentons Berlin office. He focuses on life sciences, IP, corporate law and M&A transactions in the life sciences and high-tech sector as well as in R&D and cooperation agreements, cross-border IP licensing and IP strategies. Furthermore, he has extensive experience providing legal advice on compliance issues. Additionally, he is the head of the European Cannabis sector group. Peter advises inter alia companies in the pharmaceutical, diagnostics, biotechnology, medical device and medical cannabis industries—from startups to large publicly listed companies. Furthermore, he has broad transactional experience in Southeast Asia. Peter is member of the Licensing Executive Society (LES), the German Association for Intellectual Property and Copyright (GRUR), the German Institution for Arbitration (DIS) as well as the Pharma-Lizenz-Club Deutschland e.V. He regularly holds lectures at seminars and conferences. He is the author of numerous professional articles and other publications regarding corporate or IP law in the field of life sciences.
Dr. Pia Dorfmueller is a Partner in Dentons’ Frankfurt office and a member of the Tax practice group. In addition to international tax law and tax structuring, she focuses on restructuring, transactional tax and tax controversy, especially joint audits. In parallel to her advisory activities, Pia Dorfmueller is engaged as the Germany correspondent for the international tax journal Tax Notes International, as an officer of the Taxes Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA) and as a board member for the IFA section Rhein-Main-Neckar. Pia is the founder of the renowned Frankfurt International Tax Forum for the German branch of the International Fiscal Association (IFA), which she has organized and hosted for over 10 years. She has also served for many years as the Conference Co-chair for the joint ABA, IBA and IFA USA branch conference, “US and Europe Tax Practice Trends,” representing the Taxes Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA).
Dr. Predrag Maksimovic is a Partner in Dentons’ Dusseldorf office and a member of the Corporate/M&A practice group. Dr. Maksimovic specializes in advising and managing complex national and international M&A and private equity transactions, joint ventures and corporate restructurings. Predrag focuses his work on the regulated financial industry with a particular attention to the banking and leasing sector. His clients include strategic and financial investors as well as national and international banks, corporations and groups. Dr. Maksimovic has advised on numerous M&A transactions as well as restructurings, including in the financial services, fintech, software and IT industries as well as in various service industries.
Dr. Rebekka Hye-Knudsen is a partner in Dentons' Berlin office and co-head of the German Corporate/M&A practice group. She is also a member of the Venture Technology practice group. She represents clients in all corporate law matters, in particular mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital investments, founding of companies, corporate governance and corporate reorganisations. Rebekka is a native speaker of both German and English.
Dr. René Grafunder is a partner in Dentons’ Frankfurt office and Co-Head of the Competition and Antitrust group in Germany. He advises clients on EU and German competition matters, including merger control, compliance and state aid. René has substantial experience dealing with cartel, abuse and merger control proceedings before European and national competition authorities and courts. His comprehensive sector expertise in particular covers health care and life sciences, banking, postal services as well as manufacturing. René is a lecturer on EU Competition Law at the DeutscheAnwaltAkademie and the University of Potsdam. He regularly publishes on EU and national competition matters. Before joining Dentons, he worked for another leading law firm in Düsseldorf, Brussels and Beijing. René studied in Potsdam, Paris and Freiburg as well as at the College of Europe in Bruges and clerked at the German Federal Cartel Office.
Dr. Robert Weber is a partner in Dentons’ Frankfurt office and Co-Head of Dentons’ German Corporate/M&A Group. He focuses on stock corporation law and group law and related capital market law issues. His main practice areas include the preparation of ordinary and extraordinary general meetings of listed companies as well as structural measures under corporate law such as transformations, mergers, company agreements or squeeze-outs. Furthermore, he advises groups and companies on acquisitions and takeovers, joint ventures and reorganizations as well as board members, managing directors and supervisory board members on corporate governance, compliance and liability issues.
Robert Bastian is a Partner in Dentons' Frankfurt office and a member of the Private Equity and Corporate group. He focuses on private equity, M&A and venture capital as well as capital markets.
Robert has been advising numerous highly reputable private equity houses on leveraged buy-out transactions and venture capital funds on various transactions. He also advises on public tenders and capital market related matters, in particular, public takeovers, IPOs, dual listings and de-listings. Furthermore, Robert has been rendering advice to members of management boards and supervisory boards of listed and non-listed companies.
Sabine Wieduwilt is a partner in Dentons' Frankfurt office. She is a member of the Real Estate practice. She specializes in the core real estate business of acquisition and disposition, property development and asset management of commercially used properties.
Sabine is an expert advisor for tenancy and other corporate real estate solutions. She advises national as well as international companies on tenancy, single-asset and portfolio acquisition and sale as well as on restructuring of business locations.
Sabine Wieduwilt works on the implementation of ESG in Real Estate, especially for business operations in Europe.
Dr. Sascha Grosjean is a partner in Dentons’ Dusseldorf office and co-head of the German Employment and Labor practice group. He advises employers on all aspects of individual and collective labor law including, in particular, negotiations of collective bargaining agreements and works council agreements including, social plans. Clients appreciate his comprehensive experience advising clients in connection with corporate transactions (M&As).
Sascha is especially focused on providing advice on occupational pension schemes. Clients find this expertise increasingly vital to their corporate transactions when implementing, restructuring, carving out and terminating company pension plans.
Sascha is also an experienced adviser on HR-compliance issues—crucial for employers to avoid legal and financial risks in the areas of labor law, social law and criminal law. In particular, he protects employers against the use of pseudo-personnel lease and pseudo-independent contractors, which can expose employers and management to significant risks.
Recognized for his international consulting expertise, Sascha has developed a strong Japanese clientele advising such companies for many years.
Dr. Stefan Dittmer advises companies on all aspects of intellectual property law, including licensing, with a focus on technology, media and digitization. He represents clients in disputes relating to unfair competition, copyright, trademarks, patents and designs, and in general commercial disputes before courts of law and arbitral tribunals.
Dr. Stephan Busch is a Partner at Dentons’ Berlin office and member of the German Tax practice group. He is a lawyer, certified specialist in Tax Law, and certified tax advisor, primarily advising on Tax and Corporate Law. He focuses on M&A, Restructuring as well as on transactions of the credit economy and of public companies. Moreover, he acts as a barrister before finance courts and the Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof). He was formerly the Office Managing Partner of Dentons’ Berlin office from 2014-2021.
Thomas Schubert, LL.M. (Boston) is a Corporate / M&A partner in Dentons’ Berlin office. He is head of the European Venture Technology Group and co-head of the European Energy Regulatory Group. Thomas focusses on advising national and international companies and investors on M&A transactions, corporate reorganizations and insolvencies. Furthermore, he advises clients on private equity transactions, venture capital investments and joint ventures. Thomas' main area of expertise lies within the technology sector. He has a particular focus on the energy and renewable energy industry. Further engagements of Thomas include advising clients from the IT industry as well as the biotech and automotive branch. He also represents corporates as well as aspiring growth companies on the implementation of innovative digital business models, including blockchain technology, and innovative technologies such as hydrogen. Prior to joining Dentons, Thomas was a partner at another leading technology focused law firm.
Thomas Strassner is a partner in Dentons´ Munich office and a member of the Corporate/MA& practice group. He has extensive experience in corporate law matters, venture capital, private equity and M&A transactions, joint ventures, corporate restructurings as well as litigation. Tom has advised on numerous international and cross-border transactions and restructurings of companies and corporations. Among his clients are international investors, family offices as well as (privately held and listed) companies from high-growth startups to industry leaders from different sectors, including asset-focused & producing businesses, information technology, health care and life sciences.
Prior to joining Dentons, Tom was a counsel at another leading law firm and served as legal counsel for a venture capitalist. Tom attended Copenhagen Business School and the University of Munich, where he received his degrees in business (Dipl.-Kfm.) and law. A member of the Munich Bar Association, Tom is admitted to practice law in Germany.
Dr. Thomas Nebel is a partner in Dentons’ Dusseldorf office and co-head of the German Dispute Resolution practice group.
Thomas specializes in domestic and cross-border commercial and civil law disputes. He represents clients in out-of-court settlements, in litigation before state courts and in arbitration. Thomas has a particular focus on construction disputes, corporate disputes including post-M&A disputes, and contentious insolvency. Thomas also advises on planning and implementing major projects and on drafting commercial contracts.
Thomas has deep legal and technical expertise in the sectors of energy (conventional and renewable energy as well as transmission systems), infrastructure (railways, roads, aviation), construction, automotive and industrials. Prior to his admission to the German bar, Thomas worked several years at an insolvency administration firm.
Volker Mergener is a partner in Dentons’ Berlin office. He advises national and international clients on all aspects of real estate law. In particular, he advises on mergers and acquisitions and asset management matters.
Dr. Volker M. Junghanns, LL.M. (Bruges) is a partner in Dentons' Frankfurt office. He focuses on corporate finance and M&A, with a focus on private equity and venture capital. He has broad expertise in regulated industries, such as telecommunications and multimedia. In this context, Volker advises numerous national and international clients on M&A transactions, corporate matters (including joint ventures, reorganizations and restructurings) as well as on operational business matters (in particular with regard to distribution systems and commercial contracts). His capabilities also include the setup of ecommerce platforms and related digital documents (contracts and general terms and conditions).
Dr Wolfram Krohn, MPA (Harvard) is a partner in the Berlin office. He is a member of the Public Policy and Regulatory practice group and focuses on public procurement and government contracts, regulatory, export control and compliance. Wolfram has extensive experience in defense, infrastructure and transport, IT and telecommunications, health care and public private partnerships. Wolfram regularly advises and represents contracting entities and bidders in EU tender procedures and bid challenge proceedings in Germany and abroad. He also has extensive experience in regulatory and commercial litigation. Wolfram holds a doctorate in law from Humboldt University and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School. He is admitted to the German bar.