AG adds first office in continental Europe to offices in UK, Asia and the GCC.

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Addleshaw Goddard has announced that 10 lawyers from the Hamburg office of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner will spearhead its entry into Germany, Europe's largest economy and a key jurisdiction identified by clients. 

Opening in June 2019, Addleshaw Goddard's Hamburg office will be the firm's sixth outside of the UK, providing expertise in M&A and private equity, commercial, employment, international trade and litigation advice. The office will initially comprise partners Eckart Budelmann, Michael Leue, Martin Lüderitz, Maximilian Karacz and Hubertus Schröder as well as five other lawyers. 

The Hamburg office will have a broad sector expertise with a particular emphasis on transport, energy/renewables, manufacturing, media and retail which aligns closely with Addleshaw Goddard's sector focus. Recent transactions in which the team comprehensively advised include the disposal of Terex’ Demag MobileCranes business as well as of its compact machinery business, the sale of the shares in thjnk Group to WPP and various transactions for Yantai Taihai Group.

AG’s aspiration in Germany is to provide clients with a full-service capability offering a quality and depth consistent with the requirements of local as well as international businesses.

John Joyce, Addleshaw Goddard Managing Partner said: 

"Our business has a continued focus on identifying new growth opportunities and we believe greater internationalisation in the markets most relevant to them is essential to better serve our clients. Germany is one of the world's largest importers and exporters and the opening of an office there is a decisive first step in our plans for continental Europe which in due course may involve other European jurisdictions given the strong preference by many businesses for a fully integrated service."

He added:

"Michael and his colleagues are a highly impressive group who have worked closely together over many years and are a great fit for our business.  We are delighted that they have chosen to join us and we very much look forward to collaborating across a range of client assignments on behalf of local, UK and international clients."

Michael Leue said:

"Today's announcement has all the key ingredients for clients in Europe, the USA and further afield who will be attracted by the advantages of working with a competent and growing European business rooted in the German market with strong links into the City of London. We are excited about joining Addleshaw Goddard and the possibilities to leverage our local expertise on a global scale."

Michael Leue, together with Eckart Budelmann, founded the Bryan Cave LLP offices in Germany in 2007 and served as Managing Partner Germany.

Addleshaw Goddard has successfully built a focussed international office presence in the Middle East and Asia following the opening in 2012 of the firm's first overseas office in Singapore, followed by Dubai, Oman, Qatar and then Hong Kong in 2013. In response to client demand for coverage across the whole of the UK, AG combined in 2017 with HBJ, adding offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. The business also enjoys a growing reputation in other emerging markets including Africa, India, Malaysia and Japan.

Where it doesn't have offices, Addleshaw Goddard continues to provide a high quality, borderless client service through a network of like-minded best friend firms.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

 

Hamburg Partner profiles

Dr. Michael Leue, LL.M.

Michael founded the Bryan Cave LLP offices in Germany and served as Managing Partner Germany. He was until the combination with BLP both a member of the firm’s Strategic Planning Committee and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

Michael specialises in complex, cross-border M&A transactions including advising on strategic corporate structuring issues, particularly as they relate to German limited liability companies and stock corporations. His corporate expertise extends to national and international arbitration and litigation. Michael regularly advises corporations with regard to complex operational issues as well as management/shareholder disputes, including capital increases, domination agreements, profit and loss pooling agreements, listings, de-listings and public offerings, shareholders meetings and protection against and defense of shareholder activism. 

Michael has built a leading transportation (rail) and infrastructure practice covering all aspects of public transport by rail and bus, including corporate structures, acquisitions, regulatory issues, concessions, procurement, rail finance and dispute resolution.

Michael has also served on supervisory boards of public and private companies, often as chair, in a wide range of industries, including renewable energy, private equity, luxury goods, information technology construction equipment to media and advertising.

Michael trained and worked at Germany’s largest security issuer and real estate financing bank (Deutsche Pfandbriefanstalt K.d.ö.R.). Michael earned a LL.M. degree at the University of Edinburgh and completed his bar training in Hamburg thereafter and during which he worked at the OSCE in Vienna and at the predecessor firm of White & Case in Hamburg. He built his international practice at Buse Heberer Fromm, one of the largest national firms in Germany. He represented his firm in IAG and TELFA. He built the European Legal Alliance (700+ lawyers), served on its Executive Committee, was leader of the corporate group and the North American group. 

Eckart Budelmann, LL.M.

Eckart advises both listed and non-listed buyers and sellers in national and international M&A transactions as well as in distressed M&A transactions. He also provides advice in the areas of competition law (including national and international merger flings), commercial law, trade law, insolvency law and distribution law. In addition, Eckart has extensive experience in structured finance and general banking matters that enables him to handle complex financing transactions for international banks and financial institutions.  

Eckart studied at the University of Hamburg and at the University of New South Wales (Sydney). Upon completion of his studies, Eckart conducted two traineeships, one with the M&A advisory arm of Berenberg Bank, Germany’s oldest and biggest private bank, and the other one with a large Australian based law firm. He started his legal career at Buse Heberer Fromm, and part of the team launching Bryan Cave LLP’s office in 2007, later becoming office managing partner in 2014. He was recently appointed co-head of Bryan Cave’s global Brexit team and acted as country liaison partner for Australia, handling inbound and outbound Australian projects and work matters.   

Eckart’s clients operate in many different industrial sectors including transport & logistics, banking, healthcare, packaging, automotive and, high-technology. 

Dr. Martin Lüderitz 

Martin is the head of the German labor & employment team and advises national and international companies on all aspects of individual and collective labor law. His main practice comprises advising employers in the drafting of employment contracts, including post contractual non-competition clauses, restructurings, transfer of undertakings and mass redundancies; in matters of enforced redundancy and dismissals due to operational reasons, conduct or illness; and in the context of pre and post transactional labor and employment issues in M&A. 

He is also experienced in advising on pension schemes, incentive plans and Employee Stock Options (ESO). Moreover, his work includes the representation of companies in complex matters that involve German works councils such as reconciliation of interests, social plans, and tariff agreements. Martin works regularly with the firm’s lawyers focused on global mobility for key international clients.

Martin is a specialized attorney for Labor Law and represents employers before labor courts. He studied at the University of Munich, received his Ph.D. in 2005 and has been advising clients in employment law for more than 15 years.

Dr. Maximilian Karacz, LL.M. 

Maximilian focuses on domestic and international M&A, corporate finance and corporate restructurings. He advises a broad spectrum of clients from start-ups and mid-cap companies based in Germany and across Europe to global multinational enterprises on public and private investments, banking and finance, as well as on general corporate matters.

Maximilian joined Bryan Cave’s Hamburg office in 2007. He studied at the universities of Frankfurt and Bonn and obtained his Ph.D. in 2008. He continued his studies at Vanderbilt University Law School in 2009 where he obtained a LL.M. degree.  He is admitted to the bar of New York.

Dr. Hubertus Schröder

Hubertus advises on all aspects of corporate/M&A matters and in distressed situations. He has extensive experience in domestic and cross-border M&A, corporate restructurings, carve-outs and joint ventures. His experience also covers the trading and financing of non-performing loans. His clients include German and international corporations, private equity investors and financial institutions. 

Hubertus studied law as well as economics at the universities of Cologne, Munich and Hamburg. Upon completion of his studies Hubertus obtained a Ph.D. at the University of Kiel. Hubertus joined Ashurst LLP (Munich) in 2007 and moved to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP (Munich) with a team in 2013. He joined Bryan Cave in 2016.

Hamburg Counsel profiles

Dr. Staffan Wegdell

Staffan studied at the University of Hamburg. He was admitted to the bar in 1992 and was awarded his Ph.D. in 1996. He started his career at FPS Fritze Paul Seelig, a large German law firm, and joined Buse Heberer Fromm in 1997. He was among the team of lawyers that opened offices for Bryan Cave LLP in 1997. He is responsible for Bryan Cave’s Scandinavian desk.  

Staffan has more than 20 years' experience in corporate, commercial, trade, real estate and distribution law, in particular e-commerce, and regularly represents clients in national and international court and arbitration procedures. As a Swedish national, Staffan's client portfolio includes Scandinavian companies and individuals operating in Germany and Europe as well as non-Scandinavian clients in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries. 

Staffan has advised several publicly well-known Swedish companies in connection with their entry to the German (as well as European and US) market and the subsequent development of their business. He is fluent in German, Swedish and English and also works in Norwegian and Danish. Staffan has been the President of the Swedish Club of Hamburg since 2006.

Staffan is active across a number of sectors including medical devices, pharmaceuticals, engineering, paper, travel and tourism, information technology, banking and real estate.

Jens Peters

Jens studied at the University of Bielefeld and qualified as a lawyer in 2009. During his studies he was trained at Hogan Lovells and Lufthansa AG. He took a LL.M. in Stellenbosch, South Africa. He started his professional career with Clifford Chance LLP in 2012 until he joined Bryan Cave in 2017.  

Jens is an employment law specialist and advises medium-sized and large national and international companies on all issues relating to individual and collective labor law and occupational pension schemes. He also advises on employment and service contracts, conducts negotiations with works councils, advises on corporate co-determination, represents clients in court, coordinates employment law related international projects and advises on employment aspects of internal investigations. In addition, he advises on employment aspects of the acquisition, reorganization and restructuring of companies.

Jens works across all sectors, but has a particular interest in the automotive and food industry and the finance sectors.

Hamburg Associate profiles

Alexandra Rose, LL.M. 

Alexandra studied at the universities of Saarland, Konstanz, Warwick (UK) and Shanghai. She took a LL.M. degree at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management in 2009. She started her legal career at PricewaterhouseCoopers AG in 2006 and joined Bryan Cave in 2011.

Alexandra is a specialist in mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, banking and finance, insolvency and corporate restructuring and led a numerous due diligence projects for mid-cap and major domestic and international clients across numerous industries. A particular focus of her work lies in competition law and procurement law.

Alexandra also represents clients in Chinese-German cross-border transactions, and has experience of working in Shanghai together with a working knowledge of Mandarin Chinese.

Carolyn Krampitz

Carolyn studied at the University of Hamburg and at UCLA. Carolyn was admitted to the bar in 2008. She worked with Lufthansa AG over a period of 4 years before she joined Bryan Cave in 2014. 

Carolyn is an expert in cross-border international trade and compliance law, including export controls and economic sanctions. She advises public and private companies on how to develop corporate trade compliance and training programs when dealing with trans-border business issues in Germany and the European Union (EU), including how to facilitate the cross-border transfer of information from the EU to the United States and other foreign countries. Carolyn is familiar with German, English and Spanish regulatory bodies.

Carolyn's experience ranges from advice spanning customs, export control, data privacy and other regulatory compliance questions as well as the analysis, optimization and support of implementing processes according to national legal requirements. Auditing cross-border related procedures to detect compliance gaps, calculating compliance rates and filing self-disclosures are also important aspects of her practice together with applications for export licenses, customs simplifications and AEO certificates. 

Dr. Eva Lotte Stöckel

Eva specialises in mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital transactions, corporate restructurings, as well as general company law and corporate litigation. Her clients span a broad range of industries, private equity investors, family offices and start-ups including businesses from Italy on their investments into Germany.

Eva studied at the Universities of Passau, Cologne and Rome. She was admitted to the bar in 2016 and obtained a Ph.D. at the University of Tübingen in 2012. She is a member of German Italian Lawyers Association. Eva has worked for international law firms, public entities and international organizations across Germany, Italy and the UK.