JUVE Handbuch Wirtschaftskanzleien 2021/2022

The JUVE Commercial Law Handbook contacted 1,215 law firms for the current edition. The 34-person editorial team conducted 8,752 interviews and as a result included approximately 750 law firms in 36 practice areas in the handbook.

The firm maintained its top positions of recent years in the areas of succession/private clients/foundations, as well as private equity/mid-cap transactions and venture capital. The firm also received consistently positive rankings in all other core competence areas.

This top ranking is due to the commitment, competence and particularly the experience of the partners and professionals, who are praised as “top experts”, “fast and extremely reliable”, “competent and committed” and as “very good industry experts”. The junior staff is also “very well trained” and shows “great commitment”.

The relationships, some of which go back decades, with the largest German private clients and with important family businesses, coupled with the partners’ “professional excellence” in terms of tax and civil law advisory expertise, ensure that the firm has “long been a fixture at the top of the market” in succession and foundation advisory. The succeeding generation, too, has already made a name for itself in the market with Dr. Katharina Gollan (“smart, prudent and professionally excellent”, competitor) for her highly specialized advice on foundation law. “A Frankfurt partner” [Dr. Martin Liebernickel], with his expertise in German and international inheritance law, has also managed to establish the Frankfurt office alongside Berlin and Munich.

“Leading” advisors include Munich partner Dr. Stephan Viskorf and founding partner Professor Reinhard Pöllath and Berlin partner Dr. Andreas Richter, who is “leading” in the market for his expertise in advising entrepreneurs and high net worth individuals, as well as on foundation matters. Another “frequently recommended advisor” is Dr. Matthias Bruse.

Dr. Bruse is also listed for his expertise in M&A and private equity, as are his colleagues Otto Haberstock, Dr. Michael Inhester, Jens Hörmann, Dr. Benedikt Hohaus and Dr. Eva Nase for public takeovers. Dr. Andrea von Drygalski, Dr. Frank Thiäner and Philipp von Braunschweig are listed as “leading” for their outstanding expertise in private equity/mid-cap transactions, as is Christian Tönies for his excellent advice in venture capital.  

The firm finds its “ideal biotope” in the current mid-cap private equity boom with crossovers in the venture capital market.

POELLATH scores with the “excellent networking of a broad range” of well-known and renowned partners, its good contacts to clients, and with a broad spectrum of advice that covers everything from fund structuring to transactions, including dispute resolution, corporate and capital markets law, as well as special areas such as management advisory and foundation law, which form “their own little powerhouses”. In addition to its traditionally strong management advisory practice with an “outstanding reputation” and an “enormous lead” over almost all of its competitors, the firm boasts a “small but strong corporate and capital markets practice”. The “recognized” partner Dr. Eva Nase commands “considerable respect”, even from competitors, when advising on a number of major projects, including those with a lead role, and the resulting “strong market presence”. In addition to Dr. Eva Nase, Dr. Michael Inhester and Dr. Matthias Bruse are also among the “frequently recommended” consultants in this field.

In the areas of investment funds and asset management with the asset classes private equity and venture capital, the firm has also been “one of the top advisors for many years”. This is reflected in the advice provided to fund vehicles worth billions, as well as the “central role” played by the firm and the team led by Dr. Andreas Rodin in public sector aid measures in the wake of the Corona crisis. In addition to private equity and venture capital funds, the firm also focuses on other asset classes, such as real estate and infrastructure, structuring, documentation, launching and closing, fund investments and supervisory law.

In particular, Amos Veith (“excellent handling of projects”, client), Dr. Andreas Rodin (“very good, efficient and client-oriented”, client), Uwe Bärenz (“very good”, client) and Dr. Peter Bujotzek (“very structured and clear, very service-oriented and personally very pleasant”, client) are recommended. Clients praise also “numerous experienced associates” as “very competent and committed”.

The real estate practice also enjoys “an excellent reputation” for its transactional advice, with Dr. Stefan Lebek as a “leading” advisor in the market. According to clients, he is “deal-oriented, well-connected, competent, effective” and his colleagues appreciate that he is “very pleasant”, “professional and pragmatic”. Dr. Matthias Durst is also listed for his competence and expertise.

The team covers both the corporate and tax aspects of a deal. Their repertoire includes investment law expertise, as well as advice on financing an acquisition. The firm also advises on project developments with a focus on structuring, financing and acquisition and sales strategies.