The Legal 500 Deutschland and EMEA - 2018

Legal 500 has ranked the top law firms worldwide for 30 years; the 5th edition of the German version of Legal 500 is now being published. P+P is represented with 24 recommended lawyers and tax advisors; of these, 5 professionals are leading in their practice areas.
P+P receives a top-tier ranking for its advice in the non-profit sector including the leading expert Andreas Richter and Katharina Gollan as 'name of the next generation'.
P+P is "quite simply outstanding". Andreas Richter's "excellent" team advises charitable foundations, family foundations and company foundations, as well as non-profit corporations and limited liability partnerships (GmbHs). Advising clients on social venture capital also plays an important role; Anna Katharina Gollan is "particularly experienced" in this practice area. Advising international clients is an "additional strong point".
The firm also receives a top-tier ranking in fund structuring; Andreas Rodin and Amos Veith (investment funds) are "leading" experts. P+P "continues to provide outstanding quality in its advisory services and all aspects of cooperation". The team is known for its strengths in the market and is "very efficient, matter-of-fact, pragmatic, available and flexible". The firm also exhibits its expertise in Luxembourg fund structures and advises initiators and investors on the legal, tax and regulatory aspects of alternative investment funds and worldwide fund investments. The firm has a great deal of experience in private equity, private debt, infrastructure, real estate and energy funds and "a close interconnection between the fund structuring and tax practices". The asset management and fund litigation practice has also continued to expand. The team continues to grow, e.g., with the naming of Jens Steinmüller as partner at the beginning of 2017. Frequently recommended attorneys include the leading Amos Veith and Uwe Bärenz, who is recommended for his "very good know-how, business acumen and creativity" and who has "meanwhile achieved market leadership in Germany for the structuring of alternative investment funds". In Frankfurt, Andreas Rodin has "very good knowledge of the market and industry" and Peter Bujotzek is "extremely effective and solution-oriented".
P+P's Christian Tönies is leading in the VC sector and Michael Inhester and he head up the team, which has been "highly esteemed for quite some time" in Munich and in Berlin is "gaining more attention". Another leading advisor for private equity transactions is the Munich-based partner Matthias Bruse. P+P is particularly recommended for its "excellent expertise" in management advice and management participation programs, for which Benedikt Hohaus is "particularly renowned". Frank Thiäner and Jens Hörmann's team is also regularly active in transactional matters, especially in the mid-cap sector. Andrea von Drygalski, Philipp von Braunschweig and Otto Haberstock ("the dealmaker with good commercial understanding") continue to be recommended advisors. Overall, P+P offers "outstanding service in multidisciplinary transactional advice, including tax advice, whereby the client always feels like he is in excellent hands". In particular, this is attributable to the "team's initiative and accuracy", which especially applies to the advice in tax law.
The transactional tax practice distinguishes itself with "interface competence in the private equity and real estate sectors, as well as in fund structuring and succession." Nico Fischer was appointed partner. Michael Best and the "excellent" Hardy Fischer, who works at the interface with real estate law, both receive special mention.
In real estate, mention is made of Stefan Lebek and the "particularly recommended" Matthias Durst – who is praised for his ability "to evaluate in a manner that is deal-oriented, but nevertheless with an understanding of the risks, through a very detailed examination of significant and critical facts vis-à-vis the client". Overall, the real estate team is praised for the fact that it "[is] internally in a position to demonstrate all legal issues that might become relevant in the process of a transaction in an efficient manner". Raphael Söhlke was appointed associate partner.
Last but not least, P+P also advises on corporate law matters "quickly and professionally at the interface with tax law", e.g., in succession and asset planning. Wolfgang Grobecker and Eva Nase represent this practice area and act for family-owned companies and also large corporations, start-ups and private equity funds. Their expertise also includes representation in corporate litigation matters.