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We advise companies, shareholders, investors, managing directors, board members and supervisory board members comprehensively on all questions of national and international corporate law. This applies both to structuring advice (structuring, transformations, liability avoidance) and to disputes (shareholder disputes, court disputes, arbitration proceedings).
We are experienced in corporate transactions (including M&A, private equity, venture capital), tax structuring and succession planning.
Together with our specialists in the fields of capital market law, intellectual property law, tax law and antitrust law, we represent your interests in a goal-oriented, assertive and long-term manner.
Good tax advice is the basis for the success of entrepreneurial activity as well as private wealth creation and protection. We advise corporations and partnerships on all aspects of tax structuring and tax planning – both nationally and internationally, including M&A and company acquisitions.
Individuals rely on our expertise in the areas of tax-centered wealth planning, inheritance and asset succession. We provide preventive advice on tax and commercial criminal law (compliance systems) and defend our clients in ongoing criminal investigations and before the criminal courts.
As tax lawyers, we represent our clients in tax audit proceedings and in court proceedings before the fiscal courts and the Federal Fiscal Court.
As advisors to your advisors, we are also involved (and always under client protection) by tax advisors, auditors and legal colleagues in ongoing issues and proceedings for their clients and provide advice to the outside world acting together or in the background.
Intellectual property is the basis of success in many companies. It is therefore advisable to protect this property from product and brand piracy. Our experienced team advises and represents you in all matters relating to intellectual and industrial property and competition law. Thinking strategically, our specialists put themselves in your company’s shoes and ensure that your business success is not jeopardised by the actions of third parties.
In an increasingly regulated business world, compliance with regulatory requirements is crucial. Our lawyers have in-depth expertise in regulatory law and can provide you with tailored advice. We help companies understand and implement the many requirements and regulations in the area of regulatory law. Our services range from advising on compliance issues and assisting with authorisation procedures to representing your interests in dealings with supervisory authorities. We specialise in navigating companies through the often complex and constantly changing legal framework.
CORPORATE
Claim for reinstatement: BGH on the scope of the company‘s duty of loyalty following the termination of a shareholder’s contract
It is standard for shareholders to terminate the employment of another shareholder. There are many reasons for this: the breach of social fiduciary duties is often a reason for such a termination. But is it conceivable that the terminated shareholder has a claim to reinstatement in the company precisely because of the social duty of loyalty? That is possible. The possible claim for reinstatement alone can have legal consequences (BGH, judgment of 12.07.2022, ref.: II ZR 81/21).
Christoph Schmitz-Schunken
CORPORATE
Real estate structuring again at the end of the year?
Impact of the Act on the Modernization of Partnership Law (MoPEG) on real estate transfer tax
Christoph Schmitz-Schunken
CORPORATE
Prohibition of voting in shareholders’ meetings
When passing a resolution on initiating a legal dispute against a third-party company or on the out-of-court assertion of claims against the third-party company, those GmbH shareholders who hold all shares in the third-party company are subject to a voting ban.
Christoph Schmitz-Schunken
CORPORATE
Management board and supervisory board in a stock corporation: Separate and yet together?
Unlike Anglo-American corporate law, the continental European corporate tradition distinguishes two boards involved in corporate governance in stock corporation law. The Management Board and the Supervisory Board are two relevant bodies. And yet, both bodies fulfill very different tasks within the company. Especially in fast-moving times like these, the Supervisory Board and the Management Board must work together efficiently to achieve the best for the company, even in difficult times.
Christoph Schmitz-Schunken
CORPORATE
What is the correct interest rate for loans from a corporation to its shareholders?
BFH (German Federal Fiscal Court) confirms its case law on the topic of “hidden profit distribution” for loans to controlling shareholders (BFH, the judgment of 22/02/2023 – I R 27/20 -)
Christoph Schmitz-Schunken