Hengeler Mueller - Who's Who Legal 70

What is the Who's Who Legal 70?

Hengeler Mueller in Who's Who Legal

	Corporate Governance
	5

	Management Labour & Employment
	1

	Corporate Governance
	5

	Capital Markets
	5

	Oil & Gas
	1

	Environment
	1

	Mergers & Acquisitions
	4

	Corporate Tax
	3

	Mergers & Acquisitions
	4

	Corporate Tax
	3

	Life Sciences
	1

	Commercial Litigation
	1

	Private funds
	2

	Banking
	3

	Competition
	5

Combined, these constituent firms brought more than 150 years of experience as well as established offices in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf to Hengeler Mueller, which founded its Berlin offices in the same year. Subsequent office developments in Munich, Brussels and London have boosted the firm's profile throughout Europe. Today Hengeler Mueller is home to more than 250 lawyers, 85 of whom are partners, and makes 32 appearances in the current edition.

Corporate
As with previous editions, the firm's "outstanding" corporate and financial teams appear prominently across several of the following chapters. Maximilian Schiessl was praised as "one of the best in the world". He appears in the corporate governance section and is also the best-regarded European nominee in the M&A chapter. Schiessl's recent engagements include advising General Electric on the sale of GE Money Bank, R+V Versicherung on its acquisition of the Condor insurance group and the Brazilian company Magnesita Refratários in its acquisition of German-based LWB Refractories. Michael Hoffmann-Becking in Düsseldorf and Oleg de Lousanoff in Frankfurt are also recognised as "leading" practitioners in both chapters, while Klaus-Dieter Stephan and Gerd Krieger are listed for corporate governance. Hans-Jörg Ziegenhain is the fourth "big name" from the firm in the M&A chapter, having joined Schiessl in advising General Electric. Also on the team for this transaction was the "excellent" Hans-Joachim Liebers, who is the firm's sole representative in the management, labour and employment chapter.

The corporate tax section is another cache of Hengeler Mueller talent, with three attorneys featured. The "leading" Ernst-Thomas Kraft was a member of the teams that recently advised Deutsche Bank on its acquisition of a participation in Deutsche Postbank, and TUI on the sale of Hapag-Lloyd and ranked among the top names in Europe. Also making the cut are Martin Klein: a member of the team that advised SMO Solar Technology through its recent IPO, and former associate tax counsel at the German Federal Finance Ministry Friedhelm Jacob. Two lawyers from Hengeler's internationally focused Frankfurt office are ranked in the private funds chapter. Thomas Paul is among the "absolute top" names in Europe according to one source, and Edgar Wallach is also described as a "heavy hitter".

Competition
As well as the Deutsche Bank acquisition, members of Hengeler Mueller's competition team have been involved in some of the most significant of the firm's recent transactions, including advising Swiss Life on its acquisition of a shareholding in MLP, advising RWE on its all-cash offer for Essent shareholders and advising Aareal on the sale of its €1.47 billion credit portfolio. Hengeler places five "outstanding attorneys" in the competition chapter, four of whom work in offices in Germany. Jochen Burrichter is the firm's leading competition practitioner according to our research and competitors praised his "superior" and "highly effective practice", while one international source said he was the "go-to guy in Germany". Joining Burrichter at the Düsseldorf office are the "excellent" Christoph Stadler and Thorsten Mäger, whose "very impressive" work also earns him a place in the oil and gas section. Horst Satzky is recognised in the Frankfurt office, while state-aid expert Hans-Jörg Niemeyer is considered a "fixture of the community" in Brussels.
Birgit Spießhofer represents the firm in the environment chapter, where she was recognised for her corporate social responsibility and compliance work, as well as her public procurement, constitutional EU law and privatisation expertise.

Banking and Finance
Hengeler Mueller fields five professionals in the capital markets chapter, with Hendrik Haag emerging as one of the most highly nominated players internationally. Haag advised the Federal Republic of Germany as well as the German Finance Agency on the development and implementation of the "overnight bond" investment product, and his strong performance in this chapter is complemented by a similar showing in the banking section. Stefan Krauss recently advised BayernLB on the structuring and implementation of a risk shield relative to its €21 billion securities portfolio and he is also listed in both chapters. Torsten Busch and Thomas Cron also appear in the capital markets section, as does London-based structured finance "expert" Martin Geiger.

Dispute Resolution and IP
Hengeler Mueller's representation of financial and industrial blue chips like Deutsche Bank and UCB Pharma extends to include a "substantial" dispute resolution practice, from which Frankfurt-based Peter Heckel is recognised in both the litigation and arbitration chapters.
The UCB Pharma case demonstrates the firm's growing strength in the life sciences sector, and the current edition reflects this by recognising Bernhard Maassen as a leading practitioner in the corresponding chapter.