Expertise

Private building and architectural law

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We represent and advise clients in all areas of private building and architectural law, both on the client and contractor side, companies and private individuals. Our specialist lawyers advise in all disciplines, from contract drafting to litigation, including support in arbitration and dispute resolution proceedings.

Our range of activities includes in particular:

• Drafting of construction contracts, e.g. developer, general contractor, GMP contracts and working party agreements for both clients and contractors
• Implementation of in-house training courses
• Expert opinions, e.g. for the preparation of strategic decisions
• Legal advice during construction, also for major construction projects
• Supplement management on the client side, including defense against supplements, legal management of disruptions to the construction process, insolvency of parties involved in construction
• Preventive advice on insolvency law, advice to insolvency administrators on the handling of construction and planning contracts
• Supplement management for contractors
• Advising architects, engineers and project managers on the preparation and conclusion of planning contracts and project contracts
• Enforcement of planning fees (architects’ and engineers’ fee law)
• Copyright advice for clients as well as architects and engineers
• Design and structuring of collateral for construction projects

We also represent our clients in complex construction law litigation, appeal proceedings, comprehensive defect litigation including logistical preparation, court proceedings for the taking of evidence, expert determination and arbitration proceedings.

Public building law

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We offer comprehensive advice in all areas of public law relevant to real estate and property development. Thanks to our decades of experience in supporting major projects, we have outstanding expertise, particularly in construction planning and building code law, planning approval law, environmental law and soil protection law.

Our range of activities includes in particular:

• Support in urban land-use planning procedures (development plan, land-use plan), advice on the creation of building rights, (judicial) review of development plans
• Advice on building permit procedures
• Advice in planning approval procedures
• Advice on emission control law, e.g. in the event of adverse effects caused by noise, particulate matter, odors or vibrations
• Advice on environmental law, e.g. compensatory measures under nature conservation law, flood and groundwater protection
• Advice on soil protection law, e.g. legacy pollution and soil contamination
• Advice on development law, local improvement assessment law and municipal tax law, e.g. on the levying of contributions for roads, water supply and wastewater disposal facilities
• Advice in expropriation and reallocation proceedings, enforcement of compensation claims for reductions in property value
• Enforcement of official liability claims, e.g. in the event of unlawful delay or rejection of building permit applications
• Conducting administrative appeal proceedings and court proceedings, e.g. actions to compel the granting of building permits, judicial review proceedings for the review of development plans

Real estate transactions

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We advise domestic and foreign clients on all types of real estate transactions, i.e. asset deals, share deals and sale and lease back transactions. Thanks to our many years of consulting experience, we have extensive industry knowledge in all relevant asset classes, particularly in the residential, office, hotel, retail and logistics sectors. We assist in the purchase and sale of individual properties, portfolios and complex properties, such as shopping centers and mixed-used properties. We tailor the scope of purchase and sales audits to the respective needs of our clients.

We provide these services with an interdisciplinary team of experienced lawyers whose work has been perfectly coordinated through numerous transactions in recent years. Rapid coordination channels therefore allow us to prepare and execute even complex transactions quickly and efficiently. Our clients have a partner in charge of the transaction who is available to them as a standing contact for the entire duration of the mandate.

Our range of activities includes in particular:

• Establishment and management of property companies, funds, joint ventures
• Drafting of preparatory contracts, such as letters of intent, exclusivity and confidentiality agreements
• Structuring buying and selling processes, creating timetables
• Advising clients in bidding procedures, preparation and support of data rooms
• Conduct of due diligence reviews for buyers and sellers, including examination of development possibilities under building law, preparation of due diligence reports in German and English
• Drafting, negotiation and execution of property acquisition and heritable building rights contracts, in which the results of due diligence reviews are taken into account
• Drafting, negotiation and execution of share purchase agreements, coordination of estimated and target balance sheets, reorganization of shareholder agreements / appointment of managing directors
• Preparation and handling of merger control proceedings by the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Authority)
• Preparation, negotiation and drafting of transaction-related lease, rental and leasing contracts
• Advising clients on acquisition financing as well as on redemption of collateral
• Support in the post-closing phase through preparation of closing agreements and further monitoring of the post-closing process

Commercial tenancy, leasehold and leasing law

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We represent and advise clients in all areas of commercial tenancy law, leasehold law and leasing law, both owners and users, companies and private individuals. This also includes related areas such as brokerage law or civil law relating to neighbors and real estate. Our lawyers advise on everything from contract drafting to litigation.

Our range of activities includes in particular:

• Drafting of residential leases and drafting and negotiation of commercial leases and leases for existing premises and in the context of real estate project developments for both the landlord/lessor and the tenant/lessee
• Drafting and negotiation of general tenancy agreements with tenants carrying out maintenance and repairs (“triple-net tenancy agreements”)
• Legal advice on the conversion and restructuring of old industrial properties into small-scale leases. Our advice covers special features of tenancy law as well as problems in the transition from large-scale to small-scale energy supply.
• Implementation of in-house training courses
• Review of the intrinsic value of commercial leases in the context of real estate transactions (“legal due diligence”), including improvement measures
• Expert opinions, e.g. for the preparation of strategic decisions
• Drafting of contracts for landlords as clients for facility, property and asset management services; property management contracts
• Leasing of real estate
• Conceptual development of sale-and-lease-back and lease-back structures, both for ordinary real estate transactions and in the context of tenders for new construction projects (advice on public procurement law)
• Advising insolvency administrators on the handling of tenancy agreements
• Enforcement of rent, leasehold and leasing claims and their procedural assertion

Public procurement law, privatization and PPP models

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We advise and represent public clients and companies in the construction and service sectors in all areas of public tenders, including privatization measures and the design and implementation of public-private partnership models. Our practice also includes representation in review proceedings before public procurement tribunals and the public procurement divisions of the higher regional courts and in damage compensation proceedings.

Our range of activities includes in particular:

• Advising public clients before, during and after a tendering procedure, including in accordance with (EU) VOB/A, VgV and UVgO (comparison of in-house realization and outsourcing, conceptual design of the tender, support during the award procedure, representation within the framework of review and damage compensation proceedings)
• Advising architects within the framework of competition procedures
• Advising corporate bidders in the construction industry and service sector in award procedures (legal advice in the bidding phase up to the award of the contract for realization) and also in the execution and management of contracts that have been concluded or, in the case of unsuccessful bidders, with regard to the lodging of appeals
• Public procurement law advice on investor projects, particularly in connection with the sale of properties by the public sector
• Advising and representing unsuccessful bidders in review proceedings before public procurement tribunals and the public procurement divisions of the higher regional courts and in damage compensation proceedings
• Advising municipalities and private parties (e.g. investment companies) in privatization procedures (advice on budgetary and municipal law, conception and establishment of the new authority, transaction business)
• Conceptualization and structuring of PPP models (in particular preparation of feasibility studies; coordination with the responsible authorities)
• Contractual design of operator contracts
• Advising contracting authorities and bidders on public procurement law, including all procedural and litigation steps

Residential property law

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We advise and represent condominium associations, property management companies and individual owners in all areas of condominium law. We also specialize in advising property owners on the division of a property into condominiums.
Due to our overall spectrum of real estate law, our advice also covers the interfaces between condominium law and all public law, private construction law and tenancy law.

Our range of activities includes in particular:

• Partition of new and existing buildings into condominiums
• Preparation of partition declarations and community rules
• Drafting of purchase contracts with due regard to condominium law
• Preparation of and participation in owners’ meetings
• Advice on the interpretation and application of existing community rules
• Support for maintenance and repair measures with due regard to condominium law
• Proceedings to set aside resolutions
• Dunning of condominium fees in arrears
• Advice and representation of condominium associations in foreclosure proceedings
• Legal representation of condominium associations, property managers and individual apartment owners in all condominium matters

Energie-
wirtschaftsrecht

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In the field of energy law, we deal with all legal issues relating to projects for the construction and operation of energy generation plants, energy storage facilities and grids. In the spirit of comprehensive consulting, we support all phases of the development and marketing of projects, including the planning, construction, operation, purchase and sale of generation plants.

We also advise on the legal structuring and optimization of energy transmission within corporate structures as well as on contracting and leasing models for generation plants. We pursue a holistic approach to legal project management with the aim of realizing the project in an economical, technical and, above all, legally compliant manner. We do not write novels. We develop pragmatic and legally compliant solutions and make specific recommendations. The necessary input from related areas of law is ensured across teams.

Our legal support includes in particular:

Project acquisition, project development:

• Negotiation and conclusion of project development agreements with third parties (external project developers)
• Negotiation and purchase of partially developed projects (both for sole in-house development and in joint venture structures)
• Advice on general cross-project issues (e.g. approval issues for freestanding installations in outdoor areas as a current example)
• Advice on cross-project decision-making aids in project development (e.g. screening and assessment of obstacles to approval at the regional planning level)

Securing of sites:

• Preparation and review of usage agreements for site and route properties (incl. properties for grid connection points)
• Review and support in the negotiation of riders to existing contracts
• Examination of land register issues, particularly priority issues and obstacles to registration
• Drafting public and civil law contracts with property owners, municipalities, network operators and banks, including leasehold and usage agreements

Planning and approval:

• Environmental, planning and construction law, including issues of regional planning, urban land-use planning and emission control as well as requirements of nature conservation law; support and advice in urban land-use planning procedures (solar and wind) – proposal planning or project-related planning, the preparation of regional and urban land-use plans and support in all forms of legal proceedings
• Public-law contracts with/for municipalities, e.g. implementation contracts in the context of project-related development plans, cost assumption declarations, planning assumption agreements (§ 4b BauGB)
• Support and advice in approval procedures (main proceedings in accordance with BImSchG and LBauO and ancillary proceedings such as permits in accordance with BNatSchG, WHG)
• Negotiation of crossing and intersection agreements

Construction and operation:

• Legal management of construction projects
• Negotiation/review of general contractor/developer agreements and other construction contracts for the construction of generation plants and the corresponding supply contracts
• Monitoring the handling of defects
• Conclusion of management and service agreements
• Review and negotiation of further project-related contracts (full maintenance, operational management)
• Review and optimization of contracting models for energy generation plants
• Review and negotiation of collateral agreements (e.g. securing and implementing off-plan compensation measures)
• Support with warranty claims against manufacturers and suppliers

Grid access and marketing:

• Support in the creation of complex grid access scenarios (majority of systems/operators, private substation) and associated infrastructure companies and negotiation with grid operators
• Ongoing advice on individual issues relating to the Renewable Energies Act (EEG) and eligibility for compensation
• Review and negotiation of electricity supply contracts (onsite/offsite/financial PPA)
• Structuring of energy transmission within corporate structures under energy law and their legal optimization, particularly with regard to the EEG levy and special equalization scheme
• Legal support in the design of closed distribution grids and the associated connection structures
• Grid connection issues, particularly legal issues relating to connection conditions for low and medium-voltage grids

Project companies:

• Support and advice on corporate law issues relating to the project companies (e.g. structuring the admission of lessor limited partners)
• Reviewing and advising corporate law contracts (e.g. consortium agreements)
• Legal support in clarifying the requirements of financing providers

Marketing of generation plants:

• Corporate structuring of projects
• Transaction agreements for the purchase and sale of companies, project companies and corporate assets
• Commission issues
• Conduct of legal due diligence reviews for investors and banks

Case management and negotiations in English are possible at any time. We continue to offer comprehensive legal representation in litigation cases. As a law firm, we also contribute our many years of experience and comprehensive knowledge of the renewable energy sector through our involvement in the specialist committees for ground-mounted solar systems and solar buildings of the BSW Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft e.V. (German Solar Industry Association).

Contacts:

Roland Schmidt, Lawyer, Partner, Certified Specialist in Administrative Law
Philipp Schnell, Lawyer, Senior Associate

Environmental law

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Environmental law issues are important cross-cutting issues for us in planning and approval decisions, as well as being relevant as a separate legal subject matter, particularly with respect to approval procedures for industrial plants. This includes not only approval procedures under emission control law, but also those under mining, water and excavation law, particularly for the extraction of mineral resources and raw materials. In the area of conflict between environmental protection and plant licensing, we support landfill and waste management projects, dealing in particular with legacy sites and soil protection issues. In most cases, support for approval procedures also includes an environmental impact assessment as well as a project assessment under nature conservation and species protection law. Cooperation with experts, above all with respect to noise emissions, air pollutants, hydrogeology and nature conservation, is part of our daily routine. When advising existing facilities, our work focuses on the licensing of planned facility modifications/extensions and the associated legal approval management, particularly by cooperating with experts and managing public and association participation. We also cover environmental liability issues as well as administrative offense and criminal proceedings in this area.

Our fields of activity include in particular:

• Approval procedures under emission control law, in particular industrial plants
• Landfill and waste law
• Water law approval procedures
• Mining and other raw material extraction
• Approval of traffic routes
• Incident law
• Nature and species conservation law
• Environmental impact assessment law
• Soil protection/legacy pollution law
• Public building law
• Environmental liability / environmental criminal law

Joint ventures – corporate law

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We advise clients in corporate law, both in the drafting of contracts and in litigation. A focus of our work is real-estate-specific corporate law advice, i.e. the structuring of partnerships and corporations, the drafting of shareholders’ agreements and articles of association and the structuring and support of the acquisition of real estate by way of share deals.

Our range of activities primarily includes:

• Advice on the formation of partnerships and corporations
• Company transformations
• Liability of managing directors, officers and executives
• Disputes between shareholders and companies
• Joint stock corporation and corporate group law
• Structuring of open and closed-end real estate funds
• Private equity
• Structuring and support of corporate acquisitions on the seller and buyer side
• Privatizations

Real estate financing

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We advise clients in banking law, with a focus on mandates relating to real estate. We represent real estate investors and advise them on the preparation and structuring of financing as well as financing banks on the drafting and negotiation of loan agreements and collateral.

We provide these services with a team of well-versed lawyers who have many years of experience in providing bank-specific advice, structuring financing and assisting banks in real estate project developments.

Our range of services includes in particular:

• Credit law and loan collateral law, particularly in real estate financing
• Law of state-of-the-art financing instruments, e.g. SWAPS
• Structured finance law
• Law of restructuring loans
• Guarantee law including guarantee management
• Legal controlling of real estate projects on behalf of banks
• Design and execution of closed-end real estate funds

Labor law

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Our range of advice encompasses all aspects of individual and collective labor law. We mainly represent companies, but also employees, particularly executives, in their own labor law matters.

Our labor law team advises on all labor law disciplines, from drafting employment contracts to preparing and supporting complex corporate restructurings and representing clients in labor court proceedings. We develop economical and practical solutions that are always tailored to the individual needs of our clients.

Our range of activities includes in particular:

• Advice on and realization of corporate restructuring and operational changes, including the implementation of related mass redundancies and participation in negotiations on reconciliation of interests and social compensation plans
• Drafting of employment contracts, e.g. drafting of employment and service contracts, design of state-of-the-art remuneration systems, flexibilization of employment relationships, non-competition clauses
• Advice on the termination of employment relationships, in particular support in the strategic planning and practical implementation of dismissals and termination agreements as well as procedural management of dismissal protection proceedings in all instances
• Support with all individual labor law issues, from the issuing of warning letters to questions regarding parental leave and the issuing of references
• Advice on the implementation of statutory compliance regulations, creation of company compliance guidelines
• Employee data protection, e.g. drafting of practical rules regarding e-mail and Internet use, advice on the introduction of operational monitoring tools, design of a legally compliant and practical handling of employee data, assistance in the selection and appointment of data protection officers
• Drafting and termination of management board and managing director agreements
• Representation of managers in their own matters
• Works constitution law, e.g. comprehensive support in all matters of co-determination, conducting negotiations with works councils on works agreements, representation in conciliation committee proceedings, advice on the conduct of works council elections
• Commercial agency law
• Collective bargaining law
• Implementation of in-house training courses

Family and inheritance law

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We advise and represent our clients in all family and inheritance law matters, both in and out of court. Many years of experience and specialization in these areas of law enable us to work out, agree on and, if necessary, enforce tailored solutions to the often complex legal, financial and interpersonal problems of each client.

Our range of activities includes in particular:

Family law

• Marriage and partnership agreements
• Separation and divorce settlement agreements
• Divorce proceedings including all joint proceedings
• Isolated family proceedings, in particular equalization of accrued gains, child and spousal maintenance, pension equalization, custody and access rights, matrimonial home and household effects
• Settlement of joint assets
• Partition auctions
• Joint and several debtor compensation
• Settlement of the non-marital partnerships
• Paternity and marriage contestation proceedings
• Adoptions

Inheritance law

• Succession with respect to private and business assets
• Testamentary dispositions, in particular wills and inheritance contracts
• Transfers inter vivos, anticipated succession
• Inheritance and gift tax law
• Compulsory portion law
• Certificate of inheritance proceedings
• Heir determination proceedings
• Estate settlement
• Partition auctions
• Execution of wills
• Living wills and health care proxies