Gleiss Lutz

14 January 2010

Professional notice

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Though it lacks the extensive international network of Freshfields, Gleiss Lutz can claim to be the closest to it for quality in Germany. Practice head and Who’s Who entrant Ingo Brinker leads a team of 30 competition lawyers from the firm’s Munich office. Eight other partners (two more Who’s Who nominees) make the practice one of the largest, and Rainer Bechtold is still rated as the best competition lawyer in Germany. Gleiss is praised by rivals for its “very strong regional client base”, and while the firm is certainly known for its work at the national level, it regularly represents clients before the European Commission as well.

“We’ve been involved in one way or another in just about every cartel case at German and European level in the last 10 years,” Brinker says.

The firm represented HeidelbergCement in a recent German court case, which saw fines imposed by the FCO reduced by half. Bechtold led the team that worked for Wieland-Werke in the European Commission’s recent copper tube cartel investigation, while Siemens is another prominent client of the firm. It is also defending hydrogen peroxide company Degussa (now Evonik) against the second quasi-collective damages action brought by Cartel Damages Claims in Germany. On abuse of dominance, the firm has clients in the energy and automotive sectors, and Brinker reports a steady stream of private and public enforcement work in these areas.

Gleiss Lutz

Gleiss Lutz is one of the first German firms to practice in the area of competition. It has been involved in all major developments in this field and has significantly contributed to shaping European competition law. Clients benefit from our outstanding experience and longstanding relations with the competent authorities. This makes our practice one of the leading practices of its kind in Germany and Europe - as is proven time and again by our solid client base and results of national and international industry rankings.

The firm advises companies in all matters involving antitrust regulations, including merger control, proceedings concerning administrative fines or abusive practices, or strategic consultation regarding new corporate strategies.

We provide clients with global support - whether in multiple merger control filings, international fine proceedings or actions for damages with a US dimension, for example. In doing so, we can leverage a proven and highly flexible network: Gleiss Lutz is part of an alliance with first class law firms Herbert Smith (UK) and Stibbe (Netherlands/Belgium). Additionally, we maintain close ties with leading antitrust practices around the world. This allows us to set up the global team best suited to our clients’ needs.