Professional notice
Brussels
Gleiss Lutz boasts one of Brussels’ oldest competition practices; the formidable German firm set up shop in the city in 1962. Who’s Who Legal: Competition nominee Ulrich Soltész is the only resident partner, but EU practice head Ingo Brinker splits his time between Brussels and Germany. The firm is rightfully proud of its state aid practice: Soltész acted as counsel to Austria-based Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank in a restructuring case brought by the Commission; and the firm offers guidance to several other financial institutions, including the Bank of Ireland and the German Landesbanken, as well as advising a company in relation to Libor/Euribor. Elsewhere, the firm is acting for a company in the appeal against the bathroom fittings cartel investigation; for Heidelberg Cement in its appeal against a cartel judgment before the ECJ; and is working on a joint venture between three European music collecting societies.
Germany
Gleiss Lutz wins praise from rivals across the German competition world. Spread across six offices in Germany, six partners are nominated to Who’s Who Legal, including practice head Ingo Brinker, which is a reflection of the firm’s elite status. German partners in Brussels are also heavily involved in several of Gleiss Lutz’s domestic competition matters.
The firm is active in many complicated and cutting-edge matters. Brinker and Matthias Karl are acting for BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte before the German authority regarding an online sales rebate system introduced last year. It is a test case for an alleged restriction of hybrid dealers’ – who sell both online and in physical shops – internet sales. Meanwhile Ulrich Denzel successfully defended HeidelbergCement against a follow-on claim worth potentially hundreds of millions of euros brought by Cartel Damages Claims, which buys claims from victims. In a precedent-setting decision, the Düsseldorf court found that assigning claims to a third party in this way was invalid.
„One of the leading antitrust practices in Germany and Europe.“
Chambers Europe 2012
International Firm of the Year 2011
Legal Business Awards
Law Firm of the Year for Competition/Antitrust
JUVE Awards 2010
Gleiss Lutz is one of Germany’s leading full service international law firms. With more than 290 lawyers, of whom 89 are partners, Gleiss Lutz advises major national and international companies in all areas of commercial law.
Gleiss Lutz has been involved in shaping antitrust law since day one, having played an active role in all major international developments and cases for more than 60 years. The combination of experience, top quality advice and a practice-oriented approach makes Gleiss Lutz one of the leading competition practices in Europe.
- Cartel investigations: With experience gained from participating in more or less all cartel investigations before the European Commission and many cartel investigations all over the globe over the last years, Gleiss Lutz is the law firm of choice for high-profile cases. Especially in the area of the Commission’s settlement proceedings the firm is a pioneer, having participated in all settlement proceedings of the European Commission to date.
- Actions for damages: Gleiss Lutz has been involved in the development of “private enforcement” from the outset. Its leading position is illustrated by the representation of a client in the first follow-on case at the German Supreme Court. In actions covering various jurisdictions Gleiss Lutz plays a coordinating role, working together with law firms across the globe.
- Merger control: Gleiss Lutz is regularly involved in complex cases, such as advising Syngenta on the acquisition of Monsanto’s seeds business and Südzucker on the acquisition of ED&F. In cross-border proceedings Gleiss Lutz provides strategic advice in the run-up to the acquisition, and coordinates the filing of the required notifications worldwide.
- Gleiss Lutz’ antitrust practice also has highly regarded experts for state aid, in particular in the finance sector, and for compliance matters. Because of the significant experience and partner-driven approach to matters, clients regularly retain the services of Gleiss Lutz for international internal investigations, most recently in Brazil, in Pakistan, in Korea, in Turkey and in China.
Contact Details
Dr. Ingo Brinker
T +49 (0) 89 21667-212
E [email protected]
Website