Find Lawyers in Germany for Competition / Antitrust Law
Practice Area Overview
Most economic systems are based on the idea of market economy. The aim of Competition Law/Antitrust Law is to guarantee effective competition as an essential element of market economy and thereby to ensure that demand and supply meet at reasonable prices and to protect the interests of consumers (consumer welfare).
Therefore the provisions of Competition Law seek to regulate anti-competitive practices as agreements or concerted practices restricting free competition (e.g. cartels), abusive behaviour of market actors holding dominant market position (such as excessive pricing, predatory pricing, tying, refusal to deal, fidelity rebates, or discrimination) or practices tending to lead to dominant positions and mergers and acquisitions including joint ventures of market actors which are considered to threaten effective competition.
The legal regulations to be met in the field of Competition law by global market actors are challenging as most regulation is subject to national law what necessarily leads to a restricted territorial scope of application and variation in substance and practice between national markets. Due to general expansions of competition authorities' activities as well as closer communication and collaboration of national authorities, compliance with national and international legal requirements is even more important than before. Agreements falling foul of any applicable competition laws may be considered void irrespective of the location of the parties or the laws governing the contract. Serious infringements such as price-fixing between competitors, resale price maintenance, or exclusionary practices by dominant undertakings may lead to substantial fines. As fines get more severe any violation of Competition Law cause enormous financial burden and may even result in liquidation. Companies' representatives have to be aware of the fact that competitive authorities may impose fines for anti-competitive practices on themselves and moreover, that some of these practices even constitute crimes and may lead to imprisonment.
Attorneys in the field Competition Law assist in detecting and understanding the applicable provisions and advise on compliance in a multitude of cases. Attorneys' work include e.g. advice in preparation of mergers (including challenging cross-border-mergers) and joint ventures as well as guidance in establishing compliance programs and – ongoing – regarding compliance in business relationships. Furthermore guidance in market definition may be necessary to detect dominant market positions.
Moreover, they assist both individuals and companies with challenges of authorities and claims for damages by competitors. Attorneys take over representation in litigation and act as defence lawyers before authorities and may advise in preparing settlements. Often they will be called to represent companies' interest in ongoing inquiries but also for guidance in starting inquiries by applying for leniency.
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Christian Aufdermauer studied law at the University of Tübingen and the University of Lausanne (antitrust law). He took his doctorate in insolvency law at the University of Passau (Dr. jur.) and is a member of the Antitrust Lawyers Association (Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht), the German Society for Distribution Law and the Working Group for International Business Law of the German Bar Association (DAV)
Dr Stephan Dittl is partner in the IP / litigation department of FGvW in Frankfurt. He is a renowned expert for copyright and media law. Stephan Dittl advises on all areas of IP law, mainly in the fields of copyright and competition law. He also uses his expertise in the legal process in other commercial law court proceedings, for example in distribution law, frequently with an international reference. He also works on IP topics in the context of M&A transactions.
Morton Douglas is a lawyer and partner at Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner. His main focus lies on trademark and design protection, including the development of strategies for applications for registration, portfolio advice, representing clients in infringement proceedings as well as drafting licence agreements. Furthermore, he advises on the law of company designations, titles and domains, on competition, advertising medications and pharmacy and drug law. Morton is also a regular ...
Christoph Enaux is a partner with Greenberg Traurig Germany. LLP. He chairs the German Telecommunications Sector Group as well as the German Regulatory and Competition Practice Group of Greenberg Traurig. Christoph focuses on advising domestic and international clients in the areas of German and EU telecommunications and media regulation and competition law. He advises on commercial and regulatory aspects of new business models as well as on regulatory, merger control and antitrust proceeding...
Thorsten Goetz has wide-ranging experience in European Union and international merger control cases, as well as cartel enforcement, abuse of dominance and compliance matters. Mr. Goetz advises clients on antitrust aspects of complex cross-border M&A and joint ventures. He has worked on numerous transactions requiring international antitrust merger control approvals both in Europe and worldwide. Mr. Goetz is recognized as a leading antitrust lawyer in the Germany edition of Best Lawye...
The primary focus of Dr. Anno Haberer’s work is advising on antitrust law covering both antitrust violation and merger control proceedings as well as on contract wording in line with antitrust legislation. Further important areas of activity are industrial property rights, in particular trademark law as well as legislation on unfair competition, IT and data protection law and employee inventions.
Dr Christian Heinichen is Partner at BEITEN BURKHARDT‘s Munich office and member of the Competition practice group. He advises national and international clients on all aspects of German and European competition law, including cartel investigations before the German Federal Cartel Office and the European Commission, merger control proceedings, dominance cases as well as competition compliance and general competition law advice.
Dr Thomas Höppner is a Partner at Hausfeld, specializing in EU and German competition law and intellectual property law. His practice covers the full range of contentious and non-contentious competition law matters, including related regulatory areas such as media, telecommunications, broadcasting and energy. He has spearheaded complaints before the European Commission and taken competition claims before German courts, particularly in the context of an abuse of dominance and damage claim...
Dr. Martin Jäger is Counsel at Hausfeld in Düsseldorf. He advises on all aspects of German and European antitrust law with a focus on antitrust litigation and merger control. Furthermore, he has many years of diverse experience in distribution antitrust law, in particular at the interface with intellectual property law and in antitrust damages proceedings, as well as in advising clients from the healthcare industry. Prior to joining Hausfeld, Martin was Senior Counsel at a leading G...
Sven Köhnen is a lawyer and partner at the Cologne office of Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner and a certified specialist for labor and employment law. He also is a lecturer at the Cologne macromedia University of Applied Sciences. His focus is on commercial and distribution law on a national and international level, particular within the automobile sector but also in other areas (insurance, financial services, medical technology, construction, energy, IT, furniture design, pac...
Christian was born in Hamburg in 1963. After his first state examination at the University of Hamburg he spent his legal clerkship, among others, with the Federal Cartel Office in Berlin, the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg, a law firm in Los Angeles and the German American Chamber of Commerce in Chicago. In 1993, he received his doctorate at the University of Hamburg (PhD Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Ernst-Joachim Mestmäcker, Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Pri...
K. Peter Mailänder studied at the universities of Tübingen, where he also obtained his doctorate (Dr. jur.), Munich, New York and Washington D.C. Additionally, he worked as Assistant at the Institute for European Economic Law in Munich. He is a member of diverse boards of corporations and foundations, also of the Media Control Commission KEK, and an honorary professor of the University of Hohenheim.
Peter Mailänder studied law at the universities of Freiburg, Bonn, Hamburg, where he also obtained his doctorate (Dr. jur.), and at New York University. He has been admitted to the bar in New York (Attorney-at-Law) since 1994 and admitted to the bar as an attorney in Germany since 1997. He is currently a member of boards of foundations and supervisory boards and a lecturer on various corporate law topics.
Dr. Alex Petrasincu is Managing Partner at Hausfeld in Germany. He advises on all aspects of European and German competition law with a special focus on antitrust litigation. Alex is specialized in representing parties in cartel damages actions before the German courts, and has advised on damages actions in various jurisdictions. Alex has represented parties in and advised on actions before numerous German District Courts, Courts of Appeals, the German Constitutional Court, as well as the Eur...
Dr. Ann-Christin Richter is Deputy Managing Partner at Hausfeld in Berlin. She advises on all aspects of competition law and represents clients in antitrust and IP litigation. Ann-Christin specializes in representing clients in cartel damages actions, both on the plaintiff’s and the defendant’s side. She is also experienced in defending clients in cartel investigations by competition authorities and in conducting internal investigations. A further focus of Ann-Christin’s pra...
Ulrich Schnelle studied law at the universities of Passau, Geneva, Freiburg and Illinois. He obtained his doctorate at the University of Freiburg (Dr. jur.) and is an honorary professor of Nürtingen-Geislingen University of Applied Sciences for economics and the environment. In addition, he is a member and chairman of various supervisory boards.
Daniel Wiedmann, LL.M. (NYU) , is an associated partner at POELLATH in Frankfurt and head of the anti-trust team. He advises clients on regulatory law and in particular on German and EU competition law, as well as foreign trade regulation. A particular focus of his practice is on merger control and foreign direct investment review proceedings, as well as on sanctions and embargoes. He advises clients on compliance matters, contracts and represents them vis-à-vis authorities and courts....
Elisabeth Wyrembek studied law at the University of Tübingen and at Queen Mary University of London (LL.M. in Comparative and International Dispute Resolution). She undertook her legal traineeship at the Higher Regional Court in Stuttgart, with a focus on European law. She is currently also studying for a doctorate in international commercial and investment arbitration at the University of Tübingen. She is a member of the Antitrust Lawyers Association (Studienvereinigung Kartellrech...
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