In addition to the successful award of the Mobility team with the Juve Award 2021 as Best Law Firm of the Year for Regulated Industries, Orth Kluth is again widely represented in the Juve Handbook 2021/2022 in the Germany-wide rankings of the individual areas of law and Orth Kluth also repeatedly achieves a place among the top 25 law firms in the regional ranking “Düsseldorf”: “The Düsseldorf law firm now has considerable experience in cross-disciplinary advice and is thus more attractive than ever for both medium-sized clients and iternational groups and their subsidiaries. …”.

In detail, Orth Kluth is represented in the national rankings in the following areas of law:

Employment Law

“The employment practice of the Mittelstand firm reacted quickly and flexibly to the Corona-related problems of its clients during the height of the crisis and won clients as a result. OK laid the foundations for this in previous years by consistently strengthening its personnel in line with content-related needs. The firm has already laid the foundations for this in previous years by consistently aligning its staffing with substantive needs and strengthening its links to the firm’s compliance and IT experts. Compliance and IT experts. With its current specialisation, the firm regularly recommends itself for advice on complex restructurings, such as for Melitta. OK is further along than many law firms with a similar set-up in the area of legal tech. Tools specially tailored to client needs, such as for the sms Group, are already part of the daily advisory routine.”

Compliance investigations

“The criminal team continues to be the linchpin of compliance advice, but it is becoming increasingly clear that OK is developing beyond this. This is particularly clear in cartel law. … But employment, data protection and, above all, corporate lawyers are also part of the development. Technically, OC remains up to date. A money laundering tool is already successfully in use, and further offers are being worked on. Large industrial clients such as Thyssenkrupp and Gea trust the firm with day-to-day operational issues. This is another way in which the team participates in current developments in compliance work.”

Corporate Law

“The corporate lawyers at the D’dorf firm work extensively for their broad client base, which includes groups such as GEA Group, but also medium-sized companies. They have many years of experience in reorganisations. With its many years of experience in restructuring, the team has recently been in demand with many clients, partly due to Corona – OK advised ASK Chemicals and its subsidiaries on a restructuring. OK regularly leverages synergies for clients through its well-established cooperation with the compliance team, among others. With its expertise in advising D&O insurers and on directors’ and officers’ liability issues, OK is also increasingly positioning itself as representative in subsequent corporate disputes.”

Construction law

“The firm advises companies in the construction sector and investors in construction law, but now also advises a considerable number of companies from outside the sector. OK once again succeeded in intensifying its existing client relationships and forging new ones. Examples of this are Arge Felssicherung Schalksmühle 2016 and a well-known real estate investor. Up to now, the practice has mainly conducted its business from D’dorf. In future, OK also wants to integrate its Berlin location more strongly. A first step is the acquisition of several experienced lawyers who will focus on real estate advice including transactional business.”

Conflict resolution

“The firm has further developed its sector focus on mobility and transport with a view to litigation. It is new on the panel for several suppliers and is already representing one of them in a dispute with a Czech client. The firm handles disputes from within the respective practice groups. The advantage is that several practices often advise and represent companies extensively, which promotes cooperation and helps clients.”

M&A

“In M&A, the D’dorf firm is predominantly active in mid-cap transactions for its clients, which include Mittelstand companies as well as listed companies. Groups, too. With increasing advice on transactions in the medical sector, the team is tapping into another transaction-driven market alongside energy. OK was also active for a number of new clients here – for instance, it advised the founders and investors of Kairos on the sale to US medical software group IQVIA. Through its well-established advice across practices, OK regularly creates synergies for clients and thus binds them to the firm in the long term. Following the acquisition of the ‘Bübchen’ business last year, OK is now also active in corporate and employment for Katjes.”

Trademark and Competition Law

“The IP practice of the D’dorf firm has firmly established itself in the market with its lively litigation practice, especially in competition law, as well as its advice on trademark law. The fact that several new clients from the health and cosmetics sector have recently relied on the team in litigation shows how well the firm has established itself in the sector. For Dr. Z. Medizinisches Versorgungszentrum, for instance, OK has been active up to the BGH in disputes over company trademarks, and for Siemens Healthcare in UWG proceedings concerning advertising. In addition, many existing clients such as Schleich, Dr. Kurt Wolff and Bofrost rely on the firm’s extensive IP expertise. IP expertise, which also includes trademark portfolio management and licensing agreements.”

Transport sector: regulation – Juve Award 2021: Law Firm of the Year for Regulated Industries

“The extensive. The extensive advice on the public transport rescue umbrella has brought the team in the transport sector significantly more market perception. But also 2 successes in regulatory. However, two successes in regulatory proceedings before the Federal Supreme Court also contributed to the visibility of the practice around Grün and Sitsen. Both count private rail transport companies among their clients, but also maintain good contacts with private bus companies and public transport authorities. With the Mobility Inside mandate, the firm has raised its sector focus to a new level: the full-service firm now also advises the platform for mobility services, which was launched as a project of the VDV, on corporate law and several other areas of law. The mandate for the Zweckverband für den Nahverkehrsraum Leipzig on the use of alternatively powered rail vehicles could further open the door for the team to advise on financing issues in the transport sector. A junior partner takes on the regular questions of state aid law.”

The Orth Kluth lawyers Dr. Guido Matthey (employment law), Dr. Markus Berndt (compliance investments), Dr. Marc Henze (corporate law), Boris Körner (corporate law), Dr. Kai-Michael König (corporate law, M&A), Dr. Christian Meyer (corporate law, M&A), Dr. Christian Meyer (corporate law), Dr. Christian Meyer (corporate law, M&A) were explicitly mentioned in the recommendations. Christian Meyer (Corporate Law), Dr Robert Orth (Corporate Law, M&A), Dr Gary Klaft (Real Estate and Construction Law), Dr René Runte (Real Estate and Construction Law), Dr Anselm Grün (Transport Sector: Regulation) and Dr Michael Sitsen (Transport Sector: Regulation).