German Corporate Lawyers

Legal Solutions Made in Germany

German
Corporate
Lawyer

Legal Solutions Made in Germany

Schlun & Elseven is a multidisciplinary full-service law firm in Germany. As such, we have made it our goal to provide business clients with competent and committed legal assistance in all matters relevant to corporate law that may arise in the course of running a business. Regardless of whether you are a managing director, a member of the board of directors / supervisory board, a shareholder or a commercial agent – our services are always tailored to your individual goals and needs. Our corporate lawyers have excellent expertise, extensive experience and solid industry-specific know-how. With our expertise, we stand by your side in every entrepreneurial phase: from formation to restructuring to succession planning.

Comprehensive German
Corporate Law Services

Our legal team offers comprehensive legal advice on all issues relating to German corporate law. Our lawyers advise companies on setting up a business, assist them in expanding their market share and offer managing directors and board members the strategic support they need. For interdisciplinary assignments, our legal experts work closely with our due diligence, M&A, tax and employment law practice groups, ensuring the necessary expertise and diligence at all times.

Full-Service
for companies

The law firm Schlun & Elseven offers business clients comprehensive service. In addition to classic services in corporate law, our advisory services also include such areas as contract drafting and review, intellectual property protection, tax law advice. To ensure that you are always legally secure, we act as your reliable contact for comprehensive legal advice. Our clients include medium-sized companies, listed German stock corporations as well as internationally active groups. Our long-standing cooperation with representatives of a wide range of industries allows us to draw on valuable experience and proven strategies.

Comprehensive Corporate
Law Services

Our legal team offers comprehensive legal advice on all issues relating to German corporate law. Our lawyers advise companies on setting up a business, assist them in expanding their market share and offer managing directors and board members the strategic support they need. For interdisciplinary assignments, our legal experts work closely with our due diligence, M&A, tax and employment law practice groups, ensuring the necessary expertise and diligence at all times.

Full-Service
for companies

The law firm Schlun & Elseven offers business clients comprehensive service. In addition to classic services in corporate law, our advisory services also include such areas as contract drafting and review, intellectual property protection, tax law advice. To ensure that you are always legally secure, we act as your reliable contact for comprehensive legal advice. Our clients include medium-sized companies, listed German stock corporations as well as internationally active groups. Our long-standing cooperation with representatives of a wide range of industries allows us to draw on valuable experience and proven strategies.

German Corporate Law Support and Expertise

The corporate law team at Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte acknowledges the importance for companies to operate on a stable legal footing. Our goal is to provide premium legal services tailored to the needs of our business clients. Legal service not only involves expert representation in front of courts or in arbitration settings but also ongoing legal advice regarding legislative developments, inform clients regarding best-practice policies and provide thorough due diligence services. By working with our corporate lawyers on an ongoing basis, your firm can avoid costly pitfalls that lead to time-consuming legal conflicts, and can be reassured that our firm operates in a confidential and discrete manner. By allowing our team to oversee your legal matters, your company can focus its attention on further growth and success.

Company Formation

Our team of attorneys will assist you in setting up a company in Germany and advise you individually according to your wishes and in line with your business idea. We are at your disposal as contact persons for the foundation of sole proprietorships, partnerships (GbR, OHG, KG, PartnerG) and corporations (UG (haftungsbeschränkt), GmbH or AG). From choosing legal form to the drafting of contracts, our lawyers will leave nothing to chance by clarifying all legal formalities. This service will help your company quickly gain a foothold in the German market.

Subsequent changes, such as the supplementation or reorganisation of the articles of association and a change in legal form, require a considerable commitment in terms of time and money. Therefore, it is worthwhile to discuss all important aspects of your business plan and corporate goals and the company’s structure in detail, with a qualified and experienced team of lawyers before the company is founded. By commissioning us, companies can avoid foundation mistakes and their far-reaching consequences.

Corporate Expansion to Germany

Given the increasing globalization of the business world and Germany’s position as one of the economic centres of Europe, company expansion to Germany represents an attractive opportunity for many foreign, internationally active companies to enter the lucrative German market.

If you are planning a company’s expansion to Germany, the first question to be asked concerning setting up a branch in Germany is how to choose the right organizational form. A distinction is made between establishing a subsidiary company and establishing an independent branch office or a dependent permanent establishment/representative office. The choice of the right organizational form depends strongly on your individual motives and goals associated with the expansion. At Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, our team will outline the legal differences between the different organisational forms and ensure that our clients are fully aware of the steps, advantages and threats involved in all of them.

Corporate Restructuring

To remain stable and competitive in the modern economic market, companies often have to rethink and reorganise their corporate and social structure. There are various possibilities for such restructuring and transformation measures, but they cannot be implemented without extensive preparation. Our legal experts in corporate law will assist you in the detailed preparation of such a restructuring process.

With in-depth knowledge of the additionally relevant legal areas of labour, tax, banking and finance law, we can quickly master challenges that transcend legal fields and support you as a qualified partner. The main regulations on restructuring and transformation options for companies are contained in the German Transformation Act (Umwandlungsgesetz, UmwG).

Many obligations only emerge in the course of a restructuring process and can be very time-consuming. By engaging our experienced lawyers for corporate law at an early stage, you can avoid unpleasant surprises and additional tasks in the conversion of your company. You will receive a comprehensive restructuring concept which takes into account the difficulties from all relevant areas of law and informs you about all upcoming requirements.

Corporate Tax Support

Running a business is complex and German tax law does not make it any easier. Businesses face many taxes and different laws relating to them, such as turnover tax, trade tax, corporation tax, income tax and capital gains tax. Often, the importance of a certain tax will depend on a myriad of factors including the type of business you are running, and whether your business is able to seek exemptions in certain areas. By employing the services of Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, our team of corporate tax lawyers can assess your company’s tax situation, defend your enterprise in tax dispute matters and provide guidance regarding your rights during tax investigations.

Dispute Resolution

With ongoing legal support and compliance advice, companies can reduce the likelihood of legal disputes. However, it is not always possible to completely avoid conflicts. Should disputes arise, our lawyers will advise you regarding your options of dispute resolution, such as arbitration and litigation. There are many benefits to resolving difficulties outside of court, including reduced financial and time costs. Resolving matters outside of court also involves less media exposure and reduces the risk of reputational damage. Arbitration can also prove to be the preferred route in more technical disputes, as companies can be assured that knowledgeable professionals will oversee the dispute.

However, this is not always possible, and if matters need to be resolved in court, our experienced litigation lawyers will be in your corner. Determining which method of dispute resolution is preferable will depend on many factors. At Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, our litigators and dispute resolution team will assist you in navigating this often complex area.

Franchises & the Law in Germany

Would you like to step into self-employment and set up your own franchise business in Germany? Or you have already successfully established a business concept and would like to expand it through your own franchise system? It is possible to set up a franchise in Germany but franchise law is a comparatively young field of law, and in Germany, there is no specific franchise law regulation. It can thus be challenging to maintain an overview. Against this background, it is advisable to consult an expert in franchise law. The lawyers of Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte offer you comprehensive specialised legal advice so that nothing stands in the way of the successful establishment of your franchise business or the development of a franchise system.

Our team advises on matters, such as drafting and reviewing the franchise agreement, legal disputes between franchisees and franchisors, the day-to-day legal matters faced by franchisors and franchisees, and more.

Liability of Managing Directors

The danger of liability of managing directors for their company with their private assets increases with the entrepreneurial risk. In addition, legal requirements for personal liability, especially for corporate bodies of corporations, continue to be tightened. Jurisprudence is also reacting to national and international corporate scandals with tougher judgements for managing directors.

In contrast, the liability of shareholders depends on the legal form of the company. According to § 128 HGB (German Commercial Code), partners in OHGs are personally liable to creditors without limitation. Additionally, a limitation of their liability towards third parties is generally ineffective. But even for GmbH partners, who according to § 13 exp. 2 GmbHG are in principle not personally liable for obligations of the GmbH, personal liability can arise in exceptional cases, e.g. if they take over personal security as corporate debt towards the creditors or in cases of the destruction of the GmbH’s existence by the withdrawal of assets.

Questions regarding the liability of managing directors and shareholders are often very complex and can only be answered based on the circumstances of the individual case.

M&A Transactions and Due Diligence

Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte provides comprehensive advice in the field of M&A corporate transactions and examines their risks and opportunities in order to successfully promote corporate growth. Regardless of whether your case concerns mergers, takeovers or company acquisitions, we support you in all issues related to the merger of companies or change of ownership.

In particular, we provide qualified legal assistance in the case of company takeovers, which can take place according to different methods depending on the structure of the owners and the structure of the relevant companies. We also advise you on whether a share deal or asset deal is the more favourable decision for your individual company acquisition project in terms of tax and business.

We subject all intended company transactions in the area of M&A to a careful due diligence examination before we provide you with final advice. Measures for early risk detection are taken in various business areas and the strengths and weaknesses of the company are analysed.

Shareholders Disputes

Our lawyers for corporate law will also answer all your questions regarding shareholders’ meetings and general meetings. We make sure that you know in which cases convocations are required and that you comply with all regulations when holding general meetings and shareholders’ meetings.

The general meeting of the AG and the shareholders’ meeting of the GmbH are particularly important. These are the central bodies representing the interests of the shareholders of the AG and GmbH. If the regulations regulated in laws or statutes are not adhered to with the appropriate degree of strictness, there is a risk that the resolutions drafted in the AG or GmbH meeting will be null and void or contestable. It is therefore advantageous to engage a legal expert in company law in advance, who will point out the requirements to be observed and create the necessary legal and organisational basis for proper meetings.

Succession Planning Including Trustee Companies

Building a successful business is a challenge, and ensuring that it remains prosperous is arguably an even greater one. With the right business succession plan, it is possible to safeguard the company’s prosperity and ensure that future generations benefit from its continued growth. Every company and situation is different, and therefore our commitment to tailored solutions is crucial in this matter. Expert advice is needed to make the right decisions. At Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, our lawyers will advise you on the options available to you, oversee the legal requirements to follow through with the desired plan and provide solutions based on your goals and your company’s characteristics.

Our corporate lawyers also advise clients regarding their options with establishing a company under a covert trust agreement (“Treuhandvereinbarung”). Such mechanisms are allowed for as long as the situation is disclosed to the tax authorities in Germany. However, the law can be complex in this in this area and working alongside experienced German corporate lawyers is strongly advised.

Further Business Services from a Full-Service Law Firm

Consolidating all of your legal services under one roof allows your company to operate in a cost-effective and time-saving manner. The extensive collaboration between our specialists ensures that all legal requirements are considered, and future costly legal disputes are avoided. Our lawyers draft and review contracts, advise on matters relating to German employment law, ensure our corporate clients are aware of compliancy requirements, developments in whistleblower legislation and the options available to them under German tax law. Working with our firm and utilising the benefits of our full-service approach ensures that your company will be supported on an ongoing basis. Developing a relationship built on expertise, trust and reliability mean that your business is in safe hands.

Schlun & Elseven Logo

Practice Group: German Corporate Law

Practice Group:
German Corporate Law

Dr. Simon Krämer
Dr. Simon Krämer, LL.M.

Lawyer | Freelance

Contact our German Corporate Lawyers

Please use the contact form to tell us about your concerns in the field of German corporate law. After receiving your request, our corporate lawyers will make a short preliminary assessment based on the information provided and will provide you with a quotation. You are then free to decide whether you want to instruct us.

Locations & Office Times

Mo – Fr: 09:00 – 19:00
24h Contact: 0221 93295960
Email: info@se-legal.de
Appointments made by telephone only.

Von-Coels-Str. 214
52080 Aachen
Tel: +49 241 4757140
Fax: 0241 47571469

Kyffhäuserstr. 45
50674 Cologne
Tel: +49 221 93295960
Fax: 0221 932959669

Düsseldorfer Str. 70
40545 Düsseldorf
Tel: +49 211 882 84196
Fax: 0221 932959669

Locations & Office Times

Mo – Fr: 09:00 – 19:00
24h Contact: 0221 93295960
Email: info@se-legal.de
Appointments made by telephone only.

Conference Rooms

Berlin 10785, Potsdamer Platz 10

Frankfurt 60314, Hanauer Landstrasse 291 B

Hamburg 20354, Neuer Wall 63

München 80339, Theresienhöhe 28