In the 2023 edition of The Legal 500 Deutschland, WilmerHale is named a top-tier firm for antitrust and is ranked in eight other practice areas. The guide recommends thirteen lawyers from the Frankfurt, Berlin and Brussels offices. Dr. Martin Braun and Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Kamann are recognized as “Leading Lawyers” in Information Technology – Data Protection and Public Law – Economic Administrative Law, respectively.  

In addition to the top-tier ranking, WilmerHale was recognized in the following:

• Antitrust
• Compliance
• Dispute Resolution – Commercial Litigation
• Healthcare
• Information Technology – Data Protection
• Intellectual Property – Unfair Competition
• Public Law – Economic Administrative Law
• Public Law – State Aid 

The following WilmerHale lawyers are recognized in their respective practices:

• Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Kamann, Dr. Stefan Ohlhoff, Tobias Henn, Ulrich Quack and Dr. Oliver Fleischmann in Antitrust 
• Dr. Christian Crones and Dr. Jan Wendler in Compliance 
• Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Kamann, Dr. Stefan Ohlhoff and Dr. Vanessa Wettner in Dispute Resolution - Commercial Litigation 
• Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Kamann and Dr. Peter Gey in Healthcare 
• Dr. Martin Braun (as “Leading Lawyer”), Anne Vallery, Frédéric Louis and Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Kamann in Information Technology – Data Protection 
• Dr. Vanessa Wettner in Intellectual Property – Unfair Competition 
• Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Kamann (as “Leading Lawyer”), Martin Seyfarth, Dr. Vanessa Wettner and Ulrich Quack in Public Law – Economic Administrative Law  
• Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Kamann and Dr. Peter Gey in Public Law – State Aid 

The below commentary from The Legal 500 Deutschland highlights the WilmerHale lawyers recognized in the 2023 edition.* 

Antitrust
WilmerHale's antitrust expertise is particularly manifested in litigation, especially within the context of damages litigation, domestic and international antitrust administration and fine proceedings including corresponding judicial proceedings as well as merger control; internationally, the team works closely with the offices in London, Brussels and the USA. The team also provides advice on matters interfacing with regulated sectors such as energy, data protection and telecommunications. Hans-Georg Kamann, who is increasingly active at the EU level with a sector focus on media, life sciences and transport, Ulrich Quack (merger control law) and Stefan Ohlhoff, who is experienced in antitrust disputes, jointly head the practice. Tobias Henn, who has experience in merger control, among other areas, was appointed Special Counsel in May 2022.

Compliance
WilmerHale's German compliance practice, thanks to its strong anchoring in the global firm structure and in particular due to the strong collaboration with the U.S. offices, is primarily active in the context of monitorships in the U.S. and represents well-known, publicly listed companies in pharmaceuticals and industrial sectors. The team also has experience in the implementation and further development of compliance management systems, transaction-related compliance due diligence and business partner audits. Additional expertise lies in cross-border internal investigations. Jan Wendler, who is well-versed in investigations and monitorships, and Christian Crones, who is experienced in compliance and transactions, jointly head the practice.

Dispute Resolution – Commercial Litigation
WilmerHale's commercial litigation practice is seasoned in corporate and antitrust disputes and product liability disputes, with a focus on the advanced engineering, agricultural, and medical device sectors. Litigation expertise also extends across data protection and patent law. Vanessa Wettner (corporate governance and capital markets disputes), Stefan Ohlhoff (antitrust litigation) and Hans-Georg Kamann (competition law disputes) jointly head the practice.

Healthcare 
WilmerHale's team, led by Hans-Georg Kamann, who is based in Frankfurt and Brussels and advises on all areas of competition, administrative, constitutional, and commercial law, is characterized by its cross-practice expertise. Alongside data protection issues relating to data transfers and clinical studies in the pharmaceutical and medical devices sector, these also include advice on licensing, marketing and distribution agreements, medical devices certification, antitrust issues, and representation in disputes. 

Intellectual Property – Unfair Competition 
WilmerHale's IP practice has a strong focus on contentious matters in the fashion, consumer goods and pharmaceutical sectors, with the team having particularly extensive expertise in e-commerce. The non-contentious practice also advises on advertising campaigns and licensing issues and has additional cross-practice expertise in data protection; the latter, in combination with the strong connection to the US offices, is also reflected in proceedings for tech companies in the German lower courts and the European Court of Justice (ECJ), led by practice group head Vanessa Wettner. 

Information Technology – Data Protection
WilmerHale is particularly known for its experience in data protection disputes and as such has a remarkable track record of ECJ proceedings and proceedings before the European Data Protection Board and vis-à-vis national authorities; worth mentioning here is the long-standing relationship with the technology company Meta, which it has advised in numerous lawsuits. Martin Braun's advisory focus on international data transfers and social networks is highly valued. He is complemented by Hans-Georg Kamann and Frédéric Louis, both of whom also take lead on data protection matters. With the appointment of Anne Vallery in January 2022, EU competition and regulatory law will likewise be covered at partner level.

Public Law – Economic Administrative Law 
WilmerHale has expertise in European constitutional and administrative law and is active in litigation before the ECJ, the CFI and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg; Hans-Georg Kamann, in particular, is well-versed in litigation for both companies and public institutions. At the interfaces of constitutional, special administrative and competition law, clients, a noticeable proportion of which are US Internet companies, are also advised primarily on relevant data protection law issues. In terms of strategic political legal advice, the team is regularly involved in sensitive administrative and legislative proceedings; here, Martin Seyfarth in particular is well-acquainted with the political scene. 

Public Law – State Aid  
WilmerHale's state aid team advises both the public sector, through strong connections to ministries in some (German) federal states, as well as companies, on a wide range of state aid issues. The practice focuses in advising the airline and shipping sectors as well as infrastructure and banking. In the wake of the Corona crisis, the firm also advised a (German) federal state on the maintenance of a rescue package for small businesses, and now the practice is increasingly moving its focus to social housing. Expertise also includes representation before German and EU courts, where Hans-Georg Kamann, who heads the team from Frankfurt, has extensive experience. 

*The commentary from The Legal 500 Deutschland displayed here are translations from German to English. 

For more information about the ranking results, visit The Legal 500 Deutschland.