Department profile
CMS

Real Estate

Europe Guide 2026 : Europe-wide

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CMS

About

Provided by CMS

The largest real estate team in Europe

With almost 300 partners and over 600 lawyers across Europe, CMS has one of the largest real estate teams globally and the largest in Europe. Given our bench strength, we are able to take on deals of any size or complexity, including large pan-European portfolio deals. We act for over half of the top 100 European real estate investors. The further expansion in Norway and Sweden, as well as strengthening the local Real Estate teams in Poland, Spain, Portugal, and Slovakia,  means that CMS is well-positioned for keeping the leading place or real estate legal advisory firms.

A truly full-service offering

Very few law firms can support their clients across the full life cycle of an asset. We are able to deal with all aspects of real estate investment, finance, development, asset management and sale, with a depth of expertise across all asset types. As well as being pre-eminent in real estate, our teams in funds, tax, finance, construction, planning and real estate disputes are independently recognised as market-leading.

Clients (15)

  • Nuveen RE
  • Franklin Templeton
  • AXA/BNP Paribas
  • Catella
  • Panattoni
  • UBS
  • Union Investment
  • EQT Real Estate
  • Swiss Life
  • Columbia Threadneedle
  • Deka Immobilien
  • Garbe
  • ECE
  • Patrizia
  • Redevco

Industries (11)

  • Retail
  • Data Centres
  • Office
  • Logistics
  • Industrial Real Estate
  • Senior Living
  • Social Infrastructure
  • Residential and living
  • PRS
  • Student Housing
  • Hotels

Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

Real Estate - Europe-wide

Band 1

What the Team is Known For

CMS has a particularly notable offering in the CEE region, primarily in Poland, and strong coverage across the wider continent with reputable offices in France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and across the UK. The law firm represents owners, developers and investors in substantial transactions, including acquisitions and disposals, as well as real estate finance matters and development projects. It also assists with leases, real estate tax and construction. CMS has extensive expertise in the logistics, office, retail and leisure sectors.

Notable practitioners

London-based Lindsey Barrett and Sebastian Orthmann, based in Hamburg, co-head the CMS real estate practice.

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Strengths

Provided by Chambers

  • CMS strikes an excellent balance between international reach and local support. It provides seamless high quality advice across jurisdictions with deep market insights.

    Real Estate respondentEurope

  • CMS is very good on the multidisciplinary level with very good cohesion between the different teams.

    Real Estate respondentEurope

  • CMS stands out for its exceptional legal real estate expertise, unwavering commitment and solution-oriented approach. Their deep knowledge ensures high quality advice, while their proactive attitude and dedication consistently lead to effective and practical solutions.

    Real Estate respondentEurope

  • They have a good knowledge of the issues to be discussed and are good mediators between the parties. Their proactivity and good commercial acumen keep us aligned with our objectives.

    Real Estate respondentEurope

Members

Provided by CMS

  • Stefan Gerster

  • Sibylle Schnyder

  • Bruno Duquesne

  • József Várady

  • Lukáš Hejduk

  • Nikolaus Weselik

  • Álvaro Otero

  • Gábor Czike

  • Sebastian Orthmann

    Head of Department

  • Natalia Kushniruk

  • Andreas Otto

  • Gregor Famira

  • Mark Heighton

  • Dietmar Zischg

  • Javier Colino

  • Caroline Maude

  • David Wilkinson

  • Candice Blackwood

  • Michal Miecinski

  • Amanda Howard

  • Victoria Henry

  • Libor Prokeš

  • Darren Stolzenberg

  • Markus Pfaff

  • Volker Zerr

  • Jenia Dimitrova

  • Ana-Marija Skoko

  • Roxana Fratila

  • Benjamin Bill

  • Agata Jurek-Zbrojska

  • Aline Divo

  • Chris Rae

  • Sidnie Morvan

  • Femke Stroucken

  • Stefan Gerster

  • Philipp Schönnenbeck

  • Pierre-Axel Chabot

  • João Silva

  • Andrew Banton

  • Marco Casasole

  • Dominik Rafałko

  • Michal Hutan

  • Steffanie Kern

  • Tijmen Brune

  • Matias Apelseth

  • Thomas Zweifel

  • Lindsey Barrett

    Head of Department

  • David Bensimon

  • Catherine Matton

  • Stefan Voss

  • Martin Krause

  • Martin Jurecko

  • Malgorzata Madej Balcerowska

  • Florence Cherel

  • Naja Dannow

  • Knut Prestvik

  • Per Dalemo

  • Arnout Scholten

  • José Manuel Silva Nunes

CMS has rankings in the following guides

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