Schalast Law I Tax

Chairman/CEO: Prof. Dr. Christoph Schalast

Number of Attorneys: +90

Number of Employees: +100

Languages: English, French, German

Mendelssohnstraße 75-77

60325 Frankfurt am Main

Tel. +49 (0) 69 97 58 31 0

Fax +49 (0) 69 97 58 31 20

E-Mail: [email protected]

Jägerstraße 51

10117 Berlin

Tel. +49 (0) 30 32 53 80 68

Fax +49 (0) 30 32 53 80 67

E-Mail: [email protected]

Mühlenstraße 32

40213 Düsseldorf

Tel. +49 (0) 211 82 89 59 0

Fax +49 (0) 211 82 89 59 60

E-Mail: [email protected]

Neuer Wall 77

20354 Hamburg

Tel. +49 (0) 40 33 46 04 10

Fax +49 (0) 40 33 46 04 120

E-Mail: [email protected]

Schöttlestrasse 6

70597 Stuttgart

Tel. +49 (0) 711 76 96 97 0

Fax +49 (0) 711 76 96 97 95

E-Mail: [email protected]

Schalast is one of the leading commercial law firms in the German financial center of Frankfurt am Main. Further locations of the law firm are Berlin, Hamburg, Duesseldorf and Stuttgart. Schalast advises ambitious companies from Germany and around the world. Currently, more than 80 lawyers are organized in the practice groups Labour Law, Banking & Finance, Corporate/M&A, Dispute Resolution, IP, IT & Media, Real Estate, Tax, Energy, Infrastructure & Telecommunication, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Antitrust and Foreign Trade Law, Public Procurement, as well as White-Collar & Tax Criminal Law. The notary's office forms a further focus. The firm is a member of the international Tier 1 network Multilaw and is thus able to assist clients worldwide.

Schalast has supported social projects for years through pro bono work as well as donations and wants to contribute to the topic of sustainability. Therefore, the law firm has derived internal standards derived from the United Nations (UN) Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) and introduced an SDG Officer. Schalast has been certified as climate neutral since the beginning of 2020 and is a member of the initiatives Climate Change Now, and The Chancery Lane Project. www.schalast.com.

Main Areas of Practice:

Corporate & M&A:

Corporate transaction and company law issues have played a key role in the advisory practice of Schalast since its establishment in 1995. The members of their “Corporate / M&A” practice group have many years of experience in the management of complex M&A processes. In some cases, they have their own experience in managing companies. Some of them have also worked for many years as advisors to the supervisory board of listed and unlisted companies and therefore have practical experience as members of such bodies. This experience and legal know-how has enable Schalast to advise both SMEs and large companies successfully for many years on M&A and private equity transactions, as well as corporations and partnerships nationally and internationally on all company law issues. In the field of "Venture Capital", Schalast has many years of experience in managing various processes in the life cycle of a start-up, from its foundation, through early and late stage financing, to exit, and has a broad network of investors (business angels, accelerators, incubators and VCs).

Contact:

Gregor Wedell, Prof. Dr. Christoph Schalast (head of the practice group)

Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Banking & Fiance:

Banking and financial markets law is one of Schalast’s core practice areas, with Professor Schalast’s and Professor Walter’s teaching activities at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management and IU International University facilitating a special link between theory and practice when advising and representing clients. The law firm’s specialists advise and represent clients on banking law issues and regulatory issues concerning banks. Their clients include banks, financial services providers and securities trading companies, and enterprises.

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Andreas Walter (head of the practice group)

Email: [email protected]

Dispute Resolution:

Schalast has particular expertise in complex litigation and its resolution - also through innovative approaches. A key area of focus is also defending against mass claims directed at companies in their various forms, whether as a multitude of individual lawsuits, alternative bundling methods such as assignment models, or through statutory mechanisms like collective redress or model proceedings under the KapMuG (the Capital Markets Model Case Act). Moreover, the Dispute Resolution team possesses considerable experience in banking and capital markets litigation, as well as in D&O liability cases and corporate disputes. Schalast's high level of substantive expertise further strengthened by the seamless collaboration between the Dispute Resolution team and other practice groups, along with auditing firm Schalast Auerbach Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft.

Contact:

Marius Welling (head of practice group)

Email: [email protected]

IP, IT & Media:

The IP, IT & Media practice group offers comprehensive legal advice and support in the areas of intellectual property law, IT and data protection law, media and defamation law, as well as entertainment and art law. The practice group combines many years of experience with deep sector-specific expertise to provide effective legal solutions. Through their international network, Multilaw, Schalast ensures that clients receive seamless cross-border advice and representation from trusted partner firms in over 100 jurisdictions.

Contact:

Dr. Kerstin Gründig-Schnelle, Florian Frisse (heads of practice group)

Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Labour Law:

Schalast predominantly sees advising on labour law issues not as court cases waiting to happen, but as preventative advice. Advice often starts whilst the company is being established and covers restructuring and even the transformation or acquisition of the company. Schalast offers comprehensive advice on individual labour law, which includes advice on employment contract structuring and protection against unfair dismissal, as well as the legal structuring and implementation of personnel measures. Another focus of the labour law practice is the support and advice of clients during negotiations with company and collective bargaining partners.

Contact:

Clemens Schalast (head of the practice group)

Email: [email protected]

Energy, Infrastructure & Telecommunication:

In the Energy, Infrastructure & Telecommunication practice group, Schalast support network industries and Network user. The firm provides advice about contractual, regulatory and disputed cases, in and out of court. The operation is characterized by a practice-oriented approach. Schalast rely on many years of in-house experience and uses legal tech tools where possible and help their clients implement them. In addition to telecommunications, energy is one of the firm'score areas. Energy transition requires stable and controllable networks and asustainable interaction of classical generation and renewable energies.Cross-sectoral approaches must unite electricity, gases or hydrogen and heat in a holistic energy concept to achieve more stringent climate targets. The interdisciplinary team of experienced lawyers in telecommunications, IT and energy law provides targeted and interest-oriented support with extensive

industry knowledge.

Contact:

Janka Schwaibold (head of the practice group)

Email: [email protected]

Tax Law:

Within the firm's practice tax has an assisting function on the one hand (primarily for transactions, i.e. in the context of banking & finance, company law, M&A and real estate); on the other hand, the firm’s tax praxis tackles genuine tax issues for you. This comprises specialist topics such as investment fund taxation, the various financial transaction taxes as well as forensic services before the German tax courts. Another emphasis is US-tax law (in particular QI-law).

Contact:

Dr. Oliver von Schweinitz (head of practice group)

Email: [email protected]

Notary Practice:

Providing notary services is a further focus of the law firm. Schalast's notaries advise – as a company, entrepreneur or private individual – on all legal issues requiring notarisation. Although Schalast's notaries hold public office and are therefore obliged to maintain absolute neutrality towards the parties involved, because they also work as lawyers they see themselves as service providers to the parties involved who support them achievement of their objectives. Schalast' notaries do not just read out the drafts prepared by their lawyers. Schalast sees it as an integral part of the services they offer that they solve your legal problems and if needed prepare the required draft contracts even in complex cases.

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Christoph Schalast

Email: [email protected]

Real Estate:

Schalast advises national and international entrepreneurs and companies, investors and fund companies, banks, insurance companies and corporations (cities and municipalities), architects, engineers and project managers on all property-related issues. They provide support in the structuring and establishment of property companies or project companies. In addition to transaction-related purchase and sales advice, the core competences of Schalast's real estate specialists include the tax structuring of property transactions and property management, structuring and advice on project developments and ongoing asset management advice, including litigation. Schalast's established notary's office notarises all property-related transactions.

Contact:

Markus Ruhmann (head of practice group)

Email: [email protected]

Healthcare & Life Sciences:

The Healthcare and Life Sciences sector is both vibrant and stringently regulated. The rapid advancement of digitalisation, Big Data and particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI) is driving the creation of innovative products and therapies. Nonetheless, this burgeoning potential is matched by progressively complex regulations from (EU) legislators, presenting growing challenges for practitioners and especially for manufacturers of innovative products. Moreover, companies are now also required to consider “new” sustainability and ethical requirements (ESG; GreenHealth). In this arena, where new opportunities and escalating regulations converge within one of the most intricate legal domains, a reliable partner equipped with foresight, specialised legal expertise and a practical understanding of the industry’s requirements is essential. The law firm's approach to consultancy is comprehensive. Schalast considers itself not just as legal experts but as business-oriented advisors who collaboratively devise and refine innovative legal solutions for ground-breaking products alongside their clients.

Contact:

Katja Hoos (head of this practice group)

Email: [email protected]

Audit & Advisory:

The Audit & Advisory practice group (Schalast Auerbach AG WPG) supplements legal consulting from Schalast with practical consulting on regulatory, organizational, and accounting-related questions, as well as auditing of annual and interim financial statements and special audits. Schalast is able to provide their clients with comprehensive and pragmatic expertise, thanks to many years of experience in the financial sector, both as auditors and as consultants at national and international institutions.

Contact:

Dirk Auerbach (head of practice group)

Email: [email protected]

Antitrust & Foreign Trade Law Practice Group:

Antitrust law

Antitrust law advice requires a great deal of (practical) experience and a good understanding of the theory of harm, as antitrust law is increasingly being used as an instrument in areas outside of competition matters, such as the enforcement of data protection or employment law. The Meta case and the increasing antitrust dimension of wage-fixing agreements or no-poaching agreements can be cited here as examples. Knowing both sides of the coin is helpful: that of the company and that of the external consultant. With Schalast, you will find precisely that: extensive in-house experience from working in an international company along with the necessary hands-on mentality as an external consultant. Schalast will gladly be measured by that. Companies need to recognize and correctly assess the limits of antitrust behavior. Misjudgments can result in substantial fines and claims for damages, lead to the invalidity of contracts or undermine merger plans. Schalast's antitrust law experts will help you achieve your business goals while avoiding any appearance of anti-competitive behavior.

Foreign trade law

Foreign trade law is generally difficult for companies to grasp. The legal provisions are numerous and complex and often not clearly understood. In addition, violations are usually subject to fines. It is therefore very important for companies to be well positioned in terms of foreign trade law, not only in international trade but also in European trade. What licensing obligations apply to my company? Which sanctions lists do I need to check? Do I need an export control officer? What import and export bans are there? In addition, there is the establishment and maintenance of a foreign trade compliance system, the creation of process manuals and internal guidelines and much more. Schalast is well aware of these difficulties. That's why Schalast can provide you with practical and solution-oriented advice. The law firm supports you in complying with the provisions of the Foreign Trade and Payments Act or European regulations, such as the “Dual-Use Regulation”, when setting up or expanding an existing CMS. You benefit in particular from their experience in dealing with the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) and other authorities. Schalast not only understands the legal requirements, but also your company and your products and services. Together, they can find the ideal solution for you

Contact:

Dr. Lars Maritzen, LL.B. MLE (head of practice group)

Email: [email protected]

White-Collar & Tax Criminal Law:

White-Collar and tax criminal law is dynamic and complex - often with far-reaching consequences for the companies concerned and their decision-makers.The white-collar and tax criminal law practice group of Schalast offers highly specialized defense and strategic advice in all phases of criminal proceedings - discreet, assertive and commercially minded.

Schalast combines criminal law excellence with commercial expertise. The team is active in both individual and corporate defense and has extensive experience in working with law enforcement authorities, tax authorities and corporate legal and compliance departments. The law firm supports their clients in a targeted manner - preventively through structured criminal law risk analyses, as well as reactively in the event of searches, seizures and investigations by public prosecutors. Industry knowledge, procedural security and interdisciplinary cooperation - in particular with the firm's internal practice groups Compliance, Corporate, Tax and Antitrust Law - guarantee an effective and coordinated defense even in complex constellations.

Contact:

Myra-Anne Bücher (head of practice group)

Email: [email protected]