Dispute Resolution Market Trends in Germany

It has been an incredibly busy year in the dispute resolution market in Germany, with law firms experiencing a consistently increasing number of disputes due to disruptions from around the world. One example of this is the significant recent development both in Germany and Europe more generally of clients embracing the emergence of American-style class actions and mass claims-related litigations.

A trend towards compliance-related disputes has been noted by firms this year, due to the German and European authorities looking far more closely into infringements than in previous years. Plaintiffs are increasingly looking for opportunities to sue their competitors in mass cases with the courts having developed a reputation for being increasingly plaintiff-friendly, and it having become more difficult to get a total rejection of complaints.

In the last twelve months, commentators have also observed the post-pandemic development of the willingness of parties to settle matters significantly diminishing, with those involved now more likely to see cases out until the end. Similarly in this regard, firms are starting to see a lot of smaller-size disputes, wherein their clients are acting more litigiously and becoming reluctant to leave their money on the table. An uptake in the number of disputes going to arbitration after a transaction has also been noted, with clients feeling as though cheap money is no longer available.  

All these points highlight the blossoming of the German dispute resolution market. This development is evidenced within Chambers’ coverage of the area in a couple of clearly discernible ways. For example, this year saw a 15% increase in the total number of submissions received for this practice area. A key legal market trend that has been observed is the number of boutique law firms that have been created to focus mainly on handling arbitration matters. For several reasons but perhaps most notably due to the cost and duration of litigation, clients are increasingly moving towards arbitration as an alternative method of dispute resolution, and over the past decade or so these boutiques have been created to fill this gap in the market and accommodate these new needs.

As a general rule larger law firms are tending to prioritise litigation for profit reasons. This separation within the legal market is a phenomenon in Germany that has developed steadily over the past decade and is evident in the recent foundation years of several of the firms that we feature in our rankings. 

To reflect this change and therefore more accurately reflect the German market, we have taken the decision to split our Dispute Resolution rankings into two new tables: Litigation and Arbitration. During my research into the field in Spring 2024 I asked all of the many law firms that I spoke to for their views on our existing rankings and whether this was a split that they would recommend us making, and I was met with overwhelming support in favour of this distinction. In altering our Dispute Resolution rankings in this manner, we are also expanding our coverage of this area, in this instance by almost a third (a 31% increase in the number of firms included from the 2024 Europe Guide to the 2025 Germany Guide).

We have added eight firms to our rankings in this area this year, six of these on our Arbitration table, and this expansion of our coverage has brought the number of practices featured across the two tables up to 51. 

Looking ahead to this coming research year, ESG is of course a trend in Germany as it is in so many jurisdictions. Most observers of the German legal market however would only describe it as one that is in its up-and-coming stage. Law firms are currently experiencing rising numbers of litigations encompassing various aspects relating to ESG and climate change, partly fueled by the European Union’s CSDDD which came into effect in June 2024. Additionally, the energy sector more broadly has kept firms busy for the past couple of years. As a direct consequence of geopolitical factors such as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, there have been significant numbers of arbitrations in Germany concerning the price of gas and its delivery from Eastern to Western Europe.

There is a general feeling among market commentators though that while the total figure of ESG-related litigations has risen, it has not done so by as much as was anticipated twelve months ago, and that the big wave of ESG in Germany is yet to break. Despite this, there is widespread consensus that ESG is a topic that is not going to go away any time soon. The only slight question mark here to the contrary is that it remains to be seen whether the policies of the second Trump administration that aim to roll back climate rules and pollution controls will have an impact on the prevalence of ESG as an issue on either or both sides of the Atlantic.  

As another likely next big thing impacting the German dispute resolution world, most market commentators are expecting that the increase in frequency of technology-related disputes both in Germany and elsewhere in Europe will only continue as time goes on. Interviewees have already observed steady rises in the numbers of crypto and AI cases in Germany. While AI-related disputes will of course continue to fall under the remits of our Litigation and Arbitration rankings, the anticipation of this trend is one of the reasons why the 2026 Chambers Germany Guide will feature a new table showcasing the top AI law firms and lawyers in the country. 

The inaugural Chambers Germany Guide launched on 20^th February 2025. Our full rankings, including those covering Litigation and Arbitration, can be found here.