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The comprehensive guide to the world's leading tax firms

Deloitte has a full-service advisory practice in Germany of around 850 professionals, including 62 partners. Heinz-Klaus Kroppen leads the practice, which has strengths in business, cross-border and indirect tax."Their work is excellent, comprehensive, ... [more]

Deloitte has a full-service advisory practice in Germany of around 850 professionals, including 62 partners. Heinz-Klaus Kroppen leads the practice, which has strengths in business, cross-border and indirect tax.

"Their work is excellent, comprehensive, clear and timely," commented one client. Another added: "The team has a very high level of professional competence."

That is not to say that it does not work in transfer pricing, though. This year it produced an intercompany loan policy for a German DAX 30 company and Kroppen advised an international automotive manufacturer on a multilateral advance pricing agreement taking in Germany, the UK and Spain for €12 billion in transactions.

The firm advised on a $500 million reorganisation for First Solar, in addition to investment structuring work for DONG Energy. In indirect tax, a notable piece of work was the firm's advice to Shell Deutschland Oil with regard to issues arising from customs and excise duty.

Ernst & Young's 1,600-strong team of tax professionals in Germany is well respected in the market. "Ernst & Young is the best of the big four I would say," said one partner. "There are excellent tax people at Ernst & Young," another added.York Zöllkau ... [more]

Ernst & Young's 1,600-strong team of tax professionals in Germany is well respected in the market. "Ernst & Young is the best of the big four I would say," said one partner. "There are excellent tax people at Ernst & Young," another added.

York Zöllkau is managing partner of the tax practices in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

Flick Gocke Schaumburg is regarded as very much an academic firm, and its reputation is assured. The highly respected Thomas Roedder leads the team of 78 partners and 160 associates, which was swelled by the hire of VAT specialist Ulrich Gruenwald from ... [more]

Flick Gocke Schaumburg is regarded as very much an academic firm, and its reputation is assured. The highly respected Thomas Roedder leads the team of 78 partners and 160 associates, which was swelled by the hire of VAT specialist Ulrich Gruenwald from BDO in November 2011.

"Flick has a good reputation and is very good," says one adviser.

Another adviser added: "Flick Gocke is a boutique, more national than international. Its work is absolutely first class."

Florian Kutt advised Windland in July 2011 on a €1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) joint venture with Blackstone for a North Sea wind park. Roedder, Andreas Schumacher and Jens Schoenfeld, also teamed up to advise on the merger between Porsche and Volkswagen, including counsel on the corporate tax aspects of any cross-border transactions. The firm is representing Sky Deutschland in court against the European Commission in a case regarding tax loss carry forwards in Germany for, and is doing for Deutsche Telekom over fiscal subsidies.

The highlight for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer this year was the Norbert Schneider-led advice to a private equity consortium led by Nordic Capital and Credit Suisse on the €9.6 billion sale in May 2011 of Nycomed, a pharmaceutical company, to Takeda, ... [more]

The highlight for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer this year was the Norbert Schneider-led advice to a private equity consortium led by Nordic Capital and Credit Suisse on the €9.6 billion sale in May 2011 of Nycomed, a pharmaceutical company, to Takeda, the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan. It was one of the biggest private-equity deals in Europe since the economic downturn.

The firm is one much respected in the market. "Freshfields do the high-end work," said one competitor. "Freshfields is very prominent in the tax community," added another.

The firm maintains a large tax team in Germany, with 15 partners and 40 other professionals led by Christian Ruoff, who serves as the head of Freshfields' tax group in both Germany and Austria. The firm does a lot of transactional work but also acts in an advisory capacity, with a focus on corporate matters in particular.

Another big transaction was the joint venture with INEOS Industries that Martin Schiessl advised BASFon. This saw the plastics activities of these two companies put into Styrolution, on a half and half basis.

The firm has also acted for ZF Friedrichshafen on its €1 billion refinancing and Barclays Capital on the sale of Barclays Private Equity to its management team, who intend to bring the business back to market as Equistone Partners Europe.

PwC has a large practice in Germany, with 134 partners and around 2,100 other professionals headed up by tax leader Dieter Endres. The firm uses its size to work across all areas, with Florian Schultz coming highly recommended for M&A work especially."We ... [more]

PwC has a large practice in Germany, with 134 partners and around 2,100 other professionals headed up by tax leader Dieter Endres. The firm uses its size to work across all areas, with Florian Schultz coming highly recommended for M&A work especially.

"We see PwC as the strongest of the big four," commented one partner. "I just see much more from PwC," said another.

Transfer pricing has been a big source of work for the firm over the past 12 months, building on the trend from the preceding year. This has included Yves Herve acting for a global pharmaceutical company with regards to R&D processes, the design of an intellectual property (IP) migration concept for transfer pricing and an IP valuation.

A team consisting of Frank Schmidt, Torsten Klamm and Ilse Paal have completed a post-deal $700 million reorganisation and optimisation of a German metal producer acquired by a US corporation.

In addition to its tax work, the firm also works closely with PwC Legal to provide specific legal and litigation services. Thomas Fischer is the leader of this firm, which is part of PwC's global network.

It is clear that Allen & Overy possesses an active practice that has been working on both advisory and transactional matters this year, including some significant litigation cases, though some commentators have remarked on the low visibility of the team, ... [more]

It is clear that Allen & Overy possesses an active practice that has been working on both advisory and transactional matters this year, including some significant litigation cases, though some commentators have remarked on the low visibility of the team, as one commented: "I haven't seen A&O too often this year."

Eugen Bogenschuetz heads the team of four partners and 12 fee earners.

Bogenschuetz is continuing to advise a number of US multinationals on appeals and litigation related to double conversion cases, similar in scope to the Glaxo Wellcome case. This was a landmark decision by the ECJ on the compatibility of a German tax rule under the previous full imputation system, which worked to stop foreign shareholders from indirectly receiving a tax credit for corporate income tax paid by a subsidiary. The ECJ found that the German rule in question was a restriction of the free movement of capital, though a jusitifiable one.

Indirect work has entailed advice to a number of big name clients, including to the German AXA Group on insurance and counselling Barclays on issues arising from the treatment of a sale and leaseback transaction by the German tax authorities.

Asmus Mihm gave structuring and finance advice to Patrizian Alternative Investments, in its capacity as facility agent, with regards to the €1.4 billion acquisition of LBBW Immobilien. Hengeler Mueller breaks into the second tier this year, with the ... [more]

Asmus Mihm gave structuring and finance advice to Patrizian Alternative Investments, in its capacity as facility agent, with regards to the €1.4 billion acquisition of LBBW Immobilien. Hengeler Mueller breaks into the second tier this year, with the market almost unanimous in acknowledging that the firm, despite having a fairly small staff of four partners and seven associates, is now very much at that level.

"At Hengeler Mueller the quality is good," said one peer, while another added: Hengeler has very good lawyers. Tier two would be much more appropriate for them."

"Hengeler Mueller have young people, and made a strong hire in Stefanie Beinert. They are coming in on deals and have a broad practice. A competitive tax team," is the assessment of another competitor.

The key professionals are Beinert, Martin Klein, Ernst-Thomas Kraft and Matthias Scheifele. Clients include DONG Energy, Porsche and Intel.

Beinert and Klein advised ThyssenKrupp, the industrial group, on the merger, for a figure approaching €2.7 billion, of its stainless steel business with Outokumpu from Finland. This work was done alongside Hannes Snellman.

In February 2012, Klein also took the lead in closing a deal for TUI, the travel company, as it sold off a further stake in Hapag-Lloyd and terminated the related hybrid financing, a transaction with a reported value of €700 million.

Linklaters has a very strong transactional practice in Germany, with seven partners led by Sebastian Benz. The firm is seen as one very close to breaking through to the top tier, as one partner commented: "Linklaters is good, but is not quite tier one ... [more]

Linklaters has a very strong transactional practice in Germany, with seven partners led by Sebastian Benz. The firm is seen as one very close to breaking through to the top tier, as one partner commented: "Linklaters is good, but is not quite tier one yet."

"Linklaters is good. You have to consider the history, in that they took over a premier tax firm (Oppenhoff & Rädler). They have reduced numbers, but do a great job. They are transaction-focused," said another peer.

Benz, Oliver Rosenberg, Christian Böing, Tobias Kuck and Albert Schmitz advised Deutsche Börse on its purported merger with NYSE Euronext, a deal worth around €15 billion that was called off in February 2012. And Thomas Elser, Elmar Bindl and Jann Jetter advised Volkswagen as it conducted a €13.4 billion public takeover of MAN.

It has been advising clients such as Procter & Gamble and Nintendo on transfer pricing , assisting UniCredit Bank with VAT issues arising from a cooperation agreement and acting in court for a handful of multinationals in cases brought about by audit disputes. Martin Lausterer is recommended by the market for litigation and controversy work.

Clients are happy with the advice provided by P+P Pöllath & Partners, a tax team that has an acknowledged strength in investment funds and private-equity work. "We are invariably satisfied with their work. They display a deep knowledge of the issues ... [more]

Clients are happy with the advice provided by P+P Pöllath & Partners, a tax team that has an acknowledged strength in investment funds and private-equity work. "We are invariably satisfied with their work. They display a deep knowledge of the issues faced by our industry and have consistently shown a practical approach to advising us," says one client, adding, "Michael Best is a very talented tax lawyer, and has a very good team supporting him."

The team of nine partners and 23 fee earners is led jointly by Best and Thomas Töben, and counts among its clients names such as Puma, Deutsche Sparkassen Leasing and Apax Partners.

"Pöllath is very strong with private and hedge funds," said one partner. Another competitor added: "The team there is good at PE work but that has been pretty quiet."

One other adviser agreed: "Very good private equity lawyers – the lawyers are top-drawer there."

This reputation has been borne out by the firm's work this year. Best and Nico Fischer advised Apax Funds on the $1.6 million acquisition of a stake in Orange Group in Switzerland, while Töben, Hardy Fischer, Gerhard Specker and Sören Reckwardt acted for Whitehall Funds on the $325 million sale of Oberpollinger and Karstadt Sport to a German joint venture made up of Centrum Group and Austrian Signa.

Baker & McKenzie is a tax practice that is acknowledged as being very strong on both transfer pricing and VAT matters. The team is led by Nicole Looks, the head of the German and European indirect tax practice. Commentators in the market however report ... [more]

Baker & McKenzie is a tax practice that is acknowledged as being very strong on both transfer pricing and VAT matters. The team is led by Nicole Looks, the head of the German and European indirect tax practice. Commentators in the market however report a perceived drop in visibility over the past 12 months.

"We don't really see Baker & McKenzie. They have a good reputation, though," said one partner. "Very good on TP and VAT but nothing else," added another.

"They don't take a significant role in M&A or restructurings really," commented another adviser. "Baker & McKenzie has a good reputation but we don't see them on the big stuff. They don't have a broad expertise but do have very good people,"

Even so, the firm has been busy this year. It advised De Agostini in optimising the VAT implications of its sales structures, as well as consulting for a DAX 30 company in putting together a transfer pricing model that concerned a profit potential of up to €200 million.

It is also active in court, successfully defending a global food company against VAT evasion allegations in November 2011 and continuing to act for a global service company to defend its VAT and transfer pricing positions.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has a small German tax practice comprising one partner, Daniel Weyde and four other professionals, who work closely with the firm's global and European tax practices, and is known for its corporate restructuring and tax ... [more]

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has a small German tax practice comprising one partner, Daniel Weyde and four other professionals, who work closely with the firm's global and European tax practices, and is known for its corporate restructuring and tax optimisation of M&A transactions, particularly within the real estate market.

One transaction that demonstrates this is Weyde's continuing advice to Michael Zimmer as he sold off his 25% stake in Corpus Sireo to Sparkasse KölnBonn, the savings bank, brings the bank's holding in the company to 50%, with Corpus Siero having €15.4 billion worth of real estate under management. Weyde also teamed up with colleagues in London and Paris to advise Lafarge as it sold certain gypsum operations in Europe and South America to Etex Group for €1 billion.

And Weyde is also advising the Republic of Argentina on the tax aspects of a $1 billion issue of new money bonds to exchange for its defaulted debt totalling $35 billion.

Gleiss Lutz is a longstanding German law firm that maintains a tax team of four partners and 12 fee earners. It is led overall by Achim Dannecker and does work across all areas of tax, with a particular expertise in the corporate space.Clients express ... [more]

Gleiss Lutz is a longstanding German law firm that maintains a tax team of four partners and 12 fee earners. It is led overall by Achim Dannecker and does work across all areas of tax, with a particular expertise in the corporate space.

Clients express satisfaction with the advice they receive. "The quality is outstanding. Most impressive is their responsiveness and they always try to find a pragmatic solution," said one client on the team, while others single out specific professionals: "Achim Dannecker and Alexander Werder are very experienced in M&A transactions. They come up with helpful and pragmatic ideas, never showing off but trying to support their clients."

"We were impressed by the proactive thinking of partner Hoimar von Ditfurth," said another client, "he has a good understanding of client needs and works well towards solutions."

The team is advising on a number of active cases, including Stefan Mayer advising Delta Lloyd on the planned sale of its life insurance business, in addition to working on restructurings for the Blackstone Group.

Werder and Dannecker are also advising Robert Bosch on the sale of its foundation brakes business and a carve-out of activities across 20 jurisdictions from the Bosch group.

WTS is a fast-growing consultancy where Karsten Gnuschke is the partner responsible for international tax. The team has 35 partners and 315 fee earners. Eighty five have joined since May 2011 including Gert Müller-Gatermann, the former director-general ... [more]

WTS is a fast-growing consultancy where Karsten Gnuschke is the partner responsible for international tax. The team has 35 partners and 315 fee earners. Eighty five have joined since May 2011 including Gert Müller-Gatermann, the former director-general for international taxation at the German Ministry of Finance, who is now of counsel.

A client said: "WTS's work is excellent and its strength is in having a commercial outlook and being able to provide practical advice on complex German tax issues." And an adviser added: "WTS has some very good people, and has improved."

The team has worked on some high-value transactions this year. Arwed Crueger and Maik Heggmair teamed up to develop a new global transfer pricing policy for a German DAX 30 listed company. The same two, with Kai Schwinger, gave similar advice to another client.

With a nod to its roots, Peter Baumgartner is engaged at the moment on the analysis and optimisation of so-called trapped duties within the supply chain of Siemens – WTS was started by a former Siemens head of tax.

Baker Tilly Deutschland (Rölfs Partner) has shown it intends to make a greater impact in the tax market by recruiting heavily this year. Reinhard Bennert, from BMW, Gerhard Reiser from Deloitte and Michael Emig, Alexandra Sauskemat and Matthias Treybal ... [more]

Baker Tilly Deutschland (Rölfs Partner) has shown it intends to make a greater impact in the tax market by recruiting heavily this year. Reinhard Bennert, from BMW, Gerhard Reiser from Deloitte and Michael Emig, Alexandra Sauskemat and Matthias Treybal from Ernst & Young have all joined the team, which now numbers 21 partners and 143 professionals led by Wolfgang Richter. The firm has expertise in all areas but particularly corporate tax.

The firm is very strong on TP matters too. Carsten Krazter, chairman of Baker Tilly's EMEA transfer pricing committee developed documentation for a real-estate fund management group and devised a defensive transfer pricing strategy for a leading automotive supplier.

Peter Fabry, the lead corporate tax partner of, has implemented an optimised international company structure for a gas transmission operator and Ines Paucksch advised on the VAT implications for Islamic financing structures for a confidential finance client.

And Franz Bielefeld has been defending the participants in a media fund in a court proceeding against as part of one of the biggest alleged tax crime cases in Germany.

Bödecker Ernst & Partner is an independent firm of experienced indirect and corporate tax specialists who focus on capital markets, financial products and investment funds work. The practice is led by Carsten Bödecker and Carsten Ernst, who cofounded ... [more]

Bödecker Ernst & Partner is an independent firm of experienced indirect and corporate tax specialists who focus on capital markets, financial products and investment funds work. The practice is led by Carsten Bödecker and Carsten Ernst, who cofounded the firm in July 2011 after leaving Luther. Three former colleagues, Holger Hartmann, Harald Kuhn and Simone Stockmar, joined them as partners in the new firm as did Claudia Bödecker, from Bödecker Rechtanwälte.

Client feedback reflects well on the new firm's first year too: "We are very happy with the convenient and competent way they handle all kind of questions in a timely manner and they are always very reliable," said one.

"We are comprehensively happy with the quality of their work," said another, "and most impressive is the response time. Usually, we got the demanded answers immediately."

"Carsten Ernst impressed us because of his comprehensive knowledge and expertise," said a third client.

Work for the firm this year has included the structuring of a real-estate fund for an Asia-Pacific client, as well as the structuring of a European infrastructure fund. Carsten Bödecker, Stockmar and an associate also carried out due diligence on a European real estate portfolio for a pension fund in Germany.

Debevoise & Plimpton has a small tax team in Germany, with one partner, Friedrich Hey, working with one fee earner. The practice does work with other teams within the law firm and can also make use of its extensive international network too.The firm's ... [more]

Debevoise & Plimpton has a small tax team in Germany, with one partner, Friedrich Hey, working with one fee earner. The practice does work with other teams within the law firm and can also make use of its extensive international network too.

The firm's work this year has included advice to clients such as Beacon Capital Partners and MAG Industrial Automation Systems, in addition to providing specific M&A tax advice to Catalent Pharma Solutions.

Stephen Busch is the head of the tax department at Dentons, which has seen some comings and goings this year with the hire of an associate from Olswang and the recruitment of Sabine Walz from in-house. The firm lost two associates during 2011 too. The ... [more]

Stephen Busch is the head of the tax department at Dentons, which has seen some comings and goings this year with the hire of an associate from Olswang and the recruitment of Sabine Walz from in-house. The firm lost two associates during 2011 too.

The firm has kept busy and clients are happy with their advice: "I was very satisfied with the services of Salans, due to the fact that they understood our aspects concerning fiscal, company law, laws regarding bank supervision and competition law very well and have always been able to either enhance transactions with their good ideas or optimise them for us," said one.

The firm has begun to focus on contentious cases, and has been in the Federal Fiscal Court this year litigating for a real estate company, and equipment manufacturer.

Florian Haase, who leads DLA Piper's German tax team, joined from Rödl & Partner in July 2011. He works with three partners and five professionals doing work across all areas of tax for clients such as Technology Nexus, Taurus Investment Holdings Deutschland ... [more]

Florian Haase, who leads DLA Piper's German tax team, joined from Rödl & Partner in July 2011. He works with three partners and five professionals doing work across all areas of tax for clients such as Technology Nexus, Taurus Investment Holdings Deutschland and Behringer Harvard.

The firm is trying to increase the strength of its tax practice, something noticed by competitors: "DLA Piper is investing in tax at the moment," comments a partner.

Another big client is Nuplex Industries, a New Zealand multinational. This year Haase teamed up with Daniela Steierberg in December 2011 to advise the company on a $100 million combined share and asset deal, including restructuring and deferred taxes.

Haase and Steierberg are engaged on a VAT project for an automotive client and Haase and Katrin Dorn are working together to advise a client on transfer pricing issues arising from a tax audit.

In contentious matters, Haase and Dorn have successfully represented an oil and energy client in the Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof) in connection with a dispute with EU law implications.

Küffner Maunz Langer Zugmaier, a boutique tax practice of four partners and 18 fee earners has an enviable reputation in the market for its indirect expertise. Clients go to the firm for this specific focus, and one satisfied customer said: "We are very ... [more]

Küffner Maunz Langer Zugmaier, a boutique tax practice of four partners and 18 fee earners has an enviable reputation in the market for its indirect expertise. Clients go to the firm for this specific focus, and one satisfied customer said: "We are very satisfied with the level of expertise the firm provides to our business, including the difficult questions it brings up in regards to the confused European VAT law. Overall, we give them 9.5 out of 10."

"Küffner is extremely good on VAT – one of the best in the country. They work with very big enterprises," said one competitor

The team has grown this year with the addition, for example, of former public prosecutor Daniel Kaiser, Hendrik Marchal from Gleiss Lutz and Robert Hammerl from the German tax authorities.

Stefan Maunz and Ronny Langer devised corporate directives on VAT for a large automotive supplier who wanted to minimise risk and be 100% compliant, while partner Thomas Küffner teamed up with Eveline Beer to assess the tax point for tolerance services imposed on a performance right organisation.

McDermott Will & Emery is an international law firm with a German tax team of 10 professionals in Munich and Düsseldorf, led by Dirk Pohl. The firm works in all tax areas but is particularly strong on dispute resolution and litigation.The firm has been ... [more]

McDermott Will & Emery is an international law firm with a German tax team of 10 professionals in Munich and Düsseldorf, led by Dirk Pohl. The firm works in all tax areas but is particularly strong on dispute resolution and litigation.

The firm has been almost ever-present in the Supreme Tax Court this year. Clients have included an engineering company regarding right of choice; a consumer industry multinational in connection with a write-down of book value and downstream merger and also for a pharmaceutical multinational regarding the VAT treatment of test devices. Decisions are still pending in these cases.

The firm has been using its US connections to advise a Silicon Valley company on international structuring and has advised a leading outdoors manufacturer on the restructuring of a shareholding.

Oppenhoff & Partner is a tax firm of two partners, two junior partners and an associate and is led by Axel Bödefeld. The firm is particularly strong on transfer pricing work for clients such as Johnson & Johnson.In one matter Bödefeld and Janina Zensus ... [more]

Oppenhoff & Partner is a tax firm of two partners, two junior partners and an associate and is led by Axel Bödefeld. The firm is particularly strong on transfer pricing work for clients such as Johnson & Johnson.

In one matter Bödefeld and Janina Zensus advised the German branch of a UK bank on issues inherent in the allocation of profits between head office and branch. The following month the same team, joined by Gunnar Knorr, completed a $600 million transfer pricing documentation matter for a large US pharmaceutical client.

Knorr and Bödefeld advised a US fast food franchise on the VAT treatment of takeaway food and in court have been working on disputes relating to VAT refunds and a precedent case regarding a claim for exemption from energy tax for battery production.

In corporate matters, it has advised Corpus Sireo on a divestment of its assets to the Berlin-owned housing associations Degewo and Gesobau, in addition to acting for Berlinwasser International on the sale of its stake in Berlinwasser China Holding, ... [more]

In corporate matters, it has advised Corpus Sireo on a divestment of its assets to the Berlin-owned housing associations Degewo and Gesobau, in addition to acting for Berlinwasser International on the sale of its stake in Berlinwasser China Holding, a company that owns and operates waste-water disposal systems in China. Shearman & Sterling is another US firm with a tax team in Germany. Led by Bodo Bender, the practice has six other professionals who work on a general basis across all the tax areas, though with a focus on transactional matters. Johannes Frey has joined Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.

The firm is regarded highly by its clients, as one said: "We were very happy with their work. They had to handle a completely new legal situation for us, kind of using the law before anybody else did."

A notable indirect tax transaction this year featured advice from Bender and Douglas McFadyen, a partner in the New York office, to Dow Chemical as it sold its polypropylene business for $340 million to Braskem.

When Frey was part of the practice, he acted for Sany Heavy Industry as it teamed up with CITIC PE Advisors, a Chinese private equity company in one of the largest Chinese acquisitions in Germany: the €500 million acquisition of a 10% stake in Putzmeister Holding in March 2012. Reorganisations got underway shortly after overseen by a Shearman team.

Clients comment that they go to Voegele Partner – NERA, a specialist transfer pricing boutique that is part of the NERA network of international economic consultancies, for the really specialist TP work, and seem satisfied. "I thought Alexander Voegele ... [more]

Clients comment that they go to Voegele Partner – NERA, a specialist transfer pricing boutique that is part of the NERA network of international economic consultancies, for the really specialist TP work, and seem satisfied. "I thought Alexander Voegele and Hendrik Fuegeman were good, but as a whole I think the team plays well together. The work was very detailed and their reports are very good giving a very good presentation of the subject. They also provided good excel tools for us for the fee calculations," says one client. Voegele leads the practice and oversees 11 other fee earners.

"These guys are professionals. They have been of great value in supporting us in several tax cases when clear and good evidence is needed to measure economic effects and illustrate those aspects of transactions," said another client.

Voegele defended a group internal interest deduction for a large Swedish energy group, work and this year worked to migrate a well-known US brand to Switzerland through an investor and joint venture model.

Simmons & Simmons has a small tax team in Germany with one partner, Heiko Stoll, and two associates, covering indirect, corporate and disputes matters. It acts as a support practice to both the firm's national and international network, assisting ... [more]

Simmons & Simmons has a small tax team in Germany with one partner, Heiko Stoll, and two associates, covering indirect, corporate and disputes matters. It acts as a support practice to both the firm's national and international network, assisting on cross-border work, and has a number of big-name financial clients it is looking to develop itself.

Stoll and Martin Schuh have been advising an international credit institution on a number of structuring projects, including securities lending and tax efficient uses of loss carry-forwards advice.

In indirect work, the two lawyers are advising an insurance company in a case regarding €3 million-worth of VAT reductions, while in disputes a US company has sought the firm's counsel regarding the coordination of voluntary declarations for tax offices, intensive work that included more than 50 employees of the company and which was completed in just nine months.