World Tax - Home
The comprehensive guide to the world's leading tax firms

Flick Gocke Schaumburg remains a dominant force in the German market. Competitors praise its "strong" team of tax advisers. Ulrich Prinz stands out for his tax controversy advice. Thomas Rödder is also recommended. One peer said he is "shaping up to ... [more]

Flick Gocke Schaumburg remains a dominant force in the German market. Competitors praise its "strong" team of tax advisers. Ulrich Prinz stands out for his tax controversy advice. Thomas Rödder is also recommended. One peer said he is "shaping up to be someone who stands out from everyone else". Andreas Schumacher is mentioned for his domestic tax advice. One competitor commends the group for "investing a lot of time in the principles of taxation" and says the firm is "very important for the entire German tax environment". The group has expanded this year with the opening of a new office in Munich. This brings its total number of offices up to four, including Bonn, Berlin and Frankfurt. The advisers focus on offering tax-centred legal advice to domestic and foreign firms. The team consists of 67 partners and more than 135 associates.

The team at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is mentioned for its transactional tax advice. Peers especially commend its skill in advising on the tax aspects of financial instruments. Stephan Eilers retains his position as one of the best tax advisers ... [more]

The team at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is mentioned for its transactional tax advice. Peers especially commend its skill in advising on the tax aspects of financial instruments. Stephan Eilers retains his position as one of the best tax advisers on the market. He is mentioned for his international cross-border work. He was promoted to head of the firm's global tax practice in May. Holger Häuselmann is also highly recommended, with one peer calling him the "finance tax guru". The team advised Deutsche Post on the tax aspects of the sale of a stake in Deutsche Postbank to Deutsche Bank this year. They also assisted Porsche on the intended acquisition of a majority stake in Volkswagen.

Gottfried Breuninger joined the tax group of Allen & Overy in October 2008 from Shearman & Sterling. He specialises in national and international corporate tax, with a particular focus on M&A transactions and post-acquisition structures, tax-driven restructurings ... [more]

Gottfried Breuninger joined the tax group of Allen & Overy in October 2008 from Shearman & Sterling. He specialises in national and international corporate tax, with a particular focus on M&A transactions and post-acquisition structures, tax-driven restructurings and the tax structuring of hybrid and cross-border financings. Peers say the new hire has boosted the Allen & Overy team. Breuninger works alongside renowned partner Eugen Bogenschütz, who heads the practice. He is a dominant figure in the German tax market and is recommended by an overwhelming number of peers. One competitor said: "He's always technically in front of others".

Deloitte is recommended for its transfer pricing expertise. This year the team acted for a multinational company in the compression and automation technology field in the preparation of its global transfer pricing policy for multi-currency cash pooling ... [more]

Deloitte is recommended for its transfer pricing expertise. This year the team acted for a multinational company in the compression and automation technology field in the preparation of its global transfer pricing policy for multi-currency cash pooling which increased the efficiency of the documentation process for more than 20 countries. Given the absence of any legal and methodological practice, the team developed a new concept to establish the arm's-length interest rates in cash pooling transactions. Achim Roeder is mentioned for transfer pricing. The group as a whole is also praised for its method of working. One adviser said it is not "as aggressive as the other big four firms". Heinz-Klaus Kroppen leads the practice, which consists of 58 partners and more than 800 tax specialists including about 400 certified tax consultants. Kroppen is referred to as "one of the best known tax advisers".

With 1,800 tax people across 16 offices, Ernst & Young has the largest tax practice of the big-four firms in Germany. Noted practitioner Ulrich Michaelis heads the group, which has acted for big-name clients such as Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Post and BASF, ... [more]

With 1,800 tax people across 16 offices, Ernst & Young has the largest tax practice of the big-four firms in Germany. Noted practitioner Ulrich Michaelis heads the group, which has acted for big-name clients such as Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Post and BASF, a chemical company. Klaus Krämer Erkrath is recommended for M&A tax. One peer said the group has the "strongest reputation out of the big-four". Another commended its "very active private equity structuring group". A client praised the team's "wide experience in legal tax matters, but also [for being] a forerunner in tax accounting issues".

KPMG has 24 locations in Germany. The team covers all aspects of tax including financial services tax, indirect taxes, transfer pricing and international corporate tax.

Highly regarded lawyer Florian Schultz joined PricewaterhouseCoopers from Linklaters this year. He is recommended by a number of peers. Dieter Endres is praised for being "very good at managing his tax department" and for his "good client relationships". ... [more]

Highly regarded lawyer Florian Schultz joined PricewaterhouseCoopers from Linklaters this year. He is recommended by a number of peers. Dieter Endres is praised for being "very good at managing his tax department" and for his "good client relationships". Five other partners joined the firm this year including Werner Stuffer from Siemens.

Baker & McKenzie has hired two economists this year to boost its transfer pricing team. Its strategy in Germany, and worldwide, is to focus on specialised areas. The firm has a team dedicated to indirect taxes and customs. The tax group's six partners ... [more]

Baker & McKenzie has hired two economists this year to boost its transfer pricing team. Its strategy in Germany, and worldwide, is to focus on specialised areas. The firm has a team dedicated to indirect taxes and customs. The tax group's six partners and 16 other professionals work across four offices. Among the deals they worked on this year was advising and representing a multinational group of companies in restructuring their VAT treatment for importation of machinery into Europe, a deal valued at $8 million and the tax, VAT and corporate restructuring of a mobile phone business. Nicole Looks and Christian Brodersen head the department.

Clifford Chance has lost a few lawyers this year but the team is still praised for its M&A work. One competitor said the practice is strong in financial services tax. Uwe Schimmelschmidt is recommended.

Two partners joined Gleiss Lutz this year. Cindy Lahusen came from White & Case and Stefan Mayer arrived from Hengeler Mueller. This takes the total number of tax specialists to 15. Prominent lawyer Achim Dannecker heads the department. He advised Crédit ... [more]

Two partners joined Gleiss Lutz this year. Cindy Lahusen came from White & Case and Stefan Mayer arrived from Hengeler Mueller. This takes the total number of tax specialists to 15. Prominent lawyer Achim Dannecker heads the department. He advised Crédit Mutuel on its €4.9 billion ($6.9 billion) acquisition of Citibank Deutschland. This involved advising on all tax aspects of the transaction, including structure, financing, Citigroup-carve-out, post-acquisition restructuring and integration. He also advised Robert Bosch on the disposal of the Blaupunkt business to Aurelius.

Several well-known lawyers have maintained Hengeler Mueller's reputation this year. Martin Klein, Friedhelm Jacob and Ernst-Thomas Kraft are all recommended. The team has advised E.ON, the largest energy company in Germany, this year on the €2.9 billion ... [more]

Several well-known lawyers have maintained Hengeler Mueller's reputation this year. Martin Klein, Friedhelm Jacob and Ernst-Thomas Kraft are all recommended. The team has advised E.ON, the largest energy company in Germany, this year on the €2.9 billion sale of Thüga. The group also advised Deutsche Bank on the acquisition of a participation of Deutsche Postbank.

The arrival of Thomas Fox has given Latham & Watkins' tax team a significant boost. One competitor called him "proactive, smart and easy to work with" and a "very good catch for Latham". He joined from Shearman & Sterling. Latham advised a consortium ... [more]

The arrival of Thomas Fox has given Latham & Watkins' tax team a significant boost. One competitor called him "proactive, smart and easy to work with" and a "very good catch for Latham". He joined from Shearman & Sterling. Latham advised a consortium of Hamburg-based investors in the €4.45 billion acquisition of global shipping company Hapag-Lloyd from global tour operator TUI. The deal was one of the most prominent and largest deals in Germany in 2008 and involved a complicated reinvestment structure for TUI as well as a financing structure with a mix of bridge and continuing shareholder financing.

Linklaters is praised for its transactional tax advice. Even though the firm lost Florian Schultz this year to PricewaterhouseCoopers, it still has number of leading tax advisers. Partners Jens Blumenberg and Florian Lechner are both highly recommend... [more]

Linklaters is praised for its transactional tax advice. Even though the firm lost Florian Schultz this year to PricewaterhouseCoopers, it still has number of leading tax advisers. Partners Jens Blumenberg and Florian Lechner are both highly recommended.

P+P Pöllath + Partners has advised an impressive list of clients this year including Barclays Private Equity, Carlyle and Apax Partners. Most of the tax team focuses on the tax implications of transactions and asset management. The team advised Stargate ... [more]

P+P Pöllath + Partners has advised an impressive list of clients this year including Barclays Private Equity, Carlyle and Apax Partners. Most of the tax team focuses on the tax implications of transactions and asset management. The team advised Stargate Automotive on the purchase of Gehring Technologies and Cinterion Wireless Modules in the acquisition of Wireless Modules unit from Siemens. One competitor said they have "improved their position with the hiring of Richard Engl a couple of years ago".

RP Richter & Partner added five partners this year, including Claudia Weinhold who joined from Siemens. The firm now has 27 partners. The group expanded its transfer pricing services with the hiring of Michael Heckel, an international transfer pricing ... [more]

RP Richter & Partner added five partners this year, including Claudia Weinhold who joined from Siemens. The firm now has 27 partners. The group expanded its transfer pricing services with the hiring of Michael Heckel, an international transfer pricing specialist, from KPMG. It also joined the True Partners network in June, an international tax and business advisory alliance. The team advised ING Real Estate, PartnerFonds and Bavaria Industriekapital this year.

Streck Mack Schwedhelm has three locations in Germany: Cologne, Munich and Berlin. One industry commentator recommends the team as a whole for litigation. The core areas of this German law firm are tax litigation, tax investigation and tax structuring. ... [more]

Streck Mack Schwedhelm has three locations in Germany: Cologne, Munich and Berlin. One industry commentator recommends the team as a whole for litigation. The core areas of this German law firm are tax litigation, tax investigation and tax structuring. A peer notes they are "number one for court cases".

BDO Deutsche Warentreuhand, a new entry, covers a whole range of tax and tax-related business law advisory services. The company has 27 locations in Germany and is part of BDO International, a worldwide network of legally independent auditing firms.

The tax team at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton consists of five lawyers. They cover a range of tax services including tax litigation, VAT and some transfer pricing, although not on a day-to-day basis. The group advises some high profile clients including ... [more]

The tax team at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton consists of five lawyers. They cover a range of tax services including tax litigation, VAT and some transfer pricing, although not on a day-to-day basis. The group advises some high profile clients including Black & Decker, Deutsche Bahn and Standard & Poor's. Well-respected partner and head of tax, Daniel Weyde, was tax counsel to Deutsche Bahn this year in the acquisition of PCC Logistics, the largest private railway group in Poland. He also advised Goldman Sachs in amending the financing agreements and the underlying lease and joint venture agreements in connection with its financing of the €4.5 billion acquisition of department store real estate from Arcandor.

Debevoise & Plimpton specialises in the tax aspects of funds and fund formation. The team is led by well respected lawyer Friedrich Hey. He recruited two new associates this year. The group advised on several divestitures for Dover Corporation and new ... [more]

Debevoise & Plimpton specialises in the tax aspects of funds and fund formation. The team is led by well respected lawyer Friedrich Hey. He recruited two new associates this year. The group advised on several divestitures for Dover Corporation and new funds/carried interest arrangements for numerous funds as well as re-financings for existing clients.

Hanno Berger is managing partner of Dewey & LeBoeuf's Frankfurt office. His speciality is in the development of corporate, regulatory and tax-optimised structures for derivatives, certificates and other financial products. Partner Bernulph von Crailsheim ... [more]

Hanno Berger is managing partner of Dewey & LeBoeuf's Frankfurt office. His speciality is in the development of corporate, regulatory and tax-optimised structures for derivatives, certificates and other financial products. Partner Bernulph von Crailsheim was involved in advising Fraport Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide on the sale of its 65% interest in Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn to the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Goutier & Partner is a new entry this year. The practice is led by Klaus Goutier who specialises in M&A tax advice. The firm has three locations in Germany: Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg. One peer said: "They should be ranked. They are involved in big ... [more]

Goutier & Partner is a new entry this year. The practice is led by Klaus Goutier who specialises in M&A tax advice. The firm has three locations in Germany: Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg. One peer said: "They should be ranked. They are involved in big and interesting cases."

Haarmann advises clients in all matters of national, international and European tax law. Founding partner Wilhelm Haarmann is a tax consultant. He is also a member of the executive board of the International Fiscal Association's German section. As such, ... [more]

Haarmann advises clients in all matters of national, international and European tax law. Founding partner Wilhelm Haarmann is a tax consultant. He is also a member of the executive board of the International Fiscal Association's German section. As such, tax is a focal point for the firm, though it also has other practice groups.

küffner maunz langer zugmaier, led by Stefan Maunz, specialises in VAT at a national and European level. The group hired two associates this year.

Lovells has a tax presence in Dusseldorf and Munich. The team advises on various aspects of direct and indirect taxes including M&A, restructurings and real estate issues.

Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft - Taxand is the German member firm of independent tax network, Taxand. Tax structuring of M&A, transfer pricing, tax due diligence and international taxation are just some of the areas the group specialises in. The team ... [more]

Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft - Taxand is the German member firm of independent tax network, Taxand. Tax structuring of M&A, transfer pricing, tax due diligence and international taxation are just some of the areas the group specialises in. The team hired thirteen people from Deloitte this year including renowned partner Carsten Bödecker. The group is advising on the tax structuring of the cross border merger of the hospitals of the universities of Aachen and of Maastricht and it is assisting Arctic Paper on its acquisition of Mochenwangen Papier.

Three partners including noted tax lawyer Dirk Pohl lead the tax team at McDermott Will & Emery. They offer advice on all tax aspects of M&A and restructurings, income tax, VAT issues, German real estate transfer tax matters and global estate plannin... [more]

Three partners including noted tax lawyer Dirk Pohl lead the tax team at McDermott Will & Emery. They offer advice on all tax aspects of M&A and restructurings, income tax, VAT issues, German real estate transfer tax matters and global estate planning.

Nörr Stiefenhofer Lutz advises clients on all aspects of taxation including company acquisition and restructuring, tax-optimised financing and international taxation. The firm has offices in Berlin, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich.

Oppenhoff & Partner, a spin-off of the Cologne office of Linklaters, continues to be highly regarded by peers. The team advises clients on three areas of expertise: transactional tax matters, transfer pricing and tax disputes. Axel Bödefeld is mentioned ... [more]

Oppenhoff & Partner, a spin-off of the Cologne office of Linklaters, continues to be highly regarded by peers. The team advises clients on three areas of expertise: transactional tax matters, transfer pricing and tax disputes. Axel Bödefeld is mentioned for M&A advice.

Indirect tax, transfer pricing, international taxation and M&A are some of the areas Rödl & Partner advises on. Tax is one of the firm's core competencies.

Shearman & Sterling lost highly respected lawyers Gottfried Breuninger and Thomas Fox this year. Johannes Frey and Reinhard Stockum are the two remaining partners in the team. Frey is mentioned for his M&A skills.

The Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom team is praised by clients for being "technically very strong and very thorough". The practice consists of one partner, Hans-Georg Berg, one counsel and one associate. Their impressive client list consists of Continental ... [more]

The Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom team is praised by clients for being "technically very strong and very thorough". The practice consists of one partner, Hans-Georg Berg, one counsel and one associate. Their impressive client list consists of Continental Automotive, Bank of America, Time Warner and Deutsche Bank.

Alexander Voegele is highly recommended by peers for transfer pricing advice. He heads Voegele Partner NERA, a specialist transfer pricing firm. He lists Airbus and Cable and Wireless among his biggest clients.

White & Case operates out of Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg. Andreas Knebel is head of the tax practice. The team advised the Federal Republic of Germany in connection with the successful privatisation of Vivico Real Estate in a deal worth €1 billion.

WTS is a German tax consultancy, which specialises in acting as a client's tax function. The practice was set up 10 years ago and started with the outsourcing of Siemens' tax department. Now they work for about a dozen clients including MAN, LaSalle ... [more]

WTS is a German tax consultancy, which specialises in acting as a client's tax function. The practice was set up 10 years ago and started with the outsourcing of Siemens' tax department. Now they work for about a dozen clients including MAN, LaSalle Investment Management and UBS Real Estate. Fritz Esterer, ex-global tax director at Siemens, became chief executive officer of WTS in July.