Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP ( short Freshfields ) is an international business law firm with headquarters in London. The firm advises and represents national and international corporations, financial institutions and governments.

Size and distribution

The firm has over 3,500 lawyers in 28 locations in 15 European, Asia, North America and the Middle East countries and counts at the company headquarters to the so-called Magic Circle law firms.

There are six offices in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne and Munich, which generated sales of 334 million in 2012 in Germany.

In Austria there is an office in Vienna.

Work areas

The company covers the usual areas of law a law firm. In addition, the firm provides sector- or industry- specific teams for the automotive, healthcare and large investors.

History

In its present form as an international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has existed since 2000 when the London law firm Freshfields initially with the German firm Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund and a few months later with the German - Austrian firm Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Loeber - than in 1998 emerged first cross-border merger of a German law firm - united. The merger was announced in mid- 2000 and is known in industry circles as the only real success among at this time numerous newly formed international law firms in Germany.

The History of Freshfields dates back to 1743, when the firm was founded in London, and Samuel Dodd was appointed as attorney for the Bank of England, which is a client of the firm today. The law firm Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Loeber has its earliest origins in Hamburg (office since 1840), Dusseldorf (since 1919) and Berlin / Frankfurt ( since 1936 /48). The firm Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund was founded in 1962 by the antitrust and CDU MEP Arved Deringer ( 1913-2011 ) in Bonn. More namesake were the lawyers Claus Tessin, Herrmann and Jochim Sedemund.

Company logo

The firm has a name lettering in the form of a word and figurative mark consisting of the company name and left before a stylized angel in a circle. The Archangel Michael represented graced since the mid-18th century the arms of the Freshfield family and became the company logo, after James William Freshfield ( 1775-1864 ) was the first of the family became a partner at the law firm founded in 1743.

Working for the German Federal Government

The firm advised the German Federal Government and federal ministries in the past several times with regulations and legislation. Thus, the draft laws and the Regulation on the Financial Market Stabilisation Act have been fully prepared by Freshfields lawyers. When the conditions for debt restructuring of Greece attorneys were working as a consultant for the Federal Ministry of Finance. The Special Fund for Financial Market Stabilization SoFFin was greatly influenced by lawyers Freshfields. The Reconstruction Loan Corporation, which reports to the Ministry of Finance is represented legally by the Freshfields in aid for Greece.

By February 2013 it was already known that the firm has received 1.8 million euros advisory fee under the then Minister Peer Steinbrück. On February 22, 2013, the Bild newspaper reported that the amount paid is much higher. Springer-Verlag, the Federal Ministry of Finance successfully sued the Berlin Administrative Court thereon to announce the full fee sum for the firm. After that, the firm had 2008/2009 get more money is communicated, citing a spokeswoman for the Financial Markets Stabilisation Agency ( FMSA ). The FMSA, belonging to the division of the Ministry to have paid as principal between October 2008 and October 2009, approximately 5.5 million euros for consultations.

EUR 4.5 million of which paid according to the spokeswoman recipient of SoFFin measures, including some German banks, such as Commerzbank and HSH Nordbank. " The portion paid by the FMSA in the amount of about one million euros was paid out of funds raised by the FMSA costs selected by all SoFFin measures receivers, " so the FMSA. Volker Wissing (FDP) said: " In view of such sums it is always credible that Mr Steinbrück was not concerned with professional fees, as he sc in December [ Let 2012] explain. " Steinbrück had received in September 2011 for a lecture at the Registry 15 000 euro fee, which caused the end of 2012 for public discussion.