SZA Schilling, Zutt & Anschütz

Managing Partners: Jochem Reichert, Hans-Joachim Hellmann, Stephan Scherer, Thomas Liebscher, Thomas Nägele, Stephan Brandes, Martin Feick, Marc Löbbe, Hans-Georg Berg, Nicolas Ott, Christian Gehling, Michaela Balke, Silvio Cappellari, Christoph Nolden, Katharina Steinbrück, Thomas Oberle, Markus Pfüller, Peter Bauschatz, Dietrich Stiller, Stefan Zeyher, Marc-Philippe Hornung, Oliver Schröder, Jonas Fischbach, Ben Steinbrück, Martin Kolbinger, Martin Gross-Langenhoff, Michael Molitoris, Cäcilie Lüneborg, Christoph Allmendinger, Philipp Rüppell, Jan Friedrichson, Stefan Mendelin, Stephanie Birmanns, André Reinhard, Florian Schuhmacher, Ilja Baudisch, Andreas Herr

Number of partners: 36

Number of lawyers: 120+ (including partners)

Offices: Frankfurt, Mannheim, Munich, Brussels

Firm Overview:

SZA Schilling, Zutt & Anschütz has been one of the leading law firms in Germany for more than 100 years. With offices in Frankfurt, Mannheim, Munich and Brussels, the firm advises national and international clients on complex corporate and commercial law issues. SZA's clients include major enterprises, family businesses and high net worth individuals. Each of its practices is highly regarded, stands for a commitment to excellence and its lawyers are recognised for their high professional standards.

Main Areas of Practice:

Corporate/M&A:

Transactions and restructurings form an important part of the firm’s corporate and M&A practice. SZA advises enterprises on both public and private domestic or international M&A transactions, joint-ventures, mergers, demergers, spin-offs, changes of corporate form, corporate finance matters, and similar corporate matters. Another focal point of the firm’s corporate law practice is representation in corporate disputes. Additionally, the firm provides general consultation to executives and board members regarding, inter alia, corporate governance, the preparation of shareholders’ meetings and legislation.

Tax:

The firm’s consultation covers a broad range of corporate taxation including VAT, customs duties, tax audits, international taxation, structuring acquisitions and divestments on the national as well as international scale, reorganisations and restructurings. Other services include the analysis of financial products, cooperation with clients’ tax advisors and representation before financial courts.

Compliance, Internal Investigations:

SZA offers a broad range of advice in a number of compliance-related legal fields such as corporate law, capital markets law, labour law, antitrust law, ESG matters and data protection law. The firm assists its clients, inter alia, in identifying the relevant compliance standards, defining internal compliance guidelines and the implementation of these guidelines.

Capital Markets:

SZA advises domestic and international issuers and underwriters on transactions, e.g. IPOs, capital increases or the issuance of convertible bonds. Another focus of SZA’s practice in this area is advising board members in connection with follow-up obligations under capital markets law, e.g. the prohibition of insider trading or voting rights notifications.

Banking & Finance:

SZA advises in all kinds of financing transactions such as syndicated loans, acquisition financing, real estate financing and project financing. SZA also assists its clients with developing and implementing tax efficient financing structures. SZA’s expertise in financial law further comprises advice on general banking and supervisory law.

Competition:

SZA advises both domestic and international clients on all aspects of German and European competition law. In the merger control area, the firm represents clients before the European Commission and the German Federal Cartel Office. Moreover, the firm has particular expertise as regards internal cartel audits as well as the representation of clients in cartel proceedings before competition authorities and courts.

Litigation & Arbitration:

SZA represents its clients in a wide range of commercial and corporate disputes concerning, e.g., nullification actions, shareholder actions and general commercial/trade disputes or product liability matters. The firm also provides representation and consultation in approval and release proceedings and interim relief. Other important areas include post M&A-related disputes.

Labour:

The firm represents and consults businesses in, inter alia, designing and drafting employment agreements and other internal employment matters as well as in negotiating payment plans with unions. SZA represents its clients before arbitration committees and in labour litigation in all judicial instances.

Intellectual Property/IT:

The firm’s attorneys cover all relevant areas of intellectual and industrial property law and related disputes, such as patent law, trademark law, copyright law, press and media law, competition law and data protection law. Further services include advice for businesses on complex IT and outsourcing projects.

Private Clients:

SZA offers a wide range of legal advice for its domestic and international private clients in all legal and tax aspects of their assets including estate law (also regarding anticipated succession), art laws and laws for culturally valuable goods, matrimonial law, property law, tax law, corporate law and foundation law.

Public & Administrative:

The firm’s public and administrative law practice offers, in addition to general consultation and representation in this field, support in the public law aspects of M&A transactions, e.g. regarding ESG matters.

Real Estate:

Some of the firm’s focal points in real estate are the tax-optimised structuring and execution of, real estate transactions, identification of real estate specific risks, such as environmental issues as well as the drafting and negotiation of property purchase agreements.

Restructuring:

The firm advises clients on business acquisition and sales in crises and out of insolvency as well as on restructuring measures such as debt-equity swaps or the acquisition of non-performing loans.