JUVE Handbook 2016/2017: GvW Graf von Westphalen climbs in ranking for the second year in a row

GvW Graf von Westphalen is continuing its dynamic development and climbed one step in the ranking of the top 50 law firms for the second year in a row. This is the result of the research of the publisher JUVE which has now been published in the Handbook for Commercial Law Firms 2016/2017.  

The management under the lead of Christof Kleinmann and Dr Robert Theissen which has already successfully guided the law firm for the fourth term of office has started an "upward spiral" with its "team oriented approach". "Hardly any law firm has experienced such a clear change in its corporate culture in the last five years," writes the Handbook.

According to the JUVE ranking, GvW, as a full service law firm, is among the leading law firms in Germany in ever more practice areas. In addition to the fields of employment law, foreign trade, state aid, banking, the energy industry, corporate law, real estate and private construction law (including commercial leases, real estate transactions and notarial services), IT (incl. data protection), capital markets law, antitrust law, food regulation law, M&A, the law governing the press and free speech, project development and planned instruction, environment and planning, public contracting, constitutional and administrative law as well as sales systems, the law firm is also recommended for the fields of compliance, insolvency and restructuring as well as private equity/venture capital. Personal recommendations have also been published for 16 different attorneys in the law firm.

This is also the first time that all GvW offices are represented in the overall ranking. The young Düsseldorf office opened in the year 2012 is new in the top 50, and the editors of JUVE in Cologne recommended Düsseldorf office for several practice areas, including foreign trade, construction law, corporate/M&A, energy, healthcare, environmental and planning law and public contracting.  

The editorial board also noted with regard to international practice that the law firm has "increasing levels of cross-border work". The strengths of the M&A team are said to include "mid-size transactions often with an international connection". At the same time, JUVE emphasized cross-border deals in the energy industry, international construction and real estate projects and the regular involvement in international arbitration proceedings in matters involving distributorship law. The "convincing" German-Chinese practice, according to JUVE, is one of the "more established practices in the market" and was able "to secure a considerable volume of deals last year" in its Shanghai office.

GvW is now the only firm in the highest level of ranking for foreign trade since this edition of the Handbook. This documents that the team led by Dr. Lothar Harings has succeeded in again substantially expanding its leading position in the market. The foreign trade and customs practice group is said to be characterized by "the high degree of specialization, established contacts with public authorities, experience before the courts and an international network", writes JUVE. GvW is the only law firm in which the practice was recommended in the three sub-areas relating to compliance, foreign trade, export controls and customs matters.  

According to the JUVE editorial board, the greatest development has been in the law firm's IT and data protection practice. The team, which provides advice on all aspects of digitalization, outsourcing as well as data protection, improved by two categories in the rankings. The interface with public contracting law and advice for governmental authorities in connection with implementing the e-Government laws was also emphasized.