Corporate Clients

„Lawyers are the camels merchants ride to their business ventures.“

– Wehrhan

Company Law

We advise company shareholders and companies in all areas of company law, independent of whether they are incorporated or private companies. Our consultancy services are always focused on finding commercially and legally suitable solutions for whichever phase the company or shareholder finds itself. A start-up company pursues different objectives from an old established family-owned company. Finding a balance between questions of liability, costs of sustaining a company and taxation aspects generally points toward the best possible result, giving the client an assured and sustainable future. Whether it’s drafting, examining or further developing corporate or internal documents, the preparation of shareholder meetings, advice on capital measures, company transformation processes or employment and liability questions of corporate bodies, we at GRIP LEGAL will find the best solution to pursue your objectives. We also specialize in advising on shareholder disputes. Here it is crucial to appoint a calm, strategically and legally experienced adviser who does not lose sight of the importance of keeping the company afloat no matter how intense the dispute, while energetically promoting the interests of the shareholder he is representing.

Mergers & Acquisitions

We have many years of experience from a multitude of small-cap and mid-cap transactions. Whether it’s a succession issue in a smaller national company or a bigger international transaction, we are the right partner for you. We advise you how to plan and implement the transaction from A-Z and represent both the seller and the buyer. You can rely on the tactful dexterity of GRIP LEGAL to negotiate and implement your interests from the structuring of the transaction and the drafting of an information memorandum to the conclusion of agreements on and implementation of due diligence, the organization of data rooms, negotiating letters of intent, right through to final contractual documentation including all subcontracts and registrations. And GRIP LEGAL can advise, not just on the law, but also on the tax side of the transaction. A particular specialty of GRIP LEGAL is providing consultancy services to private equity companies. GRIP LEGAL also advises on the formation of joint ventures with a view to creating a long-term, constructive and successful cooperation between joint-venture parties.

Trade and Distribution Law

Trade law is complex and multilayered. GRIP LEGAL can advise you in all areas of trade law. We can draw up, negotiate and implement national or international trade and supply contracts or represent and advise you in the case of trade disputes in national state courts, national or international courts of arbitration. Apart from drawing up general commercial contracts for operational activities, e.g. in the form of buying, supplying, production, outsourcing, service or development contracts, with corresponding framework agreements, a particular focus of GRIP LEGAL is on distribution law. Here we advise both on distribution systems, e.g. franchise systems, commercial agency contracts, distributor agreements and on the implementation of claims and defending against them. The focus is often on sales agent indemnification claims and their analog application to other distribution agents. GRIP LEGAL also advises on transport law as well as the formulation and adaptation of general buying, sales and business conditions. Last but not least, we can also advise and represent you on hedging specific commercial risks, e.g. purchase price hedging, security rights to products, etc.

General Civil Law

The legal side of entrepreneurial activity is multifaceted, and GRIP LEGAL keeps right up-to-date with the latest developments. This applies to labor law issues, the drafting of contracts and general business terms and conditions, enforcing claims and collecting on debts, tenancy or real estate-related legal questions, warranty claims under purchase or contract law, financing contracts, service contracts or private construction law. We advise our clients in all these areas and represent their interests in legal disputes. In a first step, we analyze your case with you together, agree on the objectives to be achieved and discuss the opportunities and risks involved. Wherever the specialist knowledge of GRIP LEGAL’s own lawyers does not suffice, or the case cannot be dealt with efficiently by GRIP LEGAL’s lawyers, we offer our clients the GRIP LEGAL interface solution, i.e. advisory services by suitable consultants or external specialists. So you can be sure your case will be handled efficiently and with the required quality.

Product Liability Law

Apart from warrantees and general liability, product liability law is a constant area of risk for manufacturing companies. We advise manufacturers pre-emptively during the product development phase and during production to avoid liability cases. In doing so, we focus particularly on identifying possible dangers of the product and formulating instruction and warning information. If the worst case happens, we provide comprehensive support of companies from the very first minute, i.e. not just in the development of a legal strategy in an individual case, including the question of whether a product has to be recalled, but also in the equally important areas of internal and external communication and the possibility of an amicable settlement of liability cases. If a legal dispute with claimants cannot be avoided, we assist the manufacturer in compiling relevant items of proof and choosing suitable expert witnesses. Our consulting services also draw on many years of experience dealing with product liability law in the United States of America, which differs considerably from European product liability law in many respects. For companies operating in the U.S.A. we also offer pre-emptive advice and act as the first point of contact in a worst-case scenario.

Banking and Capital Markets Law

In banking law we advise companies and entrepreneurs dealing with banks and savings banks, especially in the context of financing, i.e. concluding loan agreements, the provision of collateral, credit processing and defending against impending foreclosure. We also support clients by enforcing claims from bank contracts and preventing money-laundering. Within the framework of our capital markets legal consulting services we specialize in representing financial service providers, funds and board/supervisory board members defending against claims by investors.

Compliance

Our consulting services in the area of compliance begin with a pre-emptive risk analysis to avoid liability cases, claims for damages and investigative measures by authorities. We help companies establish a Compliance Management System (CMS) and other important instruments, like e.g. whistleblower channels and formulating internal guidelines or regular staff training measures. In accordance with our consultancy principles, we act prudently, focusing on efficiency to minimize risks to the company, its organs and staff members with a justifiable investment in time and effort. In a worst-case scenario, we are your partner for internal investigations and strategic advice. This also includes close cooperation with specialist criminal law firms whose quality we know from long years of cooperation and whom we propose to our clients as consultants on an individual basis.

Competition Law

In competition law we advise companies in both directions: when competitors or unfair competition practices associations make claims for injunction, information or damages, we develop a defense strategy in cooperation with the client and implement it rigorously. In the case of anti-competitive behavior and product plagiarism by competitors we proceed against such infringements, strictly enforcing claims with written warnings, injunctions and competition law proceedings. As such cases are always time-sensitive we put the required staff capacities in place and can be reached around the clock. In international cases our services include the provision of enforcement options abroad. With a view to avoiding infringements, we support companies by reviewing advertising messages and product developments from a competition law perspective.