• Company Law
• Banking and Finance
• Tax Law
• EU Law and Competition Law
• Foundations, Associations, Societies
• Sports Law
• Litigation and Arbitration

Commercial and Corporate Law

Our advice on company law extends to every form of business organisation, corporations as well as partnerships. We advice especially in:

• AGs (stock corporations), GmbHs (private limited companies), GmbH & Co. KGs (limited partnerships) 
• Legal and tax structuring for business successions 
• Law governing groups, especially intercompany agreements 
• Raising and maintenance of capital 
• Corporate governance 
• Preparation and support in conducting AGMs, especially for publicly listed companies

In the area of commercial law we can provide you with support on all contract and business-related questions especially in the following fields:

• Distribution law 
• Commercial agency law
• Law on general terms and conditions of business
• Insurance law 
• Contracts for the sale and purchase of goods, contracts for work and services and frame delivery contracts 
• Business lease and business management agreements

Mergers and Acquisitions

We advise medium-sized businesses and international groups on buying and selling businesses and shareholdings at a national and international level. The scope of our work also covers:

• Joint ventures 
• Restructuring 
• Private equity 
• Venture capital

We have particular experience in the following sectors: media, publishing houses, automotive industry, electronics and telecommunications, life sciences, breweries, mechanical engineering, chemical, tourism, financial services and structural and civil engineering.

Privatisation

Our team of privatisation experts specialises on the participation of private partners in businesses from the utilities and waste management sector, local and long-distance transportation services, health care and basic care including any associated restructuring. We advise the Federal Government, Länder (states) and local authorities as well as companies in the utilities and waste management sector, whether they be public, private or public-private partnerships. Our services include in particular: 

• Implementing structured competitive bid procedures for privatising businesses 
• Structuring corporate governance, especially decisionmaking powers and responsibilities between public and private partners 
• Liaising with supervisory and competition authorities, the fiscal authorities and other decision-making authorities about legal structures and transactions
• Public commercial law and procurement law 
• Utilities and waste management law (energy law, water law, sewage and waste law, public transportation law, hospital law etc.) 
• Employment and human resources law 
• Special financing instruments such as, e.g. forfaiting payment for services etc.

Insolvency and Reorganisation

• Restructuring measures under corporate and labour law
• Insolvency-resistant transfer of trust assets (CTA)
• Incorporation and structuring of rescue (shell) companies
• Participation of further investors
• External financing and loan collaterals
• Liquidation of companies
• Preparation of statements of over-indebtedness
• Institution of insolvency planning proceedings
• Avoiding the liability of executive bodies
• Enforcement of creditors’ interests in case of corporate insolvency

Our specialists will provide you with support in all legal questions concerning financial and capital markets. Amongst others, the scope of our services includes the following:

• Equity financing
  - Private equity
  - Venture capital
  - Silent partnerships
  - Profit participation rights, convertible bonds  
• Debt financing
  - Project finance
  - Acquisition finance
  - Real estate finance
• Leasing  
• IPOs/SPOs 
• Private placements
• Bonds, convertible bonds 
• Warrants/certificates
• Bank regulatory and banking secrecy
• Insurance regulatory and contract law

Our tax law team offers legal advice for:

Investment Tax and Regulation Law

• Legal review of tax and regulatory aspects of investment products
• Approval of foreign investment funds for public sale

Structural Advice

• Advice for special tax measures (e.g. optimization of exposure to property transfer tax, VAT advice)
• Tax-related development and fund structure review
• Advice for foreign tax and double taxation convention issues
• Relocation of company headquarters and management, complete company relocation to other countries
• Tax law implications for succession planning

Transaction Counseling

• Tax-due-diligence reviews
• Structuring of company acquisitions and sales
• Structuring of real estate acquisitions and sales
• Tax-specific support for employee equity programs
• Structuring of funding measures

Tax Criminal Law

Tax Forensics

Tax-related and legal advice for domestic and foreign investment funds and other investment products is one of our special couseling focuses.

The specialists in our competition team can advise you on every aspect of German and EU competition law. We have particular experience in numerous industrial and services sectors as well as close contacts to competition authorities and officials. Our expertise encludes, in particular, advising in the field of:

• Merger control 
• Cartels and concerted practices 
• Abusive practices 
• Licensing, R&D and distribution agreements 
• Fines and damages for infringements of competition law
• Subsidies and state aid
• Guidance in all forms for compliance with these and other aspects of competition law

We also have special expertise in the field of anti-dumping law.

We support non-profit organisations and their initiatives through:

• Advice on establishment
• Structural planning for independent and dependent foundations
• Advice on fundraising (Donations, Sponsoring, etc.)
• Drafting articles of association and tax exemption rules (§§ 51 et seq Fiscal Code)
• Defining ideal objectives, administering of assets and economic business operations
• Sale and spin-off of tax privileged and economic business operations
• Advice for economic business operations
• Coordination with regulatory and financial authorities
  

BEITEN BURKHARDT's sports law team attends to the special legal issues pertaining to sports, and the numerous challenges resulting from the way sports have been professionalized and commercialized in the last 50 years. Modern sports law is more than just the legal side of the rules for a specific sport, associationor or organzation. It includes general contractual and corporate laws, competition and antitrust law, intellectual property rights, as well as employment and labour, tax and insurance law. In the search for alternative financing methods, capital market and stock exchange laws are also becoming increasingly important.

Our fields of practical experience include:

• Structuring and negotiation of contracts relating to TV and media law, as well as marketing law
• Organization of bid invitations, drafting and negotiation of contracts for the establishment of sports venues
• Tax-related counsel, especially in the field of non-profit events
• Drafting and negotiation of contracts between international sports associattions
• Creation and review of constitutions/rules and regulations for national and international associations, including the establishment and management of an arbitrating body
• Long-term counsel for international sports associations for numerous disputes and non-disputable issues, including issues related to employment and labour, tax, trademark and insurance law
• Arbitration and litigation at the international court of artibration for sport (CAS) in Lausanne
• National and international litigation before courts of law

Our specialists for dispute resolution have many years of experience in:

• Representing clients in the ordinary courts including appeal actions (Anfechtungsklagen) and evaluation proceedings(Spruchstellenverfahren) 
• Representing clients in arbitration and adjudication proceedings 
• Acting as a neutral arbitrator 
• Mediation
  

Last update: 08. May 2008