GERMANY Trends and Developments
Trends and Developments Contributed by: Stephan Waldhausen, Moritz Pellmann, Justus Anacker and Cristina Hajek Gross Freshfields PartG mbB
Freshfields PartG mbB has a corporate governance practice defined by its international reach and its ability to provide consistent expert advice on all as - pects of corporate governance law across Europe’s major jurisdictions. In Germany, the practice advises public and private companies, as well as supervisory and management boards, on a broad range of gov - ernance matters, including board responsibilities, regulatory compliance and the structuring of govern - ance frameworks. It is regularly involved in significant corporate events, such as mergers, strategic trans -
actions, leadership changes, internal investigations and crisis response. With extensive cross-border experience, the practice supports clients in navigat - ing governance issues across jurisdictions, ensuring consistency with both German and international legal standards. It also advises on shareholder engage - ment, activism-related matters and disclosure obli - gations. The practice’s work is grounded in legal and regulatory analysis, with a focus on enabling sound governance structures and informed decision-mak - ing in complex and evolving regulatory environments.
Authors
Stephan Waldhausen is a partner at Freshfields in Düsseldorf and serves as global co-head of the industrials sector group. He is a trusted adviser to leading blue-chip companies in other sectors, such as TMT, consumer
Moritz Pellmann is a partner at Freshfields, based in Frankfurt and Berlin, and serves as co-head of the European strategic risk and corporate governance group. He is a leading adviser on complex internal
and health, and energy. He co-leads the firm’s European strategic risk and corporate governance group, and plays a leading role in the energy transition. Stephan works with publicly listed companies, private equity funds and leading family- owned businesses on high-stakes public and private M&A transactions, carve-outs, reorganisations, joint ventures and capital markets matters. He regularly advises management boards and supervisory boards on strategy, corporate governance, directors’ duties, disclosure obligations and compliance-driven investigations.
investigations and serious compliance incidents, particularly in a cross-border context, and has extensive experience in advising boards on their fiduciary duties, risk management and governance. Moritz is widely recognised for his role in “bet-the- company” matters, where legal, commercial and reputational risks converge. Clients regularly rely on his sharp analytical judgement, regulatory expertise and ability to deliver business-aligned solutions.
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