GERMANY Trends and Developments
Trends and Developments Contributed by: Stephan Waldhausen, Moritz Pellmann, Justus Anacker and Cristina Hajek Gross Freshfields
Freshfields has a corporate governance prac - tice defined by its international reach and its ability to provide consistent expert advice on all aspects of corporate governance law across Europe’s major jurisdictions. In Germany, the practice advises public and private compa - nies, as well as supervisory and management boards, on a broad range of governance mat - ters, including board responsibilities, regula - tory compliance and the structuring of gov - ernance frameworks. It is regularly involved in significant corporate events such as mergers, strategic transactions, leadership changes, in -
ternal investigations, and crisis response. With extensive cross-border experience, the practice supports clients in navigating governance is - sues across jurisdictions, ensuring consistency with both German and international legal stand - ards. It also advises on shareholder engage - ment, activism-related matters, and disclosure obligations. The practice’s work is grounded in legal and regulatory analysis, with a focus on enabling sound governance structures and in - formed decision-making in complex and evolv - ing 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 also a trusted adviser to leading blue chip companies in other
Moritz Pellmann is a Freshfields partner who is based in Frankfurt and Berlin. He serves
as co-head of Freshfields’ European Strategic Risk and Corporate Governance group. Moritz is a leading adviser on complex internal investigations and serious compliance incidents, particularly in a cross-border context. He 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.
sectors such as TMT, consumer and health, and energy. He co-leads the firm’s European Strate - gic 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 – fre - quently operating in complex, cross-border, and highly regulated environments. In addition, he regularly and extensively advises management boards and supervisory boards on strategy, corporate governance, directors’ duties, disclo - sure obligations, and compliance-driven investi - gations.
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