Frankfurt

March 2021

Since the beginning of the Brexit process in 2016, Covington’s Brexit Task Force–comprised of over 40 lawyers and former senior diplomats and policymakers, in London, Brussels, Frankfurt, Dublin, and Washington–has advised clients in a wide range of industries on the challenges and opportunities created by this historic event. While the EU-UK negotiations have ...

April 8, 2021, Covington Alert

The German Act on the Stabilization and Restructuring Framework for Companies (StaRUG), implementing the EU Restructuring Directive[1], came into force on 1 January 2021. The StaRUG provides for a new pre-insolvency restructuring procedure that enables companies to restructure their liabilities based on a qualified creditor majority, i.e. with the possibility to ...

March 19, 2021, WirtschaftsWoche

Dr. Henning Bloss is quoted in the WirtschaftsWoche regarding European Stock Exchanges and national capital market regulations. Concerning Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), Mr. Bloss says, “Amsterdam is currently the number one stock exchange in Europe for SPACs.” When asked why German companies move their headquarters to the Netherlands, he says, ...

February 16, 2021

FRANKFURT—WirtschaftsWoche, Germany’s leading business weekly news magazine, has named Covington as one of the “Top Law Firms” for Pharma & Medical Devices law and Dr. Dr. Adem Koyuncu a “Top Lawyer” in Germany. Dr. Dr. Koyuncu is double qualified as a lawyer and medical doctor and a partner in our Brussels and Frankfurt office. He is a chair of the firm's ...

January 2021, Covington Guide

The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (EUTCA) reached on December 24th is a wide-ranging and complex agreement. Our Brexit Task Force offers these "bite-sized" recordings to give a snapshot of what you need to know in each area. Though the EUTCA provides the overall architecture of the future relationship in a number of areas, much of the detail must still ...

December 2020, Practical Law Life Science

October 30, 2020, Covington Alert

So far, restructurings in Germany have been implemented either by way of consensual pre-insolvency solutions or formal and comprehensive insolvency proceedings with court oversight. The EU Restructuring Directive (EU) 2019/1023 of 20 June 2019 paved the way for the implementation of pre-insolvency restructuring proceedings in all EU member states that allow ...

September 4, 2020, Covington Alert

It has been over twenty years since the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention came into force, over a decade since the enactment of the UK Bribery Act, and over three years since the passage of France’s Sapin II law. Alongside those ground-breaking developments have come a host of other measures across the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (“EMEA”) region to strengthen ...

September 2, 2020

BRUSSELS–Covington has named Dan Cooper to lead its European data protection practice as co-chair of the firm’s global Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice, and he has relocated to Brussels to be closer to the institutions and courts that govern the European data privacy landscape. The firm has more than 100 lawyers focused on data privacy and cybersecurity ...

August 8, 2020, Börsen-Zeitung

Summer 2020

Covington's European privacy team offers insights on the current state of play with respect to the intersection of European data privacy laws, and the transition around Europe and further abroad as government lockdown restrictions are lifted and companies begin to plan their return-to-work programs. In this on-demand briefing, we cover the guidance and positions ...

July 2, 2020, Global Investigations Review

Robert Henrici is quoted in Global Investigations Review regarding Wirecard’s €2 billion accounting scandal. Mr. Henrici says ultimately, it is too early to assign responsibility to any particular party for the Wirecard scandal and warned against knee-jerk reforms. “We don’t know what BaFin did to investigate [Wirecard] and it’s clear now that criminal conduct ...

July 2020, Practical Law Life Sciences

July 2020, Practical Law Life Sciences

June 30, 2020, Börsen-Zeitung

June 27, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington represented Piramal Enterprises Limited (PEL) in the sale of a 20% stake in Piramal Pharma Limited (Piramal Pharma), a wholly owned subsidiary of PEL that will contain its pharmaceutical businesses, to CA Clover Intermediate II Investments, an affiliated entity of CAP V Mauritius Limited, an investment fund managed and advised by affiliated ...

June 25, 2020, Covington Alert

The German Federal Government has adopted the draft of a German Associations Sanctions Act ("VerSanG-E") which now bears the name "Law to strengthen integrity in business". The Federal Government has thus adopted the draft bill of 22 April 2020 proposed by the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) without any changes. Parliament ...

June 25, 2020, Financial Times

Horst Henschen is quoted in the Financial Times regarding Germany’s investment into CureVac, a biopharmaceutical company attempting to find a COVID-19 vaccine. Mr. Henschen says, “Kuka was the trigger, but it’s a general policy shift. Ten years ago, Germany, an export country, was very much for globalization and no one thought of introducing hurdles. The shift ...

June 18, 2020, Global Competition Review

Horst Henschen and Peter Camesasca spoke with Global Competition Review about the European Union’s new tools to address competitive distortion. Mr. Henschen says the supervisory authority will have “very broad powers to intervene.” The idea that the commission should be the competent supervisory authority may also “lead to a lively debate.” Mr. Camesasca says ...

June 17, 2020, New York Times

Horst Henschen spoke with the New York Times about Europe’s plan to keep Chinese-backed companies from acquiring cheap assets during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Henschen says the measures would give European officials “very broad powers.”

June 10, 2020, Covington Alert

The German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof - BGH) confirmed in a decision of May 7, 2020 (file number IX ZB 56/19) that distressed debt traders have the unrestricted right to inspect insolvency files.

June 2020, Privacy Laws & Business

May 29, 2020, Covington Alert

In this update, we provide an overview of a number of recent international developments in the area of business and human rights ("BHR"). While public policy and corporate agendas have slowed in the past several months as a result of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been recent indications that key stakeholders—including governments, ...

Spring 2020, Covington Guide

As businesses across Europe prepare to reopen following the COVID-19 lockdown, Covington is providing practical resources and guidance on the broad array of issues companies face as employees return to the workplace, including employment, privacy, competition, policy, environmental and regulatory considerations at the EU level, with a focus on Germany and the ...

May 20, 2020, Covington Alert

In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, there have been significant recent developments in Germany with respect to business interruption insurance and short-time working compensation.

May 5, 2020, Covington Alert

Every new team entering the Berlaymont to head up the European Commission starts out with bold and ambitious plans. Time after time, reality intervenes, and their plans are upended. This was true for the second Barroso Commission in 2010, when the aftershocks of the Global Financial Crisis and the Greek and Euro crisis that followed came to dominate their ...

April 27, 2020, Global Competition Review

Peter Camesasca is quoted in Global Competition Review regarding a  controversial deal, which was approved by Germany’s Federal Cartel Office, between a pair of locomotive manufacturers. Mr. Camesasca says the case will prove to be a “relevant precedent” because the FCO “came out purely on competition grounds.” Despite heightened awareness regarding foreign ...

April 17, 2020, Politico

Horst Henschen and Peter Camesasca spoke with Politico about the European Commission’s push to make foreign investment screening less national and more European. However, Italy is not conforming to the idea. Mr. Henschen says, “I hope this is really due to the corona crisis and that things will go back to normality, as otherwise there will be apparent conflicts ...

April 14, 2020, Juve

Horst Henschen is quoted in Juve regarding the German government’s move to tighten controls of foreign direct investment in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Henschen says, “The criticism from the economy is partially understandable, especially with regard to the enforcement ban for the acquisition of companies in critical infrastructures. In contrast to ...

April 8, 2020, Global Investigations Review

Robert Henrici is quoted in Global Investigations Review regarding the German Federal Tax Office’s order to banks to repay the taxes that they allegedly evaded through cum-ex trades. Mr. Henrici says, “If a tax is demanded what does this mean for the option of disgorgement? These conversations will occupy courts for many more years.”

April 7, 2020, Covington Alert

The German government has set up a protective shield for enterprises financially affected by the crisis, which, in addition to short-time work compensation (“Kurzarbeitergeld”), tax and social security deferrals and already existing federal state guarantee programs, establishes a KfW (the German state development bank) credit program and specific further ...

March 25, 2020, Covington Alert

In order to mitigate the effects of the Corona-pandemic on the ability of enterprises to pay their current liabilities, the German parliament has passed a law today containing a set of measures dealing, inter alia, with (i) the obligation to file for insolvency, (ii) certain liability risks of individual directors and managers in connection with a potential ...

March 24, 2020, Covington Alert

COVID-19 is causing significant interruptions to international and domestic trade with implications for commercial contracts. This advisory note discusses a number of applications of German contract law that may provide relief to parties unable to perform their contractual obligations.

March 19, 2020, Covington Alert

January 23, 2020

WASHINGTON—Global Competition Review has once again named Covington to its 2019 "Global Elite," a list of the top 25 firms practicing competition law internationally, as well as including the firm in the list of top ten antitrust litigation practices globally. Now in its 20th year, GCR100 undertakes extensive analysis of antitrust and competition law groups in ...

January 1, 2020, Practical Law

December 19, 2019, Covington Alert

The German legislator has adopted a new Act, implementing the European Second Shareholder Rights Directive which, inter alia, sets forth increased transparency and approval requirements for related party transactions. The new Act will come into force on January 1, 2020.

August 27, 2019

FRANKFURT—WirtschaftsWoche, Germany’s leading business weekly news magazine, has named Covington as the top law firm for IT law and Dr. Lars Lensdorf, a partner in Covington’s Frankfurt office, to its list of top IT lawyers in Germany. Dr. Lensdorf focuses his practice on IT law, outsourcing, digitalization and industry 4.0, IT related bank regulatory matters, ...

August 15, 2019, Computer Law Review International

August 2019, Covington Alert

The ECJ ruled on 14 May 2019 (C-55/18) that Member States must take measures to ensure that employers comply with the minimum rest periods and prevent workers from working in excess of the weekly maximum working hours, including introducing an "objective, reliable and accessible system" to measure daily working time.

July 17, 2019, Covington Alert

On July 9, 2019, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) heard oral argument in Case C-311/18, Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland and Maximillian Schrems (“Schrems II”). The primary question before the ECJ is whether the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses (“SCCs”) are valid for transfers of personal data to the United States.1 Given ...

June 2019, Pharmind

May 10, 2019, Legal Tribune Online

Legal Tribune Online covered Robert Henrici’s move to the firm in Frankfurt. Mythili Raman and Mr. Henrici discussed the firm’s growing White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice.

May 2, 2019

FRANKFURT—Robert Henrici has joined Covington’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice as a partner in Frankfurt. Mr. Henrici’s practice focuses on white collar and regulatory investigations, including investigations related to alleged market manipulation, anti-corruption and sanctions violations, and tax evasion. He complements his white collar work ...

April 5, 2019

WASHINGTON—Covington advised Elbit Systems of America, LLC, a subsidiary of Elbit Systems Ltd., in its definitive agreement with Harris Corporation for the acquisition of Harris' Night Vision business for a purchase price of $350 million. The closing of the transaction is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals. Elbit Systems Ltd. is an international high ...

April 2, 2019, Covington Alert

The German Federal Employment Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht) ruled on February 19, 2019 (Reference number 9 AZR 541/15) that annual vacation entitlement can only be forfeited at the end of a calendar year if the employer previously advised the employee of his/her accrued entitlement and of the deadline by which untaken vacation would be forfeited.

March 11, 2019, Covington Alert

This alert summarizes the major antitrust/competition developments in 2018 and offers a view on what to expect in 2019 in the U.S., EU and China.

March 1, 2019, Covington Alert

Selections of Covington’s Intellectual Property Rights Practice Group for the “Top Ten” most significant and interesting developments in U.S. and European copyright law during 2018.

February 2019, Covington Alert

This International Employment Update summarises recent international employment law developments in China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

January 17, 2019, Juve

Juve covered the arrival of Horst Henschen as a member of the firm’s Antitrust practice in Frankfurt. Juve called Covington “a respected player in merger and antitrust investigations in both the US and Brussels” and highlighted Mr. Henschen as “well connected in the antitrust scene in Frankfurt.”

January 16, 2019, Covington Alert

On December 19, 2018, the German Government decided to further tighten the rules for the control of foreign investments in German companies under the German Foreign Trade Regulation (Außenwirtschaftverordnung, “AWV” - the “Amendment”). Already in July 2017, the German Government adopted stricter rules for the control of foreign investments.

2019, International Comparative Legal Guide to: Enforcement of Foreign Judgments 2019

2019, International Comparative Legal Guide

September 28, 2018

FRANKFURT—Covington advised Investcorp Technology Partners on its acquisition of Berlin-based Softgarden, a human resources software provider. Investcorp is a leading global provider and manager of alternative investments and has $22.6 billion in total assets under management, including assets managed by third party managers and assets subject to a ...

September 28, 2018

FRANKFURT—WirtschaftsWoche, Germany’s leading business weekly, has named Thomas Heymann, a partner in Covington’s Frankfurt office, to its list of Top IT Lawyers in Germany. Mr. Heymann is regarded as one of Germany’s leading technology transactions and private equity lawyers, with decades of experience in IT and outsourcing law. He is the past president of the ...

July 6, 2018

FRANKFURT—Covington advised Senvion Group on the global outsourcing of its IT infrastructure, network, and application services. The outsourcing includes the transformation of the global legacy data center environment into a new hybrid cloud environment. Founded in Germany, Senvion is a global manufacturer of onshore and offshore wind turbines and has installed ...

June 26, 2018, Covington Alert

On June 21, 2018, the European Commission (“Commission”) started a new investigation to determine whether so-called destination clauses in Qatar Petroleum’s liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) supply contracts with European buyers infringe the European Union (“EU”) antitrust rules.

June 20, 2018

SILICON VALLEY—Covington was ranked sixth among “The Best Law Firms for Minority Attorneys” and ranked seventh among “The Best Law Firms for Minority Partners” by Law360 for firms with more than 600 lawyers.  "While there is much progress still to be made, these results are a reflection of Covington's sustained efforts to recruit, mentor, develop, promote, and ...

May 9, 2018

FRANKFURT—Covington advised Adiuva Fund II GmbH & Co. KG, a private equity fund advised by Adiuva Capital GmbH, on the acquisition of nt-trading from private equity investor INVICTO Invest GmbH and various co-investors. Adiuva Capital is a Hamburg-based independent investment firm focused on investing in mid-sized enterprises. nt-trading is headquartered in ...

April 3, 2018, Law360

Timothy Hester and Thomas Heymann are quoted in a Law360 article regarding the opening of Covington's new Frankfurt office. According to Hester, “Covington will offer German companies a unique capability to help them navigate through their most complex and consequential business issues in their most important international markets." He adds, “Our new German team ...

March 28, 2018

LONDON—Covington will open an office in Frankfurt, Germany on April 3 led by eight partners. Frankfurt will be the firm’s third European office and will work closely with the firm’s five offices in the United States, its three offices in Asia, and its offices in the Middle East and Africa. “Covington will offer German companies a unique capability to help them ...

March 28, 2018, The Lawyer

Thomas Heymann and Louise Nash are quoted by The Lawyer in an article highlighting the opening of Covington's Frankfurt office. According to Heymann, “We proudly look back on 12 years as an independent German law firm and we thank our clients for the trust they have placed in us and for the many years of great cooperation. We are convinced that adding ...

March 28, 2018, The National Law Journal

Thomas Heymann and Louise Nash are quoted by The National Law Journal in an article regarding the opening of Covington's new Frankfurt office. “Covington will be a fantastic platform to further develop our technology and transaction practices,” says Heymann. “This will be a great fit.” According to Nash, “There is a strong, untapped opportunity for Covington ...

March 28, 2018, Legal Business

Timothy Hester and Thomas Heymann are quoted in a Legal Business article regarding the opening of Covington's new Frankfurt office. According to Hester, "Our new German team is of outstanding quality and will provide important synergies with the firm, including our London and Brussels offices and will allow us to serve the needs of our clients who have legal ...