Civil Claims

Germany has a unified legal system and the same code of civil procedure governs all legal actions before the courts, no matter where in Germany. As a result, civil litigation in Germany has much more predictable outcomes than litigation conducted in common law jurisdictions. In particular, there is no costly and time-consuming discovery process which must be completed before an action will be heard by the court. Instead, German civil litigation is court-driven and the presiding judge determines which evidence and witnesses will be heard. Accordingly, initial submissions must be on point and contain all evidence relied on in order to make a compelling case.

We have considerable experience gained in launching and defending legal proceedings for foreign clients and their German subsidiaries at both the District and Appeal Court levels in Munich and other major German cities, including Berlin, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf. We are able to make service of foreign court proceedings on defendants in Germany as well as to structure and enforce complex settlements involving cross-border litigants. A further service is to apply for recognition of and enforce judgments rendered by foreign courts in Germany. We also have experience in the mediation or arbitration of cross-border claims.

Due to our breadth of experience before the German courts, we are able to provide clients faced with legal proceedings in Germany with an assessment of their legal position and chances for success as well as a clear understanding of every step of the legal process they will face in Germany.

Our services in German litigation matters include providing legal opinions on the prospects of success of a claim, taking into account relevant German limitation periods; preparing and serving demand letters; preparing and issuing statements of claim, statements of defense, and other submissions; making and structuring settlement offers in accordance with the German rules of civil procedure as well as enforcing judgment against defendants in Germany.

[For further assistance, please download our questionnaire under CONTACT]