90 Years at the Heart of the Economy

Work hard - play hard. We work hard and love our job, but we also enjoy an occasion for a good party. And this year we have a good reason to celebrate:  We are happy and proud of the 90 year history of our office in Freiburg. In 1926, Walter Bappert (1894 -1985) opened his law practice in Freiburg, the origin of our present Freiburg office. Walter Bappert had originally studied philosophy, and served as a cavalry officer during World War I. Afterwards he studied the law and economics and worked for the ministry of finance of Baden for a short while, before he settled as a lawyer. His passion was publishing and copyright law. Since 1932, Walter Bappert was the legal advisor of the Herder publishing house and represented the publishing house vis-à-vis the Reichspropagandaministerium in Berlin, among other. After World War II, Walter Bappert became the legal advisor of the publishers and booksellers of the French occupation zone and subsequently the advisor of the publisher and bookseller association of the three Western zones. In addition, he advised companies and associations, such as the German Caritas Association, and also functioned as the legal department of the ministry of finance of Baden. In 1946, Paul Witz joined Walter Bappert as a partner and in 1960 Paul Selbherr. From 1964 until 2001, the Freiburg office had the name Bappert, Witz & Selbherr. During this period, the office became one of the leading law firms in Baden-Württemberg. In 1990, an office in Brussels was opened and in 1991 one in Dresden.

At the turn of the millennium, the Freiburg partners – following their clients - decided to go trans-regional and to look out for partners in other economic regions of Germany. The anticipated partners were to have a flawless reputation, do an outstanding job, be economically successful and also make a good personal match! Our partner Gerhard Manz approached Friedrich Graf von Westphalen from Cologne, whom he knew well through the working group international legal relations of the German Lawyers’ Association and in 2002 this became the beginning of a national law firm. The new positioning has proven to be a big success: in particular larger companies from all over Baden-Wuerttemberg and beyond, as well as international companies were won as clients in the following years. At present, approximately 200 persons, approximately 80 of which are lawyers, work in the Freiburg, Cologne and Frankfurt offices of Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner. In addition, we have cooperation offices and a network of partner law firms in all important economic regions of the world.

1926, the year Walter Bappert founded his law practice in Freiburg, was the year in which Ford started its production of the T-model in Germany. A lot has changed since then. In 1956 the first advertising spot was broadcasted on German TV, in 1986 the first mobile phones entered the market, and 2016 is characterized by globalization and digitalization. Each generation has and had its own legal issues. And we are always at the heart of the economy: first Bappert, then BWS and now Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner.

In 2016, the economy is on the brink of the fourth industrial revolution. Driven by the internet, the real world and the virtual world are merging into an internet of things. The digitalization offers huge opportunities: new business models and optimization potential for production and logistics can be made accessible. However, the change is also a great challenge. Those who do not participate in it are at risk to be run over by young enterprises with new ideas, products and services. Businesses such as Kodak and Nokia used to be the world market leaders and are now (nearly) extinct. On the other hand, some of the largest and most valuable businesses worldwide did not even exist 20 years ago. A lot has also changed for us lawyers, both with respect to the legal issues that we have to deal with and our working practices. Digital dictating, virtual data rooms, online research and social media have long been part of our day-to-day practice. Standard contracts from the internet, the legal analysis of facts conducted by computers and online arbitration proceedings for consumer disputes are just around the corner. In 2016, our firm will implement a new software, which will prepare us for these developments.

On the occasion of our 90 year anniversary we would like to address the changes that the digitalization and networking of our world have brought to our lives, as well as questions about the fourth industrial revolution (industry 4.0). The kick-off event will be our birthday party on

7 June 2016 at 6 p.m.

in our Freiburg office. For this occasion we have invited Prof. Dr. Lars P. Feld, economist at the Freiburg University and head of the Walter-Eucken-Institute. He will explain his point of view and give us an insight into the future. Lars Feld is a Member of the German Council of Economic Experts and therefore an advisor of the German government. We hope to learn from him how we can create a better environment for business start-ups, what role digitalization and industry 4.0 will play in our future and how businesses can cope with the changes, so that the German economy can assert its position in a world that is constantly changing, and so that we can tackle the next 90 years with optimism. Always at the heart of the economy.

We would be happy to greet you at our anniversary party. Please contact Christine Töpper (christine.toepper@fgvw.de), if you are interested in coming.

Contact: Barbara Mayer