Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner Opens Office in Berlin with Professionals from BRL

Amidst the Corona crisis, we are sending a courageous signal as the partnership pursues its growth strategy with the inauguration of a new office in Berlin on May 1, 2020. We have been able to win Alexander Hartmann (43) and Oliver Ehrmann (47), previously partners of the Berlin office of BRL, to manage the expansion in the capital. They will move together with two associates and a team in the area of tax compliance. In the coming months, Jörg Michael Siecke (52), a further partner from BRL specialized in real estate transactions, will also move to FGvW together with an associate.

With the establishment of our fourth office in Germany, we continue our consistent growth strategy of recent years. In close association with the other offices in Freiburg, Cologne and Frankfurt, the Berlin office will provide international advisory and in particular a hub for startup consulting, venture capital and participation through private equity funds. In addition, the FGvW team around Oliver Ehrmann will in future offer a full range of services in the area of tax structuring and tax compliance. The practice areas of private equity and company law will also be further strengthened.

"Berlin is the focal point for the startup scene, private equity and venture capital investors in Germany. The establishment of our own office in Berlin is therefore an important step to further expand our dynamic M&A business. The same is true for our strongly growing transaction practice in the area of real estate. We are very happy that we have been able to win an experienced team for this area with excellent market connections", explains Barbara Mayer, Managing Partner of FGvW. "The Berlin office will also be a focal point for the policy-relevant consulting services of FGvW, which in particular plays an increasingly decisive role in the areas of public commercial law (Olaf Konzak) and pharmacy law (Morton Douglas)", adds Co-Managing Partner Carsten Laschet.

The new partners from the reputed law firm BRL had played an important role in the reestablishment of the Berlin office since 2014. "At FGvW we will be in a position to offer our clients a diverse range of international expertise at a national level ", Alexander Hartmann and Oliver Ehrmann were pleased to explain. "We were especially convinced by the entrepreneurial orientation, flexibility and dynamism at FGvW together with its commitment to quality which is well known in the field. In the area of transactions, FGvW enjoys an excellent reputation especially with startups and the same is true for financing in a national and international context."

Alexander Hartmann started his career as a lawyer at K&L Gates in 2007. The core areas of his activities are M&A, venture capital and real estate transactions including the respective financial and legal aspects. At the same time he has become specialised in the technology sector. He has especially good connections within the Berlin PE/VC scene and advises investors and also the respective target companies.

Oliver Ehrmann has worked as a lawyer since 2007 and then from 2012 also as a tax consultant at Olswang und Dentons, prior to moving to BRL in 2015. At BRL he established a tax team at the Berlin office of the law firm. The focus of his consulting services is the tax structuring of transactions (M&A, venture capital, real estate) and continuous consulting services for digital companies and private clients. He has a wide network of clients in the Berlin startup sector and in particular advises international investors and family offices on their German investments.

Jörg Michael Siecke started his career as a lawyer in 2001 in the newly opened Hamburg office of GSK Stockmann before moving to its Berlin office in 2004. In 2014 he moved to BRL and became a partner. He especially advises domestic and international institutional investors and their asset managers in the area of real estate transactions. His main focus is real estate used for commercial purposes and in particular the asset classes of retail and light industrial.

From his base in Berlin, partner Jörg Michael Siecke will work closely together with our real estate practice around the partners Uwe Steingröver, Arnt Göppert and Markus Beaumart in Cologne, Tom Erdt in Frankfurt and also Volker Stehlin and Friederike Schäffler in Freiburg. "At FGvW we can provide legal consulting and tax structuring services for large cross-border real estate transactions. The international positioning of FGvW with its strong network of partner law firms in all important industrial countries opens up excellent opportunities for growth."

For Alexander Hartmann, Oliver Ehrmann and Jörg Michael Siecke the move to FGvW opens up good prospects for the future: "We have made a conscious decision to join Friedrich Graf von Westphalen, a leading German law firm with an excellent professional reputation and strong international orientation. The numerous international cooperation partners on the one hand and the partnership approach and lean structure on the other hand are a convincing model which opens up many opportunities and which is also correspondingly attractive for our associates", note Hartmann, Ehrmann and Siecke.

Contact persons:

Carsten Laschet
Lawyer, partner
Tel.: + 49 221 208070 | Email: carsten.laschet@fgvw.de

Dr. Barbara Mayer
Lawyer, partner
Tel.: +49 761 21808314 | Email: barbara.mayer@fgvw.de

Dr. Alexander Hartmann
Lawyer, partner
Mobile: +49 179 5159092 | Email: alexander.hartmann@fgvw.de

Oliver Ehrmann
Lawyer, specialist lawyer for tax law, tax consultant, partner
Mobile: +49 151 58550220 | Email: oliver.ehrmann@fgvw.de