Udo Simmat

Dr. Patrick Certa chiefly advises clients on matters of corporate law as well as Mergers & Acquisitions transactions and corporate financing. In this context, he represents regionally, nationally as well as internationally active firms in Germany and abroad during the restructuring of companies and corporate groups as well as in the formulation and negotiation of contracts. Patrick Certa also acts as a litigator in court proceedings in the aforementioned areas of expertise.

Timo Alte studied law at the University of Würzburg where he also obtained his doctorate (Dr. jur.). He undertook his legal training in Düsseldorf and also a legal internship in Sydney/Australia. Timo Alte lectures trainee lawyers on corporate law for the Stuttgart Bar Association, is a member of the Working Group on Commercial and Corporate Law of the German Bar Association (DAV) and of the Corporate Law Association (VGR).

Before he joined our law firm, Dr. Norbert Hebeis headed the EU trademark department of a large US company (pharmaceuticals, consumer products) for ten years. He has been a partner of FGvW for 16 years and specializes in trademark and design litigation and prosecution, unfair competition litigation and counselling. His international key clients are Novartis (pharma), Wilkinson Sword (razors), erima (sportswear), Gloster (furniture) and Haufe-Lexware (publishing house).

Christian Aufdermauer studied law at the University of Tübingen and the University of Lausanne (antitrust law). He took his doctorate in insolvency law at the University of Passau (Dr. jur.) and is a member of the Antitrust Lawyers Association (Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht), the German Society for Distribution Law and the Working Group for International Business Law of the German Bar Association (DAV)

Moritz Burwick is Partner at the Ebner Stolz office in Karlsruhe, Germany. He was admitted as a lawyer in 2011 and as a tax consultant in 2014 and is a member of the Corporate/M&A service line. Moritz Burwick advises clients in all areas of corporate law. His work focuses in particular on providing legal advice to medium-sized companies and their shareholders on M&A transactions, reorganisations (mergers, spin-offs, changes of legal form, collapse mergers) and start-up investments. Th...

Volker Schwarz is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law. Volker practices law in Stuttgart, Germany Best Lawyers has recognized Volker Schwarz since 2025. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Volker Schwarz is held by other lawyers.

Lukas Kalkbrenner is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area of Intellectual Property Law. Lukas practices law in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany Best Lawyers has recognized Lukas Kalkbrenner since 2027. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Lukas Kalkbrenner is held by other lawyers.

Gert Brandner studied international business law at the University of Freiburg and the University of Aberdeen. Whilst studying for his doctorate (Dr. jur.), Gert Brandner was an assistant at the Department of Business law of Professor Blaurock in Freiburg. Gert Brandner is a member of the International Bar Association (IBA) and of the German Arbitration Institute (DIS). He is a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences in Esslingen and at the Stuttgart Bar Association.

Dr. Claudia Pleßke advises national and international companies on corporate and transactional law. In this connection, she advises companies mainly from the automotive, aerospace, pharmaceutical and food industries, on national and cross-border M&A transactions and in recent years increasingly on Chinese outbound transactions. Another focal point of her work is advice on formulating contracts for companies in all fields of commercial law. Claudia Pleßke is in charge of the Ch...

Frank Büchler is a lawyer and partner at Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner in Freiburg. He specialises in restructuring and insolvency law. He is a member of the Expert Committee on Banking and Capital Markets Law of the Freiburg Bar Association, the Working Group on Banking and Capital Markets Law in the DAV and the Bankrechtlichen Vereinigung - Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für Bankrecht e. V. He speaks German, English and French.