Commercial Law
At the crossroads of business day-to-day and legal practice, commercial law opens up a spectrum of topics as diverse as economic life itself. With its broad range of fields – from employment law and product liability to increasingly dense compliance requirements, for example in data protection or AI applications – commercial law holds a key position in business consulting and is a complex and challenging area – for in-house legal teams as well as for external counsel.
Besides knowledge of the economic background, it is crucial to understand business reality and operational work-flows – how things work on the ground. Effective consulting requires a practical, generalist approach and an all-round view that takes both economic and socio-cultural factors into account when developing legally robust solutions.
Legal advice should be obtained early, ideally at the start of any contractual discussions. In practice, companies frequently – and often unknowingly – assume costly obligations, accept excessive risks, or sign unfavorable contracts without making full use of options for limiting liability or shifting risks, for example to an insurance policy.
Even when claims have already been raised or disagreements have escalated into full-blown disputes, seeking an amicable resolution is not a sign of weakness but of strategic foresight. With smart negotiation, targeted communication and professional conflict management, disputes can often be resolved more quickly, more cost-efficiently, out of the public eye and with less disruption to the business relationship than through a lengthy court-room battle.
"The quality of our lives depends not on whether or not we have conflicts, but on how we respond to them."
Thomas Crum
Consulting Focus
Reviewing and preparing contracts, documents, and correspondence in the fields of sales, procurement, project management, and claims management, in particular
supply contracts and (technical) procurement contracts in various forms (e.g., single contracts, framework agreements, call-off contracts, and just-in-time agreements)
commercial documents for contract conclusion (offers, purchase orders, order confirmations, commercial confirmation letters)
credit security documents (e.g., guarantees, sureties, comfort letters, letters of credit)
notices of defects, obstruction notices, damage reports, and liability notices
reviewing and drafting general and specific terms and conditions
preparing purchase, lease, work, service, and loan agreements
structuring dealership, commercial agency, and other distribution agreements, together with commission and consultancy contracts
legal counsel on the defense and enforcement of claims
out-of-court dispute resolution and litigation before state courts and arbitral tribunals