Why TRW for German Law

Why TRW for German law: the short answer

Why TRW? Because doing business in Germany rarely raises a single legal question. An acquisition involves merger control, employment transfers, works council rights and tax; a restructuring touches insolvency law, financing, pensions and directors' liability. TRW & Co is an independent firm that advises German companies, family businesses and international investors on German business law as one integrated team, in English and German, with a practical focus on what the client needs to decide and do next.

This page explains how we work and what you can expect from us. It does not list rankings, awards or clients. We prefer to show what we do through our practice pages, our insights and, above all, through the quality of the advice itself.

Integrated full-service advice

We cover the main areas of German business law: corporate and M&A, banking and finance, restructuring and insolvency, employment and pensions, tax, antitrust and foreign trade, compliance and ESG, disputes, IP, data and digital, real estate and public law, energy and commercial contracts. The value of this breadth lies in the connections. A carve-out needs corporate, employment, IT and tax input at the same time; a dawn raid needs antitrust, criminal procedure and employment advice in the same hour.

We organise matters around the client's question, not around internal departments. One responsible lawyer coordinates the team, keeps an overview of all workstreams and gives you one consolidated view. That is a large part of why TRW clients receive advice that fits together rather than a set of separate memos.

Working in English and German

German is the language of German courts, authorities, notaries and works councils, while many groups operating in Germany report in English. We work in both languages. We draft bilingual contracts and resolutions, explain German procedures in clear English, and prepare documents for German authorities in the required form. Our German legal glossary reflects the same approach: German terms are kept where they matter, and explained where they could mislead.

Language is not only about translation. German law contains concepts without common law equivalents, such as the works council's co-determination rights, the notary's role or the duty to file for insolvency within fixed deadlines. Part of why TRW is useful to international clients is that we explain these concepts in the context of the client's own legal system and decision-making processes.

Country desks and international clients

Investors from different countries bring different expectations about contracts, timelines and authorities. Our country desks collect what clients from a particular market typically need in Germany: entry structures, investment screening, employment set-up, tax issues and dispute resolution. They include desks for the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, India, France, Turkey, Spain and Latin America, the Middle East and the CIS region. The overview is on our international clients page.

The desks are a way of organising knowledge and contact points, not a claim of foreign offices. Where a matter requires advice on foreign law, we coordinate with independent counsel chosen together with the client.

Practical tools and clear deliverables

Clients tell us what they need: a clear recommendation, a realistic timeline, the risks that actually matter, and documents that work. Our deliverables reflect that:

• Decision memos that start with the answer and the options, followed by the analysis.
• Checklists and timelines for recurring processes, such as the GmbH formation checklist and German law thresholds at a glance.
• Red-flag due diligence reports focused on value and deal protection rather than on describing every document.
• Board and works council materials that can be used directly in German governance processes.

We also invest in knowledge that clients can use without calling us. Our insights explain current legislation and court decisions in plain English, with the statute or the decision linked, so that in-house teams can brief their own management. When a topic is moving quickly, such as investment screening reform, supply chain due diligence or the AI Act timeline, we update the relevant pages and state the date of the source we relied on.

When a matter ends, we provide a short closing note: what was done, where the signed documents are, which deadlines or follow-up obligations remain, and who to call. For recurring work, such as annual governance cycles or works council negotiations, we keep templates and calendars up to date so that the next round starts from a stable base rather than from scratch.

How we work with clients

Why TRW for ongoing work? We aim to be a reliable extension of the in-house legal team. In practice, that means:

• Responsiveness: clear contact persons and agreed response times.
• Transparency on fees: fixed fees, capped fees or hourly rates, depending on what suits the matter, agreed in advance.
• Proportionality: advice that matches the size of the risk; not every question needs a long memo.
• Independence: TRW & Co is an independent firm and is not part of any network or alliance, which allows us to work with whichever advisers best suit the client.
• Professional standards: we act within the professional rules for German lawyers under the Federal Lawyers' Act (BRAO), including confidentiality and conflict rules. We do not act as notaries, whose office is governed by the Federal Notaries Act; where a notarial deed is required, we prepare the transaction with an independent notary.

None of this guarantees an outcome. Legal matters depend on facts, counterparties, courts and authorities. What we can promise is careful work and honest assessments of risk.

Who we advise and why TRW fits them

Our clients are businesses, not individuals in private disputes. They typically fall into four groups, each with a different reason for asking why TRW is the right adviser:

• German companies and the Mittelstand. Owner-managed and family businesses need an adviser who understands both the legal question and the business behind it: succession, financing, growth abroad, works council relations and disputes with customers or suppliers. We advise the managing directors and the shareholders, and we keep the family dimension in view where it matters.
• International groups with German subsidiaries. Group legal teams need someone who can explain German requirements in the group's own terms, manage local governance and employment issues and flag German-specific risks early, from co-determination to directors' filing duties in a crisis.
• Investors. Private equity funds, strategic buyers and family offices need fast, focused due diligence, robust transaction documents and early clarity on merger control and investment screening.
• Start-ups and growth companies. Founders need sound structures from the outset: financing rounds, employee participation, IP ownership and data protection.

Sector knowledge and current regulation

Much of German business law is now shaped by sector regulation and by EU law. A manufacturer faces the Machinery Regulation, product liability reform and supply chain rules; an energy company faces the EEG and grid regulation; a technology company faces the Data Act, the AI Act and NIS2. We follow these developments in our sector pages and insights and state the status of legislation by reference to the primary source and its date. That discipline is part of why TRW advice can be relied on: when a law is still in draft, we say so.

Illustration: a hypothetical US manufacturer plans to buy a German supplier with 600 employees. In the first week, we would map the merger control and investment screening position, identify the supervisory board and works council structures that apply, flag pension and real estate transfer tax issues and agree a timeline that fits the signing date. The client receives one plan, not six separate memos.

Finally, we are candid about limits. If a question falls outside German law, or if the cost of advice would exceed the value at stake, we say so at the outset and suggest a proportionate alternative.

Why TRW: next steps

If you are considering us for a matter in Germany, the best way to find out whether we fit is a short initial call. We will listen to the question, outline how we would approach it, name the team and propose a fee basis. Many clients start with a defined project, such as a market entry, a transaction or a works council negotiation, and then expand the relationship. You can also read our practice pages, starting with corporate, M&A and private equity, to see how we think about the issues in your area. Contact us to arrange a first conversation.