Our news for you

The US specialist publisher Best Lawyers, together with Handelsblatt, has identified the most renowned lawyers in Germany.

We are delighted that five colleagues from Ettrich Rechtsanwälte have been listed as “Germany’s best lawyers” in four areas of law in the recently published ranking:

Labor law:

• Hendrik Bourguignon
• Susanne Grichtmaier

Real estate law:

• Christian Richard

Conflict resolution:

• Bernd Hanowski
• Dr. Frank Findeisen
• Susanna Grichtmaier

Arbitration/dispute resolution/mediation:

• Bernd Hanowski

We are particularly pleased that our colleague Bernd Hanowski was named Lawyer of the Year in the field of “Conflict Resolution”

The selection was based on a peer-to-peer process in which lawyers rate which colleagues they would particularly recommend in individual specialist areas. The central idea: those who know the best lawyers are the lawyers themselves. The result is a comprehensive overview of the “Best Lawyers of 2025”, differentiated by specialty.

For the first time, the Administrative Court of Wiesbaden (decision of December 17, 2024 – 6 L 1867/24) has addressed the legal question of whether Section 3 (3) BörsG excludes a citizen’s claim against the stock exchange supervisory authority for supervisory intervention and whether a corresponding request for obligation should be dismissed as inadmissible due to lack of standing to file an application or lawsuit. The Administrative Court has affirmed this.

Until now, only administrative court decisions regarding comparable situations involving BaFin’s supervisory activities and the parallel provision in the Financial Services Supervision Act (FinDAG) had been issued in this sense. The decision of the Administrative Court of Wiesbaden clarifies that uniform standards apply throughout financial market law. It also indicates that even a Union law-compliant interpretation of Section 3 (3) BörsG does not lead to a different result.

JUVE again lists Hendrik Bourguignon in the 2024/2025 Handbook of Commercial Law Firms in the ranking of frequently recommended labor lawyers for advising executives.

JUVE again lists Ettrich as a recognized law firm in the central region and writes about us in the Handbook of Commercial Law Firms 2024/2025:

“The Frankfurt boutique is well established with regional banks and major banks in litigation, especially in mass litigation. Commerzbank, among others, has relied on the team for several years. The unit manages small to medium-sized litigation portfolios for the defense against claims for damages. By expanding its team with litigation managers, it is increasingly in a position to handle larger mass proceedings. The boutique is also broadening its practice, e.g. in labor and real estate law, in order to respond to the demand for solutions for distressed commercial rental properties. This is a logical step to make the firm’s success less dependent on litigation.”

Judith Hauser (“quick-thinking, pragmatic”) is also often recommended for litigation and Hendrik Bourguignon for labor law.

We are delighted with the recognition of our work in recent years and look forward to making our strengths in real estate law and labor law even more visible in the market in the coming years.

Great news!
The US publisher Best Lawyers, in cooperation with Handelsblatt, has selected the best commercial law firms in Germany in 2024.
Our law firm Ettrich was honored in four categories: Arbitration/Dispute Resolution/Mediation, Labor Law, Dispute Resolution and Real Estate Business Law in Hesse.
A big thank you to everyone who recommended us!

Most citizens received a PIN number together with their current ID card at the time…and lost it again. Anyone who can still find their PIN now has a practical way of using it. For some time now, many transactions in company law that require notarial assistance have also been possible online. Identification is conveniently carried out using a smartphone, the chip built into the ID card and the corresponding PIN. It is then possible, for example, to have applications to the commercial register notarized without being physically present. The online procedure is also possible from abroad and is therefore particularly attractive for managing directors who would otherwise have to go through foreign notaries and obtain an apostille for “minor matters”. If you have any questions, please contact our notary team!

Attorney Susanna Grichtmaier joined Ettrich’s labor law team on January 1, 2024. Susanna is a specialist lawyer for labor law and previously worked for more than 10 years in labor law at ebl factum Rechtsanwälte, where she already worked closely with our partner Hendrik Bourguignon. She advises and represents national and international companies on all labor law issues. Susanna also successfully supports managers in separation situations. As in previous years, Susanna was listed as “Best Lawyer” by Handelsblatt (“Germany’s Best Lawyers”) in the field of labor law in 2023.

JUVE repeatedly lists Hendrik Bourguignon in the 2023/2024 Handbook of Commercial Law Firms in the ranking of frequently recommended labor law lawyers for advising executives.

JUVE writes about us in the Handbook of Commercial Law Firms 2023/2024:

“The traditional Frankfurt law firm is known for its work in insolvency proceedings, especially for banks based in Frankfurt. However, it has gained greater attention in recent years for two reasons: Firstly, its litigation practice has expanded to include clients from other industries, e.g. Stellantis, where it has been in charge of thousands of diesel cases nationwide. In addition, the generational change in the firm has been accelerated by a group of younger partners with a large law firm background. They are active in areas such as labor and real estate law, which means a broadening of the practice away from the former core of litigation and notarial work.”

We are delighted that our work over the past few years has been recognized.

In October 2021, the consumer association Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg e.V. brought a claim against Commerzbank AG before the Regional Court of Frankfurt for an injunction against the use of clauses in the General Terms and Conditions of Business with which so-called custody and credit balance fees (among other things) were introduced and charged on savings deposits in new and existing customer business. The Frankfurt Regional Court had initially largely upheld the claim (judgment of 18.11.2022, ref.: 2-25 O 228/21). Commerzbank AG, which we represented in both instances, filed an appeal against the ruling in December 2022. In today’s appeal judgment (case reference: 3 U 286/22), the 3rd Civil Senate of the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt upheld Commerzbank AG’s appeal, amended the judgment of the Regional Court of Frankfurt and dismissed the action brought by Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg e.V. in its entirety.

Representing Commerzbank AG
Ettrich: Dr. Frank Findeisen

Our partners Bernd Hanowski (dispute resolution) and Hendrik Bourguignon (labor law) are listed as “Best Lawyers” by “Best Lawyers in Germany™” and the Handelsblatt for 2023.

We are delighted with the award and would like to thank you for the numerous recommendations.

On January 01, 2023, attorney Hendrik Bourguignon will join our firm as a partner. Hendrik will build up the labor law. He was most recently a partner in the law firm ebl factum, of which he was a co-founder. Before founding ebl factum in 2013, Hendrik had already worked as an labor lawyer for Schmalz Rechtsanwälte for ten years.

As the leading law firm in the diesel lawsuits against the Stellantis Group, which also includes FCA Italy S.p.A, the basic manufacturer of Fiat motorhomes, Ettrich Rechtsanwälte Notare has defended a four-digit number of diesel lawsuits for the Stellantis Group.

We are expanding our real estate practice as of May 01, 2023. Friedrich Munding joins our firm as a partner. Friedrich previously worked at Advant Beiten. Friedrich advises on real estate and construction law and brings with him associate Dr. Angela Müller-Kogan from his former team. Our real estate practice has thus grown to five professionals.

Ettrich Rechtsanwälte Notare has won the capital investor model proceedings (KapMuG proceedings) for the closed-end real estate funds IVG 12 and IVG 14 for Commerzbank AG before the Court of Appeal and the Higher Regional Court of Cologne. The BGH has now confirmed these decisions. The IVG 14 fund in particular became known for its striking fund property “The Gherkin” in London’s financial center. In addition to the model proceedings, the law firm also conducts the associated individual proceedings for investors before the regional courts.

Ettrich Rechtsanwälte Notare has won for Santander Consumer Leasing GmbH before the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf. The BGH has now rejected the appeal against denial of leave to appeal. The Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf ruled that the residual value leasing contracts and revocation instructions of Santander Consumer Leasing GmbH were free of errors. Lessees are therefore not entitled to a perpetual right of withdrawal or a so-called withdrawal joker.