Litigation, Arbitration

No company is immune to conflicts among its shareholders. If the conflicts are not de-escalated at an early stage, they can have a significant impact on a company’s economic success. In order to prevent further damage to the company, it is then often advisable to carry out an orderly separation. Our team of advisers will accompany you through all phases of the dispute with the right amount of tact for sensitive issues, the development of pragmatic solutions and the necessary vigour in asserting your interests.

Executive entities within a company must exercise their office with the diligence of ordinary businessmen. If they breach this duty and their company suffers damage as a result, they are liable to the company. Directors’ and officers’ liability and disputes with D&O insurers form an important part of our advisory practice.

The increasing globalisation of markets is leading to a heightened level of complexity behind contract drafting. Within commercial litigation, the focus of our advisory work is on safeguarding the operational business of our clients – purchasing, production and distribution. 

Our litigators represent you in all contractual conflicts relating to supply, distribution or franchise agreements. In addition to representing our clients in contentious proceedings, we also offer tailor-made contract and claims management.

Antitrust law is highly complex, and is designed to protect the market from anti-competitive behaviour. Due to the significant potential for sanctions, especially high-level fines and claims for damages by third parties, it entails considerable risks for companies. Therefore, avail yourself of the antitrust expertise and many years of experience of PwC Legal to ensure legal security at all times. We possess expertise in almost all sectors of the economy – from the energy industry to mechanical and plant engineering, automotive and consumer goods – and develop customised solutions. Furthermore, you will benefit from PwC Legal’s worldwide network and the close spirit of cooperation with PwC Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft.

• International financial market regulation is constantly increasing, and poses new challenges for financial institutions and institutional investors.
• We represent financial institutions and other capital market participants in enforcement matters resulting from civil, representative and class action lawsuits, as well as regulatory and criminal litigation.
• Our clients include brokers, dealers, exchanges, banks, hedge funds, registered investment advisers, commodity pool operators, commodity trading advisers, trusts, life insurers, pension funds, private wealth clients and public companies, as well as their employees and officers.

Insolvency proceedings are often accompanied by contentious disputes. In this context, we represent our clients, inter alia, in disputes regarding rights of recovery and preferential claim, as well as in determining claims, in insolvency avoidance proceedings, directors’ and officers’ liability proceedings and disputes with D&O insurers.

Our clients include creditors, companies in crisis and their executive bodies before or after the occurrence of insolvency, as well as insolvency administrators.

Insurance claims often involve catastrophic losses and difficult issues of coverage and loss allocation. PwC Legal specialises in advising on the settlement of difficult claims and the defence of claims against companies insured under liability insurance policies. Our experienced lawyers make their expertise in large, complex litigation, regulatory and reinsurance matters available to you, in order to assist you with regulatory investigations, securities and consumer class actions and alternative risk transfer. We minimise your risks and seize upon opportunities.

Unsere Energie-Litigation-Beratungspraxis vertritt unsere Mandanten bei streitigen Verfahren im Zusammenhang mit energierechtlichen Auseinandersetzungen. Hierzu zählen gerichtliche Verfahren in Verbindung mit der Energiewende, Kraftwerks- und Anlagenbau, langfristigen Lieferverträgen, regulatorischen Fragestellungen und kartellrechtlichen Auseinandersetzungen sowie dem Strom- und Gashandel, Energietransport und Gasspeicherung.

Unsere interdisziplinären Teams aus den Bereichen Litigation, Energiewirtschaftsrecht, Kartellrecht, Beihilfe- und Vergaberecht sowie Restrukturierungs- und Insolvenzrecht gewährleisten eine ganzheitliche Beratung zu allen Facetten der streitigen Verfahren im Energiesektor.

Disputes in corporate acquisitions often arise from the breach of warranty clauses in company purchase agreements, the breach of pre-contractual duties of disclosure, or in connection with purchase price assessment clauses.

Our litigation team boasts extensive expertise in asserting claims and defending claims in post-M&A disputes. In order to achieve the best possible result for our clients, we work closely with the experts at PwC WPG who specialise in post-M&A litigation.

Globalisation is a constant driving force behind international investment. Many countries allow foreign investors to invest their assets profitably in their country. Although some of these states offer forms of investor protection known as Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), investing in foreign states carries risks for investors and states alike.

The risk of potential international investment disputes can be mitigated by professionally structuring the investment from the very outset. Our interdisciplinary teams will be happy to support you.

Should disputes arise in connection with your investment, our experienced and competent lawyers are at your disposal.

Arbitration proceedings after mergers and acquisitions are becoming increasingly common. Especially in recent times, there has been a rising tide of major claims under so-called warranty and indemnity insurance policies. This trend is likely to continue as a result of the disruption in global financial markets. In order to save both time and money, disputes – especially in an international context – are, therefore, often heard before private arbitration tribunals rather than state courts. PwC Legal will provide you with ongoing and project-related (as well as preventive) legal advice in this area. Our lawyers work closely with our mergers and acquisitions specialists. We help you to evaluate critical due diligence matters, and advise on contract negotiation, risk mitigation and the enforcement or defence of a party’s obligations after the deal has closed.

Our experts have in-depth experience in arbitration proceedings under the rules of all major arbitration tribunals, especially in connection with commercial disputes in a wide range of industries. For companies operating in an international context, worldwide enforcement after receipt of an arbitral award is of great importance for securing commercial success. Due to our international network, we are ideally positioned to support our clients in enforcing their interests, both at home and abroad.

Not all legal disputes have to end up in court. Out-of-court dispute resolution options – such as arbitration courts, arbitrator’s reports, conciliation or mediation – can be a good solution for dispute resolution.

Together with our clients, we ascertain the optimal form of alternative dispute resolution, taking into account costs, duration of proceedings and the consideration of whether the business relationship should be continued.

Our team of advisers accompanies the entire process with experienced lawyers, be it as party representatives, arbitrators, conciliators or mediators.

The parties involved often find disputes and litigation over directors’ and officers’ liability to be a source of significant stress. For the company managers involved, it usually poses a fundamental threat to their professional and private lives. But there is also usually a lot at stake for the companies involved. If an executive board, managing director or supervisory board is accused of having violated their duties and harmed the company, it is important to act quickly. In most cases, we succeed in using existing negotiation potential to reach an out-of-court settlement quickly, and thus keep the resulting burden as low as possible. We advise companies and decision-makers on how to position themselves in a legally secure manner, ensure documentation and communication structures, defend against attacks and enforce client claims as defence counsel.

Supervisory board members, executives or board members in companies are liable with all their assets for costly wrong decisions. Such liability risks can be covered with the help of D&O insurance. Ideally, directors and officers insurance will bear the costs of defending against unjustified claims for damages (“defence function”) and indemnify against justified claims (“damage compensation function”). However, the conclusion and management of D&O insurance policies, as well as the handling of potential liability cases, should be part of comprehensive and strategic legal advice. PwC Legal analyses, evaluates and optimises complex D&O contracts and ensures effective insurance protection with tailor-made solutions. Our lawyers with litigation experience represent clients both in and out of court, should a claim be asserted within the scope of D&O insurance