Litigation, Arbitration

Comprehensive 360-degree Conflict Resolution

Conflicts represent an unavoidable part of entrepreneurial activity, and require comprehensive legal advice. Our litigators cover the entire spectrum of dispute resolution, from out-of-court negotiations to representation in contentious proceedings and the worldwide enforcement of legal decisions. Due to our extensive experience in the field of dispute resolution, we can assist you in disputes that fall under contract law, capital markets law or corporate law and avoidance actions, as well as, for example, in post-M&A disputes, antitrust disputes, industrial property protection or disputes, in order to protect our clients’ investments at home and abroad. We advise and represent you in all commercial disputes before national courts, the European courts and the European Commission, as well as in national and international arbitration proceedings and mediation efforts. Depending on your needs, we provide you with interdisciplinary teams for this purpose.

Our litigators work closely and in a multi-disciplinary fashion with lawyers from other practice groups and experts from other practice areas at PwC. This enables us to successfully manage the most complex and demanding mandates. One crucial part of our conflict resolution practice is the use of legal tech applications and alternative resources. Our legal tech applications – some of which are proprietary – speed up lengthy processing procedures enormously. Our clients thus save resources, gain a lot of time and always retain a full overview of all processes and important key figures.

Contact us

Dr. Paul Bäder, LL.M. (University of Cape Town)

Local Partner Frankfurt am Main

Stefan Gentzsch, LL.M. (Stellenbosch University)

Dr. Anne Grunwald, LL.M. (University of Virginia)

Local Partner Berlin

Litigation

Not every conflict can be resolved through negotiations. Enforcing the rights and interests of our clients before state courts is one of our core competencies. In doing so, we can lend our support both in legal prosecution and enforcement, as well as in legal defence.

In contentious proceedings, we combine our expertise with interdisciplinary teams consisting of experienced litigators and specialists in the relevant fields to achieve the best result for our clients.

This is how PwC Legal supports you

Our lawyers advise you, in particular, on:

  • Corporate Litigation
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Litigation in the field of Antitrust Law
  • Capital Markets & Banking Litigation
  • Insolvency Disputes
  • Insurance Litigation
  • Litigation in the Energy Sector
  • Post-M&A Litigation

Tax Litigation

Tax authorities are pursuing tax offences with increasing vigour. This has led to a sharp increase in external tax audits, tax disputes and tax investigation proceedings. Representation within tax proceedings before tax courts, the Federal Constitutional Court and the European Court of Justice requires proven expertise in the areas of litigation, tax law and criminal tax law. With this in mind, we combine our professional expertise in interdisciplinary teams of advisers, in order to provide our clients with the best possible support in contentious tax proceedings.

Our tax litigation team comprises specialised tax lawyers who represent our clients’ interests with confidence and genuine strategic foresight. We always keep a close eye on the interdependencies that exist with other proceedings (e.g. criminal tax investigations or civil liability proceedings), and work closely with our lawyers specialising in criminal tax law and civil litigation/arbitration.

Our clients are as diverse as the tax disputes on which we advise. We are commissioned by the tax departments of listed companies, as well as by medium-sized companies and wealthy private individuals. We also frequently adopt an “adviser for advisers” role.

How PwC Legal supports you

Our lawyers advise, in particular, on:

  • Proceedings before the tax courts
  • Proceedings before the Federal Fiscal Court
  • Proceedings before the Federal Constitutional Court and the European Court of Justice

Arbitration

Not all legal disputes always have to be settled in court. Arbitration proceedings are suitable for the out-of-court settlement of parties involved at both national and international level.

In particular, for corporate disputes in an international setting, it is advisable to settle the dispute before an international arbitral tribunal. The worldwide enforceability of arbitral decisions and the free choice of qualified arbitrators are just two of the advantages that international proceedings offer you.

With our many years of expertise in the field of arbitration, we assist in the enforcement of our clients’ interests in connection with arbitration proceedings under all common arbitration rules, in particular, the Arbitration Rules of the German Institution of Arbitration (DIS), the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, the International Swiss Arbitration Rules (SwissRules) or the ICC Rules of Arbitration.

This is how PwC Legal supports you

Our lawyers advise you on:

  • Investment Disputes
  • Post M&A
  • Commercial Disputes
  • Arbitration

Collective and Class Action Lawsuits

Companies are facing increasing attacks from a commercial litigation industry – both internationally, as well as in Germany. The focus is on antitrust damages, capital market information, consumer rights, general terms and conditions or data protection violations. One effective defence against such class action proceedings requires a tailored strategy. PwC Legal supports and advises you in this regard. Our litigators have many years of experience in defending collective and class action lawsuits.

For this purpose, we use the PwC Mass Claims Machine for our clients. With the Mass Claims Machine, we possess a state-of-the-art, technologically efficient solution that enormously speeds up otherwise tedious processing procedures. Our clients thus save on resources, gain plenty lot of time and always maintain a full overview of all procedures and key figures of the processes

This is how PwC Legal supports you

Our lawyers advise you on:

  • Collective and Class Action Lawsuits
  • Banking
  • Consumer Protection
  • T&Cs
  • Data Protection
  • ESG complaints
  • Mass Claim Machine/APS

Internal Investigations, Compliance

Inter-territorial regulation is steadily on the increase. Violations are vehemently pursued and punished by both the legislator and authorities. On a not infrequent basis, draconian fines are also threatened. PwC offers comprehensive advice to ensure compliance, avoid breaches of the law, minimise liability risks and prevent reputational damage. In cooperation with the compliance experts at PwC Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, we ensure that risks are identified and averted at an early stage by providing legal advice and implementing effective compliance management systems. Our experts accompany our clients through the entire investigation process, and ensure your company’s ability to act in crisis situations.

This is how PwC Legal supports you

Our lawyers advise you on:

  • Liability Issues / Corporate Liability
  • D&O