Italian Desk

Qualified advice – wherever you need us

The intense cross-border exchange between German and Italian business partners creates a great need for qualified advice in both legal systems. At GÖRG, we established our own Italian Desk with experts, who specialise in representing Italian companies in Germany and who also advise in Italian.

In addition, our Italian Desk also collaborates with an established network of leading Italian law firms to represent the legal interests of German companies in Italy. Close collaboration with almost 300 colleagues at all of the other GÖRG offices means that the Italian Desk can offer superb support to our clients regarding any legal activities, both in Germany and Italy.

Connected across borders:
our Italian Desk advice

Labour and employment law

We advise Italian companies on all matters concerning German labour law, and represent them before German courts of labour. In addition to everyday labour law issues, we handle labour law restructurings, in particular the preparation and implementation of labour law company changes, and advise in situations of company transfers. Furthermore, we assist and advise Italian companies in labour law matters when they acquire German operations and companies – from due diligence under labour law to negotiations of labour law purchase regulations and transfer agreements, as well as structuring company changes based on acquisition concepts, and labour law aspects of the transfer procedure.

Our focuses include:

• Arrangement and termination of employment contracts
• Litigation, particularly protection against dismissal
• Labour law restructuring of companies, including preparing and negotiating reconciliation of interests and social compensation plans
• Business transfers including outsourcing
• Labour law for company acquisitions and conversions, including due diligence and business changes in accordance with the acquisition concept
• Co-determination and works constitution law
• Collective agreement law; preparation and negotiation of collective agreements
• Insolvency labour law
• Company pension schemes, contractual trust arrangements (CTA)

Banking, Insurance & Finance

Our banking, insurance and finance experts offer Italian clients advice on all matters concerning banking and financial law. Our clients – such as credit institutions and financial investors from the Italy – benefit from our extensive experience in successfully managing litigation for credit institutions.

Our services include:

• National and international financing of all types
• Documentation of credit securities
• Legal opinions on German law
• Restructuring of financing, including promissory notes and registered bonds
• General banking law, including banking contract law and securities law
• Litigation for and between banks, including complex, large-scale law suits
• Banking regulation law
• Corporate governance and compliance in the financial sector
• Investment and capital investment law

Corporate und M&A

Our Italian Desk lawyers regularly advise Italian companies and investors on corporate law issues in the two classic areas of the firm's practice: corporate and M&A. For instance, when forming an LLC or an agreement for a joint venture. We also offer comprehensive and competent advice for corporate acquisitions or sales with German target companies.

We can assist you in matters such as:

• Establishing companies in any legal form (e.g. public companies or LLC)
• “Corporate housekeeping”
• Joint ventures
• Company acquisitions and sales
• Restructuring and reorganisation of companies
• Shareholder disputes
• Corporate governance
• Compliance and internal investigations
• Board and directors liability
• Corporate litigation and arbitration
• Notarial services (Frankfurt am Main and Berlin)
• Tax assistance

Energy sector

Der deutsche Energiesektor befindet sich in einer Umbruchphase, in der sich die Marktteilnehmer mit stetig wandelnden technologischen und regulatorischen Rahmenbedingungen auseinandersetzen müssen.

Unser Leistungsspektrum umfasst unter anderem:

The German energy sector is in a phase of upheaval, in which market participants have to deal with constantly changing technological and regulatory framework conditions.

Our services include:

• Realisation of large investment projects in the energy sector, in particular large fossil fuel plants, offshore and onshore wind farms, and solar parks
• M&A transactions in the energy sector (asset and share deal)
• Financing of energy projects
• Assistance with public approval procedures
• Assistance with EU tenders
• Network connection regulation, network access regulation and regulation of network charges in the electricity and gas industries
• Connection and remuneration obligations, eligibility of renewable energy projects for funding, duration and amount of feed-in remuneration, support in tender procedures
• Special compensation scheme under the Renewable Energy Sources Act
• Energy management contracts (electricity, gas and (district) heat supplies, storage management and marketing, direct marketing)
• Assistance and development in contracting models, tenant flow models and self-supplier solutions
• Advice on energy optimisation (energy procurement, own generation, asset management, grid fees, energy efficiency, energy management, energy/electricity tax)
• Development of storage solutions and optimisation of storage concepts
• Energy trading, control energy marketing, emissions trading, trading with guarantees of origin
• Representation before regulatory authorities as well as ordinary courts and courts of arbitration
• Measuring point operation and Smart Meter roll-out

Commercial law

German-Italian trade relations are of enormous importance for many companies in both countries. Based on many years of experience, GÖRG advises trade partners on both sides of the border – especially large companies with cross-border and complex commercial relationships – in drafting contracts under German law, and in asserting commercial claims before German courts.

Our advisory specialisations are:

• National and international contract law
• Preparation of framework contracts, and general terms and conditions
• Commercial agency law
• Representation in and out of court
• Defence against disputed claims
• Drafting of international trade agreements
• Product liability cases and commercial register issues
• Legal structuring of commercial business operations
• UN trade law (CISG), as well as international private law and international jurisdiction of courts

Real estate law

We assist Italian companies in all core areas of real estate law - for instance, real estate transactions, real estate financing, and construction and plant law for project developments. In addition to this, we advise within the framework of infrastructure projects, architectural and engineering law, and commercial lease law as well as special real estate.

An overview of our services:

• Real estate transactions such as the acquisition and sale of real estate and real estate portfolios, due diligence
• Real estate financing
• Preparation and negotiation of property or share purchase agreements, developer contracts or leasehold law contracts
• Project development, in particular the structuring and acquisition of real estate, and obtaining building approvals including building permits
• Conclusion of project development and project management contracts, architect and engineer contracts, general contractor and project coordination agreements etc.
• Infrastructure projects
• Structuring under tax law and corporate law
• Preparation and negotiation of financing models
• Sale of real estate with simultaneous leaseback (sale and leaseback)
• Preparation of rental guarantee and general lease agreements
• Preparation and negotiation of commercial rental and lease agreements
• Special real estate (e.g. airports, hotels, shopping centres, logistics real estate, high-rise office buildings, industrial facilities, power plants, wind and solar energy farms)
• Preparation of brokerage agreements
• Advising on brokerage law issues
• Notarial services (in Berlin and Frankfurt am Main), including for property purchase agreements, developer contracts, leasehold contracts, residential property law, creation of mortgages
• Litigation

Insolvency law and restructuring

GÖRG is a leading German specialist in insolvency law and restructuring. We offer assistance and advice for companies in danger of insolvency, within the framework of self-administration and umbrella protection with the goal of restructuring. Our renowned experts are also appointed as insolvency administrators and receivers in cross-border procedures. In the area of insolvency and restructuring, GÖRG has many points of contact in Italy. We advise Italian companies that have German subsidiaries in danger of insolvency, and make our comprehensive knowledge available for self-administration procedures. If necessary, we can draw on an extensive network of Italian restructuring experts with whom we work professionally and confidentially to create optimal conditions for the smooth handling of German-Italian insolvency proceedings, and for successful restructuring. In German insolvency proceedings, we also advise Italian creditors – for instance, in enforcing their claims or in the event of challenges.

Our services include:

• Self-administration and insolvency proceedings, as well as European and international insolvency law
• Extra-judicial restructuring
• Reorganisation/restructuring
• Transferred reorganisation
• Continuation and valuation of subsidiaries for foreign companies
• Restructuring of complex corporate groups
• Restructuring advice prior to insolvency
• Preparing and implementing insolvency plans
• Advising creditors in insolvency proceedings (examination of insolvency plans, enforcement of claims, defence against rescission claims, enforcement of participation rights)
• Advising of creditors in non-performing loans and financing at risk of default