Contracts that hold.
In day-to-day business almost everything has a civil-law side: a delivery that does not match the order, an invoice that remains unpaid, terms and conditions that must hold up in a dispute, a contract with a partner abroad. I have been working with civil and commercial law for more than 31 years in theory and practice, and for 22 years as a Rechtsanwalt (German lawyer), out of court and before the courts.
Civil law covers everything that governs the legal relationships between persons and companies: contracts, claims for damages, injunctive relief and restitution. Commercial law contains the special rules for merchants, for example for distribution agreements. I usually advise and represent small and medium-sized enterprises (fewer than 250 employees), but also large companies, for instance on specialist questions or for a second opinion, as well as private individuals, throughout Germany and across borders.
Topics
- Sales law – warranty, guarantees, withdrawal, price reduction and damages, including cross-border trade.
- Contracts for work and services by tradespeople – defects, acceptance, disputes over the invoice.
- Construction contracts and building defects.
- Contracts and T&Cs – drafting, review and negotiation, also in English; adapting English-language templates to German law.
- Commercial leases – leases of business premises and disputes arising from them.
- Distribution agreements – commercial agents and authorised dealers.
- Receivables – enforcing and defending payment claims, court payment order proceedings.
- Damages and injunctive relief – for infringements of rights, protection of possession and reputation.
- Restitution and recovery – of property and of payments made without legal basis.
- Rights in land – for example easements.
Typical issues
Often the question is
- how to respond to a court payment order (Mahnbescheid),
- whether payment may be withheld if a tradesperson’s work is defective,
- how long claims for defects can be asserted,
- whether your own T&Cs also apply to customers abroad,
- who is liable if a supplier delivers late or defective goods.
How to get started
Send me the contract, invoice, correspondence or a short description by e-mail. If you have received a court payment order, a statement of claim or a deadline in a letter from the other side, please get in touch immediately. You can write to me in English or German. Procedure and fees, including for the initial contact, are set out under Services and fees.
Related services: Company law, IT law (software and IT contracts), Business mediation online.