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Employment law for executives and managing directors

FAQ

How can I contact you?

We prefer to be contacted by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Please provide us with your name and contact details. Contacting us is of course free of charge; a fee-based mandate only comes into effect after a mandate agreement has been concluded.

We kindly ask you to refrain from telephone inquiries, if possible.

Alternatively, you can book a free virtual appointment online via Calendly. In this free virtual appointment, however, we cannot advise you on your case.

Furthermore, you can also book a virtual initial consultation via Calendly right away. For this initial consultation, we charge a fee of EUR 220 gross (statutory maximum fee). In an initial consultation, we will already discuss factual and legal aspects of your case.

Do you also advise on other areas of German law?

We can only do our area of expertise, and do it really well. For all other areas of law we cooperate with other specialists in other law firm boutiques. For recommendations, please contact us at any time.

Why are you focusing on "digital first"?

Most of our clients appreciate video negotiations from their everyday lives and expect their service providers to offer this service as well. No one wants to travel across the country unnecessarily or sit in waiting rooms anymore. This is what we have optimized our office processes for. As service providers, we appreciate the far greater adherence to deadlines with virtual appointments, which allows for tighter scheduling.

We therefore offer face-to-face appointments only for an additional charge.

How can you guarantee your short response times?

Our firm deliberately does not focus on mass business, but has a clear focus on executives and managing directors with individual clients. These clients expect corresponding response times from their service providers. In addition, the business is often time-critical.

Our business model therefore operates with a lower average capacity utilization than competitors do. We therefore always have capacity reserves that we can use for your mandate. If this would not be possible, we will not accept your mandate.

From what income is your law firm worthwhile?

In principle, we advise every client who is willing to pay our bill with the same commitment. However, we believe that clients are satisfied primarily when the economic output is greater than the cost (apart from "damage limitation" cases following termination for behavioral reasons).

Therefore, our clients typically earn EUR 120,000 gross annually upwards, or aim for a severance payment of EUR 50,000 gross upwards.

I find the fixed prices too expensive

With fixed prices, we take away your risk that it is difficult to plan how the future (for example: the negotiation with your employer) will develop. So we have to calculate with a risk surcharge.

In most packages you have the choice between hourly rate billing and fixed price. So you have the choice whether you want to bear the cost risk yourself or prefer cost security.

How do you calculate the fixed prices for out-of-court consulting?

On the one hand, the prices are based on a real fixed amount, but on the other hand they are also based on an expectation of a typically achievable severance payment, in which we then participate economically (merit sharing).

How are the fixed prices based on my income and length of service?

Our prices are based on the idea of merit sharing. On the one hand, we have to partially reflect statutory minimum fees, which are (abbreviated) based on income. On the other hand, we would like to offer attractive prices for all clients and therefore base our fees on a typically achievable settlement in which we then participate economically (merit sharing). In this way, we are able to offer attractive fees for all clients, which comply with the legal requirements and for which the possible severance payment also justifies the fee.

How is the monthly salary calculated for pricing?

We take your total annual compensation from the employment relationship and its connection (i.e., for example, LTIP, shares) as a basis and divide it by 12. You can choose whether we take the previous year's amount as a basis for simplification purposes or use the current values.

In doing so, we initially rely on the information you provide and trust your honesty. Please understand that we reserve the right to recalculate the fee if it turns out in the course of the mandate that your compensation is actually higher than stated by yiu.

Why don't we agree on a contingency fee or a true profit-sharing arrangement?

We would like to agree on such remuneration models, but we have to comply with the legal requirements. These do not permit a contingency fee for lawyers, with a few exceptions. § Section 4a (1) of the German Lawyers' Fees Act (Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz) provides:

A contingency fee (Section 49b (2) sentence 1 of the German Federal Lawyers' Act) may only be agreed if

  1. the order relates to a monetary claim of no more than 2,000 euros,
  2. a collection service is provided out of court or in one of the proceedings referred to in Section 79 (2) sentence 2 number 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure, or
  3. the client would be deterred from pursuing legal action in the individual case if a contingency fee had not been agreed.
Why is there a base amount for hourly rate billing in dismissal protection proceedings?
The remuneration of lawyers in Germany is partly regulated by law. In court proceedings, Section 49b of the Federal Lawyers' Act (Bundesrechtsanwaltsordnung) applies, according to which the statutory remuneration may not be undercut. In the case of a remuneration of EUR 10,000 gross, the statutory fees in the case of a settlement in the first instance amount to at least EUR 4,001.68 gross. Therefore, we agree on a base amount in this order of magnitude.
What do the two disclaimers in the legal proceedings mean?

The remuneration of lawyers in Germany is partially regulated by law. Section 49b of the Federal Lawyers' Act (Bundesrechtsanwaltsordnung) applies in court proceedings:

(1) It shall be inadmissible to agree on or demand lower fees and expenses than those provided for by the Lawyers' Fees Act, unless the latter provides otherwise. 2In individual cases, the Rechtsanwalt may take into account special circumstances in the person of the client, in particular the client's indigence, by reducing or waiving fees or expenses after completion of the assignment.

In addition, case law has ruled that an agreed fee may not usually exceed the statutory fees by a factor of five. Should this be the case (contrary to expectations), you are entitled to have the fee reduced.

Are there any other fixed prices?

We are currently working on structuring further consulting fields so that we can offer them as a product. As soon as this is ready, they will be published on our website.

Do I need to worry about unforeseen costs?

No. With us, you don't have to worry that your non-binding inquiry will already cost something. We also offer free introductory appointments and initial meetings at a fixed price.