Only 20 years ago, law firms of between 10 and 20 lawyers ranked among the largest in Germany. It took the decision of the German Supreme Constitutional Court – the Bundesverfassungsgericht – allowing multi-city firms to start the dramatic change of the practice of commercial law in Germany.
The Bundesverfassungsgericht decision opened the way for a first wave of mergers involving most of the leading commercial law firms in the country, which resulted in multi-city firms having a size of up to 100 lawyers. This was the time when firms such as Hengeler Mueller, Bruckhaus Westrick Stegemann, Oppenhoff & Raedler and others took the lead in establishing nationwide practices with a high visibility in national and cross-border M&A, corporate and financial services work.
