Corporate Law
Guiding enterprises:
from A to Z and beyond.
Corporate law is a traditional specialism of LEBUHN & PUCHTA. The firm has very long-standing experience of advising businesses and entrepreneurs in all branches of industry throughout the entire life-cycle of a company.
Setting up corporate structures, drafting shareholders’ agreements, advising on corporate succession and employment contracts for executives, preparing and conducting shareholders’ meetings all form part of our skills.
We endeavour to reach amicable solutions for our clients in complex shareholder disputes and, where necessary, pursue these interests in litigation. Our lawyers have particular expertise in the law of closed-end funds and regularly represent founding shareholders and advisory board members. Our focus extends to capital-related measures, company transformation as well as advising in crisis and insolvency situations.
- We have advised and represented an investor in its dealings with co-shareholders and the lender with regard to a foreign joint-venture for the purchase of a ship portfolio.
- We have advised a private equity company in connection with the purchase of 13 river cruise vessels and the founding of a joint-venture ship management company. We advised both in relation to the investment into the new venture and on shipping law matters such as re-flagging, charter, sale and handover of the vessels; we carried out the due diligence with special regard to shipping law aspects.
- We have acted for the branch of a family in a dispute over the family’s succession in a significant medium-sized company in the oil sector.
- We have acted for a shareholder in a dispute with his co-shareholder in a services company, including negotiation of the settlement agreement.
- We have acted for the founder of a shipping group in a dispute with his issue and the negotiation of the settlement in a meditation.
- We have advised various managing directors of closed-end fund entities in wide-ranging disputes with advisory boards and limited partners. We have prepared and conducted the shareholders’ meetings and challenged unlawful measures by applying to court for injunctions.
- We have acted for a client in challenging shareholder resolutions in a corporate entity holding numerous individual limited partnerships and having more than a thousand limited partners.
- We have acted for clients to restructure ailing shipping investments, which included the sale of individual ship-holding entities, dealing with US Chapter 11 proceedings affecting one of the shareholders, amending the finance documents and obtaining for the project initiators a release from personal liability for the investments.
- We have acted for a client in the setting up of a double-layered shipping investment vehicle consisting of an investment fund in the Isle of Man and a German holding company to bundle foreign investment in German shipping projects.
- We have acted for clients in structuring a start-up company from the entertainment sector.
- We have advised the managing directors of various shipping fund entities in the period up to the filing for insolvency and have prepared and conducted the contentious shareholders’ meetings.
- We have advised a German shipowner in connection with its cancellation of a series of six shipbuilding contracts with an Indian shipyard and successful recovery of the large amount due under the refund guarantees. The matter involved complex corporate law aspects as the shipyard had a stake in the buying entities.
- We have given in-depth advice to clients regarding the structuring of shipping pools and the drafting of the pool agreements.
- We have prepared and conducted the AGM of a listed biotech firm.
- We have acted for a limited partner against an issuing house in connection with claims under various share sale agreements in respect of partnership shares.
- We have advised clients in connection with an amicable parting of the stakeholders of a limited partnership structure.
