Gleiss Lutz

Gleiss Lutz, togther with Hengeler Mueller, sits comfortably in the top tier of the German independent law firms and has done since its foundation in 1949.

The firm was set up to focus on competition law, a focus which few specialized in at that time. That led to Gleiss Lutz being the first German law firm to open in Brussels, in 1962. However, during the 1970s it gradually became a full service player and in the 1980s started internationalizing, creating an informal network of partner law firms overseas and launching in cities such as Prague and Shanghai.

This process took a more significant turn in the early 2000s, when Gleiss Lutz collaborated with legacy Herbert Smith and Benelux firm Stibbe to form a tightknit best friends network. Over the next decade, companies will converge to implement elements involving third-party documentation and joint offices. Gleiss Lutz closed its Shanghai office, and rumors of merger negotiations between the trio have been circulating for years.

However, in 2011, Glace Lutz and Stibbe voted against the merger with Herbert Smith and the union was dissolved. Years later, Glace Lutz formed a new alliance, this time with Gide Laurette Nouel, Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira and Chiomenti Studio Legal. Although labeled "non-exclusive", the alliance nevertheless implies a significant amount of collaboration, division of offices, and initiatives between the quartets.

Gleiss Lutz is now one of the largest law firms in Germany, with offices in six cities. Although it currently has no physical presence outside of Brussels, the alliance has country offices aimed at providing access to key European markets and conducting business in other jurisdictions such as China.

The company is relatively conservative. It has an impeccable partnership and, like its competitor Hengeller, has gone through a clean 12-step process. Corporate is currently the largest team, but Gleiss Lutz has maintained an excellent, competitive division nearly 70 years after its founding.

Gleiss Lutz moved in 2000 to a new organizational structure that introduced the roles of a managing partner and a board of seven members. Employment Partner Martin Diller was elected Gleiss Lutz's first managing partner in 2000, a position he held until January 2008 when Rainer Loges, company partner and former head of Prague, came to power. Loges led and ended the alliance between Herbert Smith and Glace Lutz and played an important role in the formation of the new European Union.

In 2016, Loges retired and was replaced by two managing partners. Corporate partner Alexander Schwartz and corporate and litigation partner Michael Arnold both preferred common tickets because they both wanted to keep getting paid.

At the same time as Schwartz and Arnold were elected, Wolfgang Bosch was appointed as the new president of Glace Lutz.

The Lawyer research data

• European 100 rank: 10
  
  
• Revenue: €227.5m
  
  
• No. of Partners: 80

Country: Germany
Website: https://www.gleisslutz.com/en/