Digital change transforms the world at a rapid pace.

Digital change, disruptive technologies, and innovative business models transform markets and societies. As technology challenges the status quo, unprecedented legal questions arise. Enter SKW Schwarz. We address these questions in prompt and yet sustainable ways. Our point of view is holistic but geared towards innovation. We offer up-to-date legal advice on such topics as the Internet of Things, Industry 4.0, drone logistics, FinTech, smart city, and urban mobility. Our wide-ranging and award-winning practical performance is informed by a close exchange with state-of-the-art research institutions. We are especially strong in the domains of media and technology.

For us, internationality is not a formal criterion we try to meet with a wealth of offices abroad but a way to describe our attitude. As many of our clients do not limit their business activities to Germany, we ensure that we can represent their interests in any country where they need us to do so. Our membership in the international law firm association TerraLex, which was selected as the Global Network of the Year at The Lawyer’s annual European Awards program in London in March 2018, and our cooperation with selected partner firms enable us to offer our clients the best possible support around the world at any time.

SKW Schwarz is one of the pioneers in the field of legal tech. We founded SKW Schwarz @ Tech GmbH in 2018 to bundle all legal tech activities across all practice areas and offices. SKW Schwarz @ Tech GmbH is focused on the development, customization, promotion and distribution of legal tech products and applications. We also provide specific advice in connection with the digitalisation of legal services. Active exchange and cooperation with legal-tech companies such as Bryter and Smashdocs is extremely important for us. We work closely with external consultants, for example in the area of Legal Design Thinking.

Legal competence and high quality are a matter of course in legal advice. However, our attitude goes beyond that aspect. We do not seek to prevent our clients from taking certain actions and we do not limit our advice to raising objections, but we prepare legally sound and commercially adequate solutions which are easy to implement. “Efficiency is key for us. Whatever we do, we ask ourselves: Is our action relevant and useful for our client?” We take care that the price for our advice is adequate, understandable and transparent in relation to the services rendered by us. We do not leave our clients in the dark about what they should do in our opinion. Instead, we carefully weigh the pros and cons of different courses of action and then give a very clear recommendation. Due to our structure the partners are closely involved with all assignments – the responsible partner covers an assignment from the beginning until the end.

It was in 1994 that the Munich office, founded by Prof. Dr. Wolf Schwarz in 1949, and the Berlin office, founded in 1954, merged to form the law firm of Schwarz Schniewind Kelwing Wicke. Another merger with the Frankfurt office of Westpfahl Rechtsanwälte, founded in the 1930s, followed in 2003 after which the firm operated as Schwarz Kelwing Wicke Westpfahl for several years. In April 2010, the firm merged with the Hamburg-based law firm of SES Schlutius Eulitz Schrader, which was founded in 1963. Since this most recent merger, the firm has been operating under the name SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte and today employs more than 120 lawyers at its Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Munich offices.