The Legal 500 Germany: SKW Schwarz again one of the Top Tier Law Firms

Legal publisher The Legal 500 recommends SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte as a Top Tier Law Firm in two practice areas Media - Entertainment and Media - Entertainment - Digital Content.

The current The Legal 500 Germany handbook reads:

“SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte continues to position itself as one of the most important media law firms in Germany. On top of the firm's traditional core component of film law, new elements have been added in recent years that now contribute significantly to the  continued success in practice. Lastly, music law expertise was added to the offering, but the highest praise and greatest merits are still reaped in the film sector. There, Mathias Schwarz was able to negotiate a short-time collective bargaining agreement for film productions that provided relief to filmmakers unsettled by COVID-19: Among other things, the interface with labor law was crucial for this. Highly regarded Martin Diesbach advises the world's largest companies on media and copyright law, regulatory and licensing issues. Practice head Norbert Klingner specializes in film and series production, representing producers, animation service providers and global distributors.”

In addition, SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte is recommended in the following 10 practice areas:

Intellectual Property – Trademark Law: “(...) The firm has established a reputation as one of the most progressive names in the market, which is owed in no small part to the expansion of the intersection with IT and data protection law, the special expertise in the area of e-sports as well as the segments of branded content, advertising and influencer marketing as well as the experience in advising on medical cannabis as part of the growing life sciences and pharmaceuticals practice. (…)”

Intellectual Property – Competition Law: “SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte focuses on the topics of e-sports as well as branded content and influencer marketing in competition law, while in 2019/2020 it also increasingly positioned itself in the areas of medical cannabis and know-how protection as well as advising life sciences and pharmaceutical companies. The firm takes an interdisciplinary approach, bringing in experts from other fields, such as media and IT, for each of its various practice areas. (…)”

Commercial and Distribution Law – Foreign Trade Law: “SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte is primarily active in foreign trade law in the area of litigation, for example in defending clients in preliminary proceedings.”

Commercial and Distribution Law – Trade, Distribution and Logistics: „SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte offers clients comprehensive advice on trade and distribution law from a wide range of industrial sectors, including contract law, franchising and disputes. (...) Most recently, an interdisciplinary practice group has also been dedicated to the topic of trade and logistics 4.0, where, for example, issues relating to the use of data glasses in logistics are currently being dealt with.“

Information Technology – Data Protection: “SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte's broad data protection law practice provides high-quality advice at multiple intersections. The group has been able to assert itself as a strategic partner of the cyber insurance industry for data breaches through a hotline service, thus further developing its data security competencies. Data Privacy Litigation is also an area where successful development has resulted in winning outstanding clients. Here, the focus is on defending claims brought by data subjects all the way to the European Court of Justice. Recently, the team was also involved in the development and implementation of deletion concepts as well as data protection-compliant business processes.”

Information Technology – IT-Transactions and Outsourcing: “SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte has extensive expertise in outsourcing and IT transactions, which contributes to the firm's strong position in the technology segment. (...) Thus, the team increasingly succeeds in being mandated for important IT transactions. For example, the group has been able to act as advisor to clients such as Bosch on joint ventures and strategic transactions involving technology.”

Information Technology - Information Technology and Digitization: “With the strong synergies between the renowned media practice and the IP and IT law department, SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte manages an extremely successful combination. For example, its main clients are leading digital content platforms. However, the scope of stand-alone advice in the context of IT security and classic IT contract law should not be underestimated. Here, too, established German and international, medium-sized and large clients consult the firm. Furthermore, the focus on e-sports, which is being strategically expanded, is particularly noteworthy.”

Media – Press and Publishing Law: “The 'top informed' and 'very well organized' team for the press and publishers at SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte convinces with 'speed, diligence, precision and advice'. Clients include well-known publishing houses, especially in the book, newspaper and magazine segments. (...) In-court and out-of-court disputes in the law of personality and statements form the core of the group's activities.”

Dispute Resolution – Commercial Litigation: “SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte focuses on commercial, liability and coverage disputes as well as civil litigation, with the team having particular experience in proceedings resulting from supply chain disruption; this specialization was a clear added value of the practice most recently in the wake of the Corona crisis.”

Public Law – Public Procurement Law: “The flagship of the public procurement law practice at SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte is the support of players in the fields of emergency services and civil protection. Here, the networking and expertise of practice head René Kieselmann is of great importance. Also worth mentioning is the team's expertise on IT/EDP issues in many public sector procurement projects, where the team advises both clients and bidders.”

Lawyer rankings:
Overall, 26 SKW Schwarz lawyers are recommended in the editorial portion of The Legal 500 Germany 2021:

Leading Individuals

Martin Diesbach (Media - Entertainment)
“Highly regarded Martin Diesbach advises the world's largest companies on media and copyright, regulatory and licensing issues.”

Rising Stars

Daniel Meßmer (Information Technology – Information Technology and Digitization)

Partner of the next generation

Sascha Pres (Trademark Law)

Recommendations are given to:

• Dorothee Altenburg (Intellectual Property – Trademark Law)
• Martin Böttger (Information Technology – IT-Transactions and Outsourcing)
• Markus Brock (Intellectual Property – Trademark Law, Intellectual Property – Competition Law)
• Markus von Fuchs (Intellectual Property – Trademark Law)
• Johann Heyde (Media – Press and Publishing Law)
• Magnus Hirsch (Intellectual Property – Trademark Law)
• Oliver Hornung (Information Technology – Data Protection)
• René Kieselmann (Public Law – Public Procurement Law)
• Norbert Klingner (Medien – Entertainment, Medien – Digital Content)
• Margret Knitter (Intellectual Property – Trademark Law, Intellectual Property – Competition Law)
• Oliver Korte (Commercial and Distribution Law – Trade, Distribution and Logistics, Dispute Resolution – Commercial Litigation)
• Matthias Orthwein (Information Technology – Data Protection, Information Technology - Information Technology and Digitization, Information Technology – IT-Transactions and Outsourcing)
• Matthias Pajunk (Public Law – Public Procurement Law)
• Sven Pohl (Commercial and Distribution Law – Foreign Trade Law)
• Sandra Sophia Redeker (Intellectual Property – Trademark Law, Intellectual Property – Competition Law)
• Matthias Schwarz (Medien – Entertainment, Medien – Digital Content)
• Martin Schweinoch (Information Technology - Information Technology and Digitization)
• Pia Sökeland (Media – Press and Publishing Law)
• Jürgen Sparr (Commercial and Distribution Law – Foreign Trade Law)
• Arndt Tetzlaff (Dispute Resolution – Commercial Litigation)
• Konstantin Wegner (Media – Press and Publishing Law)
• Julian Westpfahl (Information Technology - Information Technology and Digitization)
• Niels Witt (Commercial and Distribution Law – Trade, Distribution and Logistics)

The Legal 500 Germany provides a comprehensive overview of some 400 business law firms and 2,700 lawyers in Germany. The assessment is based on extensive research, law firm interviews, and client surveys.