With our range of services, we take a holistic approach and offer all the relevant advisory services in the areas of foreign trade law and green trade law from one single source:
Legal advice: As licensed lawyers, we advise clients on the basis of our many years of specialized expertise in all legal matters and also represent clients in legal proceedings with authorities, ministries and in court.
Compliance and organizational advice: With our knowledge and experience in advisory and industry, we can provide optimal support for improving existing trade compliance programs as well as for designing and implementing new programs or individual measures such as training.
Support & service: If required, we can support as a reliable partner in day-to-day business to relieve the burden on internal resources.
Advice for advisors: We also make our specialized expertise and experience available to other law, tax consulting and auditing firms that wish to draw on external resources in the area of foreign trade law and green trade law.
Our services are regularly based on long-term framework agreements that, if necessary, allow for quick commission of individual services at transparent, already fixed conditions.
Legal Advice
We offer comprehensive legal advice on all questions and topics related to foreign trade law and green trade law under German and EU law. In foreign trade law, we also advise on US, Austrian and Swiss law. We answer legal questions and provide statements, expert opinions and legal opinions. We accompany and represent clients in legal proceedings (e.g. application, approval, objection and legal action proceedings) and support them in preparing and carrying out official reports and audits. If one discovers that a violation of the law may have occurred, we will help to deal with it and to take follow-up action. If necessary, we also represent and defend clients in criminal and fine proceedings.
Selected services from individual subject areas:
- Identification and clarification of business transactions that require approval or are prohibited
- Classification of physical goods, software and technology in the relevant lists of goods
- Support with approval and other application procedures as well as objection, legal action, registration and reporting procedures
- Communication with authorities and ministries to clarify interpretation issues
- Preparation, support and follow-up of foreign trade audits
- Review of potential violations and support with internal investigations as well as follow-up measures
- Preparation and support with voluntary self-disclosures
- Representation and defense in criminal/fine proceedings
- Drafting of export control clauses in contracts and general terms and conditions
- Assess whether an intended company acquisition is subject to an investment control review and, if so, whether it is subject to reporting requirements
- Support with reporting, review and application procedures (certificate of non-objection), including appeal procedures if necessary
- Advice on the contractual structure of the company acquisition with regard to implications under investment control law
- Substantive examination of export declarations
- Support and, if necessary, communication with the customs authorities if the export declaration is rejected
- Advice on export-related authorizations and simplifications
- Reviewing and drafting contracts with service providers
- Preparation, support and follow-up of foreign trade audits
- Representation and defense in administrative fine proceedings
- Preparation and support with voluntary self-disclosures
Compliance and Organizational Advice
In foreign trade and green trade law, numerous and complex legal requirements with a high frequency of changes and additions meet complex structures and business models in companies. The legally compliant implementation within a company requires appropriate organization and processes. These should ensure compliance with all applicable legal standards and at the same time have as little impact as possible on regular business operations. This requires practical and tailor-made compliance and organizational advice based on in-depth knowledge of the applicable regulations. The focus is on strategic and operational challenges, individually tailored to the needs and requirements of the company.
Selected services:
- Identification and elimination of risks through risk analyses, status analyses, health checks and audits; determination and implementation of follow-up and improvement measures
- Design and implementation of trade compliance programs (in particular Internal Export Control Programs – ICP) in accordance with applicable standards
- Design and implementation of processes and measures to improve existing trade compliance programs
- Planning, preparation and implementation of trainings and workshops to raise awareness
Support & Service
Not every company has the necessary internal resources to fulfill strategic and operational trade compliance tasks constantly and completely on its own. In the hustle and bustle of day-to-day business, strategic issues, such as updating the existing ICP, might be skipped. Or a particularly complex operational transaction could cause other transactions to be neglected and delays to occur. In this case, we offer the opportunity to transfer individual topics and tasks to us, either temporarily or permanently. We will discuss the possibilities regarding type and scope of the transfer with our clients in advance, depending on individual circumstances.
Advice for Advisors
Foreign trade and green trade law are special, multifaceted and multi-layered areas of law. In complex cases, in-depth expertise based on many years of experience is required to achieve correct and practical results. This applies equally to legal, compliance and organizational advice. Not every law, tax consulting and auditing firm wants to build up or maintain its own resources on this specialized topic, and instead relies on cooperation with external experts. We are also pleased to have reliable and long-term cooperation partners with whom we can work on special topics outside of our focused expertise. Depending on the individual case, the spectrum of possible cooperation ranges from mere recommendations to joint advice or background support.