Peacemaker.

Recommended by: Juve, Legal500, Chambers & Partners, Best Lawyers/Handelsblatt

„An excellent strategist“ (Legal500)
„He stands out through his 30 years of experience as a litigation lawyer and his competence in the areas of professional liability and post-M&A in particular.“ (Quelle Mandantin)
„He's always a good arbitrator: well prepared, very fair, very calm.“ (Chambers & Partners)

Dr. Karl J. T. Wach has long standing experience in complex litigation and arbitration. His main areas of practice include post-M&A and corporate disputes, liability (banks and financial service providers, D&O, lawyers, tax advisors and auditors), commercial disputes (including international trade, sales and distribution as well as sports marketing), financial and capital markets disputes and cartel damages. Dr. Karl J. T. Wach has extensive experience in domestic and international arbitrations. He also sits as an arbitrator.

Dr. Karl J. T. Wach is further recognised for his publications on capital markets law, procedural law, cartel damages as well as post-M&A litigation and arbitration. Among his most recent publications is the book "Tactics in M&A Arbitration" which he co-edited together with Frank Meckes.
Before founding WACH + MECKES LLP, Dr. Karl J. T. Wach had been a partner in the litigation department of a large German law firm which he headed for a considerable time. Since 2001 he had been Head of the Munich office and Head of the German Litigation / Arbitration Group of a leading international law firm.

Dr. Karl J. T. Wach speaks German and English.

• Law studies at the University of Munich
• Admission to the bar 1983
• PhD on futures trading law 1986
• Partner at WACH + MECKES LLP since 2009

Recommended by: Juve, Legal500, Chambers & Partners, European Experts, Best Lawyers / Handelsblatt
Lawyer of the Year 2017 (International Arbitration – Bayern) und 2018 (Litigation – Bayern)

„young, determined and extremely smart“ (Legal500)
„combining a speedy understanding of the situation and always working towards a solution“ (Chambers & Partners)
„He is very thoughtful, good at understanding the important questions, and trying to understand what the other side may be thinking. Even when the options are not good, he knows how to position our arguments so that it is easier for the other side to give in than to fight us.“ (Chambers & Partners)

Frank Meckes has extensive experience in the field of litigation and arbitration. He advises German and international clients in complex commercial disputes, in particular in relation to German and international M&A transactions, corporate fraud, D&O, professional and product liability as well as on large scale commercial and corporate disputes. He further advises businesses on crisis management in relation to white-collar crime.
His arbitration experience covers both domestic and international arbitration under the auspices of institutional rules as well as ad-hoc arbitration. Together with Karl Wach, Frank Meckes is co-author and editor of the book "Tactics in M&A Arbitration".
Frank Meckes is both qualified as a German lawyer and has graduated in business administration. Apart from dealing with the legal assertion of the case he therefore also conducts and leads the inquires into the economic facts, in particular in cases of fraudulent nature.

Before founding WACH + MECKES LLP, Frank Meckes had been working in the Litigation / Arbitration Group of a leading international law firm in Munich and London since 2002 where he was responsible for the group's M&A litigation and arbitration practice.

Frank Meckes speaks German and English.

• Studies in business administration at the University of Cooperative Education (Finance Centre) in Stuttgart
• Law studies at the University of Freiburg i.Br.
• Admission to the bar 2002
• Partner at WACH + MECKES LLP since 2009

Recommended by: Juve, Best Lawyers/ Handelsblatt

„analytisch hervorragend“ (Quelle Wettbewerber)
„sehr erfahren und sehr angenehm im Umgang“ (Quelle Wettbewerber)
„gründlich und scharfsinnig“ (Quelle Wettbewerber)

Tom Petsch has long standing experience in representing German and international clients in complex corporate and commercial litigation and arbitration proceedings. He focuses in particular on post-M&A disputes, professional liability of directors and officers, disputes between shareholders, appraisal proceedings regarding the adequateness of compensations granted to (minority) shareholders and large scale commercial disputes. His cases are often white-collar crime and/or insolvency related.
Before joining WACH UND MECKES in 2010, Tom Petsch had been working in the dispute resolution practice of a leading international law firm since 2003. From 2008 on he was responsible for the firm`s dispute resolution practice in Munich.

Tom Petsch speaks German, English and Italian.

• Law studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich.
• Admission to the bar, 2002.
• Partner at WACH UND MECKES, 2010 – 2022.
• Of Counsel* at WACH UND MECKES since January 2023.

Dr. Arno Riethmüller advises in complex commercial disputes before state courts and in national and international arbitration.

Before joining WACH UND MECKES, Arno worked in the arbitration and litigation practice of a leading international law firm where he gained substantial experience, particularly in large-scale international arbitrations.

Arno speaks German and English.

• Studied law at the University of Freiburg and the University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
• Admission to the German bar (Rechtsanwalt), 2016.
• PhD on antitrust and procedural law, University of Freiburg, 2017.
• Visiting lecturer at the University of Heidelberg since April 2018.
• Associate at WACH UND MECKES from August 2019 to January 2020.
• Senior Associate at WACH UND MECKES from February 2020 to December 2021.
• Partner at WACH UND MECKES since January 2022.

Maximilian Menz advises in complex commercial disputes before state courts and in national and international arbitration. He also sits as an arbitrator.

Before joining WACH UND MECKES, Maximilian worked in the media law and digital business practice of a leading law firm.

Maximilian is profoundly experienced in conducting cross-border disputes. His practice also focuses on disputes arising out of the technology sector.

He is in charge of legal tech at WACH UND MECKES.

Maximilian speaks German, English and Italian.

• Law studies, University of Munich, Germany.
• LL.M. (Intellectual Property Law), University of Edinburgh, Scotland, 2016.
• Admission to the bar in Germany (Rechtsanwalt), 2016
• Associate at WACH UND MECKES, June 2018 to October 2020.
• Senior Associate at WACH UND MECKES, November 2020 to December 2022.
• Partner at WACH UND MECKES since January 2023.

Robert Straubmeier is a specialist lawyer for commercial and corporate law and has long-standing experience in litigation. He advises local and international clients in complex business disputes, particularly in the areas of insolvency and corporate law (shareholders‘ disputes, directors‘ and officers‘ liability), commercial law (particularly international trade) and corporate transactions and restructuring. He also advises companies, shareholders and directors in connection with non- compliance incidents. He supervises the finding of facts in internal investigations as well as its legal assessments and possible compliance enforcement.

Before joining WACH UND MECKES, Robert was lawyer in a supra-regional Munich law firm and partner in a commercial law firm, focusing mainly on insolvency and corporate disputes. From 2009 to 2013 he was a lawyer at Jordan & Hall, a law firm at the German Federal Court of Justice. There he supervised many appeals proceedings arising from various areas of business law.

He speaks German and English.

• Law studies, University of Augsburg, Germany.
• Admission to the bar in Germany (Rechtsanwalt), 2009.
• Specialist lawyer in commercial and corporate law since 2015.
• Partner at WACH UND MECKES since August 2018.

Patrizia advises in complex commercial legal disputes before state courts and in national and international arbitration proceedings.

Before joining WACH UND MECKES, Patrizia had her own firm in Toronto, Canada, and advised Canadian corporate clients in international trade disputes. Prior to that she was Corporate Counsel at the private equity investor ADCURAM Group in Munich for six years and a Senior Associate for KPMG AG, Munich, in the Mergers & Acquisitions Tax Service Group.

Patrizia speaks German, English and French.

• Law Studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Germany.
• Admission to the German bar (Rechtsanwältin), 2005.
• LL.M., University of Toronto, Canada, 2015.
• Senior Associate at WACH UND MECKES, 2017 – 2019 and since 2022.

Susanne Ascher advises in complex commercial legal disputes before state courts and in national and international arbitration proceedings.

Before joining WACH UND MECKES, Susanne was a research associate at the University of Passau and at the Federal Ministry of Justice and for Consumer Protection.

Susanne speaks German, English and French.

• Law studies at the University of Passau
• Admission to the German bar (Rechtsanwältin), 2020
• Associate at WACH UND MECKES since May 2020

Marios Kourtis advises in complex commercial legal disputes before state courts and in national and international arbitration proceedings.

Before joining WACH UND MECKES, Marios was a research associate at the Faculty of Law at the University of Athens and a participant in the LL.M. program of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, where he is currently working on his PhD.

Marios speaks German, Greek, French and English.

• Law studies at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, and the University of Münster, Germany.
• LL.M., Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 2019
• Member of the bar association in Athens, Greece, (Dikigoros), 2020.
• Member of the bar association in Munich, 2021.
• Associate at WACH UND MECKES since February 2021

Leli Krachtis advises in complex commercial legal disputes before state courts and in national and international arbitration.

Before joining WACH UND MECKES, Leli was a legal clerk at the dispute resolution and litigation group of a global industrial corporation and a Research Assistant at a leading global law firm.

She speaks German, English and Vietnamese.

• Law studies, University of Munich, Germany.
• LL.M. (Business & Commercial Law), University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, USA, 2018.
• Admission to the bar in Germany (Rechtsanwältin), 2021.
• Associate at WACH UND MECKES since February 2021.

Dr. Philipp Waltke advises in complex commercial disputes before state courts and in national and international arbitration.

Before joining WACH UND MECKES, Philipp was a legal clerk at the dispute resolution groups of two leading global law firms and at the European Commission in Brussels.

He speaks German, English, French and Italian.

• Law studies with additional studies in economics, University of Bayreuth, Germany.
• LL.M. (Dispute Resolution), University of Cape Town, South Africa, 2018.
• PhD on art and criminal law, University of Bayreuth, Germany, 2020.
• Admission to the bar in Germany (Rechtsanwalt), 2022.
• Associate at WACH UND MECKES since February 2022.

Pauline Rinke advises in complex commercial disputes before state courts and in national and international arbitration.

Before joining WACH UND MECKES, Pauline worked as a Research Assistant at the University of Jena, Germany, Chair of Civil Law, Civil Procedure Law, Private International and Procedural Law, Private European Law and Comparative Law.

She speaks German and English.

• Studied law at the Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena.
• Admission to the German bar (Rechtsanwalt), 2023.
• Associate at WACH UND MECKES since February 2023.

Adelina Stiene advises in complex commercial disputes before state courts and in national and international arbitration.

Before joining WACH UND MECKES, Adelina worked as a legal trainee in a leading international law firm in the dispute resolution department and at the Regional Court of Munich I (Landgericht München I).

Adelina speaks German and English.

• Studied law at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich.
• Admission to the German bar (Rechtsanwältin), 2024.
• Associate at WACH UND MECKES since February 2024.