Lawyers
| Mergers & Acquisitions Our firm has extensive experience in managing corporate transactions for medium-sized enterprises. In the field of mergers & acquisitions, especially, our legal services encompass much more than the purely legal tasks involved. We provide support for all transactions with a project management approach that extends from strategic considerations regarding the acquisition or sale of a company, through Due Diligence investigations and the management of negotiations, to design and execution of the final contracts. 
Eckhard Strohkirch, Lawyer
Ronald Haupt, Tax Consultant
Dr. Josef Sommer, Tax Consultant
Dr. Arvid Siebert, Lawyer |
| Business succession Family-owned and owner-managed companies are beset by increasingly complex problems with regard to succession and future management. The founding generation of many post-war companies that have grown successfully is retiring from active leadership, so it is now necessary to find new management models. In this field, too, we have many years of diversified experience from which you can benefit when grappling with these business and legal issues. Ronald
Haupt, Tax Consultant Hermann
Ströver, Lawyer Dr.
Arvid Siebert, Lawyer Dr.
Holger Sudbrink, Lawyer Dr.
Alexander Hardt, Lawyer
Eckhard Strohkirch, Lawyer Dr.
Josef Sommer, Tax Consultant |
| Tax-optimised legal form (see also tax consultancy services) As part of our comprehensive range of services in the field of commercial and company law, Kessler & Partner also provides consultancy services regarding tax optimisation of legal form. This area is exhaustively covered by the tax consultants within our firm, thus ensuring that every corporate transaction is a success in terms of tax optimisation as well. Eckhard
Strohkirch, Lawyer Dr.
Josef Sommer, Tax Consultant Ronald
Haupt, Tax Consultant Dr.
Arvid Siebert, Lawyer |
| Company law Since the earliest days of our firm’s existence, company law has been one of our principal fields of engagement. The differing needs of clients from a wide diversity of industries necessitates flexible solutions spanning a variety of fields. Our extensive experience with virtually every conceivable legal form for companies has proved to be of enormous benefit. In the legal fields relating to private limited companies and joint-stock corporations, especially, we provide intensive support. This also entails prosecuting your rights and interests in court, wherever and whenever necessary. Dr.
Alexander Hardt, Lawyer Eckhard
Strohkirch, Lawyer Hermann
Ströver, Lawyer Dr.
Richard Seidemann, Lawyer Dr.
Arvid Siebert, Lawyer Dr.
Holger Sudbrink, Lawyer |
| Commercial law We represent business people and commercial enterprises not only in an advisory capacity, but also before the courts. In this field, too, we have extensive expertise in and substantial experience with virtually all types of commercial contracts, including export agreements. We are also an ideal legal consultant for dealership and commercial agency agreements. A special role is played in our firm by the combination of advice and support in commercial law with our other main field of activity, namely company and taxation law. Dr.
Alexander Hardt, Lawyer Eckhard
Strohkirch, Lawyer Hermann
Ströver, Lawyer Dr.
Richard Seidemann, Lawyer Dr.
Arvid Siebert, Lawyer Dr.
Holger Sudbrink, Lawyer |
| Divorce law Divorce and family law as regulated by the German Civil Code is the core set of statutes governing legal relations between persons associated through marriage and kinship. Unlike other parts of private law, divorce and family law contain mandatory provisions. Contractual freedoms exist only to the extent that this is expressly recognised in law. We provide you with legal support, both judicially and extra-judicially, regarding all legal matters in this field. In doing so, we also take tax aspects and business interests into consideration, by exploiting our strengths and resources in the fields of company and tax law to your advantage. Conducting divorce and divorce-related cases forms a key part of our activities in this field. Dr.
Holger Sudbrink, Lawyer Gisela
Seidemann, Lawyer |
| Law of succession The firm can look back on many decades of experience in the field of succession law. The expertise of our lawyers and tax consultants in taxation issues can be drawn upon when drafting wills, testaments and deeds of inheritance. We draft testaments of anticipated succession and handle issues relating to business succession. In doing so, we attach importance to balancing the interests of all parties concerned. Of course, we can also represent your interests in administration court proceedings. In this way, we provide assistance in the assertion and warding off of statutory portions, in the partitioning of estates, etc. Dr.
Holger Sudbrink, Lawyer
Eckhard Strohkirch, Lawyer Hermann
Ströver, Lawyer Dr.
Richard Seidemann, Lawyer |
| Employment law Legal advisory services relating to individual and collective employment law also includes the crucial aspects of social insurance and taxation law. Substantial benefits are generated for our clients by embedding our legal services in a broader, corporate legal context. Intensifying legislative activities in the fields of employment, social insurance and taxation law have greatly increased the need for consultancy support among medium-sized companies. This is compounded by the growth of European legislation and its associated adjudication. We are able, of course, to represent your interests in Labour Courts and Conciliation Boards throughout Germany. Dr.
Holger Sudbrink, Lawyer Dr.
Alexander Hardt, Lawyer Eckhard
Strohkirch, Lawyer |
| Transport law Transport companies have counted among our clientele for many years now. The legal services provided by Kessler & Partner in this field extend from issues involving transport law only, to the handling of contracts with regard to special regulations at national and international level, to related aspects of liability and claim adjustment law. In this field, too, a strong presence in court proceedings is one of our long-standing traditions. Dr.
Alexander Hardt, Lawyer Dr.
Richard Seidemann, Lawyer |
| Competition law In this field, our activities for clients include both representation in court and consultancy services relating to laws against unfair competition. Dr.
Alexander Hardt, Lawyer Dr.
Richard Seidemann, Lawyer |
| Trademark law Companies, goods and services bear names or marks as the key instrument for identification and marketing. They give the proprietor rights of exclusivity that are protected by the Trademark Act. On behalf of its clients, Kessler & Partner not only handles the registration of trademarks at the German Patent and Trademark Office, but also defends and prosecutes trademark rights against third parties. Dr.
Alexander Hardt, Lawyer |
| Real-estate law Kessler & Partner designs tax-optimised contracts of sale and purchase, and provides all forms of support relating to the conclusion of such contracts. Dr.
Josef Sommer, Tax Consultant Ronald
Haupt, Tax Consultant Hermann
Ströver, Lawyer Dr.
Richard Seidemann, Lawyer |
| Tenancy law, housing property law Our firm is also active in the field of tenancy law. In addition to custom design of tenancy agreements, our efforts are focused on the judicial and extra-judicial assertion of tenancy-related claims of all kinds. We handle all matters relating to housing property law. Dr.
Holger Sudbrink, Lawyer |
| Travel law We advise our clients on all legal matters involving travel organisers and travellers and, when necessary, will represent our clients in court proceedings. Other legal matters, e.g. between travel organisers, shipping lines and airlines, are also the subject of legal advisory services and court representation by Kessler & Partner. We also have a tradition of representing the travel organiser and travel agency side in disputes. Dr.
Holger Sudbrink, Lawyer |
| Traffic law We support clients in traffic law cases by handling indemnity issues relating to damage. In addition, we regularly represent such clients in associated proceedings involving fines or penalties. Most importantly, we support you in prosecuting compensation claims for damages or for pain and suffering, both judicially and extra-judicially. Dr.
Alexander Hardt, Lawyer |
| General civil law In addition to their respective fields of specialisation, the lawyers in the firm of Kessler & Partner have many years of experience in advising and representing clients in the entire field of general civil law. Particularly worthy of note are activities relating to contract, warranty and liability law (including medical liability cases, which are specially handled by Dr. Sudbrink). Dr.
Alexander Hardt, Lawyer Eckhard
Strohkirch, Lawyer Hermann
Ströver, Lawyer Dr.
Richard Seidemann, Lawyer Dr.
Arvid Siebert, Lawyer Dr.
Holger Sudbrink, Lawyer |
| Debt collection We support you in collecting receivables of all kinds, be it in summary judicial or extra-judicial proceedings, or by litigation. We attach importance here to our seriosity of approach, in which we examine and take into consideration all legal aspects. These may vary considerably, and may relate not only, for example, to warranties, assumption of liability, default on performance or current account debts, but also to enforcement and insolvency law. Dr.
Holger Sudbrink, Lawyer Dr.
Alexander Hardt, Lawyer
Eckhard Strohkirch, Lawyer |
| Notarial services The notaries in our firm perform the entire range of notarial services. On the basis of many years’ experience, we can assure you comprehensive and expert support when establishing, taking over or changing the legal form of partnerships and corporate enterprises, during restructuring, and in the contractual preparation and implementation of transactions under company law. Our notaries also perform all other notarial activities in the fields of general civil law, particularly real-estate transactions. Contracts involving the purchase or sale of land or buildings, for example, or property developer contracts are drafted and recorded by our notaries. Hermann
Ströver, Notary Dr. Holger Sudbrink, Notary |
Tax consultants
| Bookkeeping / Preparing annual accounts Exact bookkeeping is the primary foundation and a key instrument for business planning and Controlling. Bookkeeping, and the income statement generated from it, is also of major importance for the taxation of profits and income – and hence for the annual tax burden. Using DATEV, we set up a bookkeeping system customised to your requirements, with reports that help you understand and maintain control over your key operating figures. At your request, we will gladly install a tailored cost accounting framework. We will also process the management accounting reports generated by the DATEV system in accordance with your specific wishes, for example as columns of figures, or as charts for comparative purposes. You can then see at a glance how the most important financial ratios have developed and where negative tendencies need to be counteracted. The annual financial statements we prepare, including informative Notes sections, are already designed for compliance with the requirements of Basel II, thus preventing any problems with your bank from arising, and ensuring, once Basel II has entered into force, that your company is among those that saves financing costs by prompt submission of financial figures, generated from your bookkeeping records in a form that your bank will welcome. We will gladly take care of your payroll accounting and handle all formalities vis-à-vis the tax authorities and social insurance bodies. Ronald
Haupt, Tax Consultant Dr.
Josef Sommer, Tax Consultant |
| Preparing tax returns Despite the efforts of legislators, preparing tax returns has become more and more complicated and confusing in recent years. This is also manifested in the growing number of additional forms and enclosures that must be submitted along with a normal income tax return. The information that tax offices require from an income tax return is enormous. We endeavour to produce your tax return in such a way that tax office staff can effortlessly trace the facts and figures stated in the tax return back to the enclosed documents and attachments, and can quickly conduct the tax assessment without further query. We help you prepare tax returns for
Ronald
Haupt, Tax Consultant Dr.
Josef Sommer, Tax Consultant |
| Support during fiscal/social insurance audits External audits conducted by the fiscal authorities and social insurance bodies are usually ill-received, given that they often involve a substantial amount of additional work and restrictions on day-to-day workflows. We help you to prepare for such external audits in an optimal way, maintain ongoing contact with the audit personnel, process enquiries made by the external auditors, represent your interests during the final meeting, examine the audit report and the respective decisions as to whether the audit findings were correctly arrived at, and in the event of non-agreement will handle the subsequent appeal proceedings. However, the paramount principle for us is to avoid any unnecessary stress during an external audit, as far as possible, by preparing the ground in such a way that detailed investigations by the external auditors do not give rise to any cause for objection in the first place. Ronald
Haupt, Tax Consultant Dr.
Josef Sommer, Tax Consultant |
| Appeal proceedings/Fiscal Court proceedings No matter how meticulously a tax return or an annual financial statement has been prepared, there can be no excluding the possibility of the tax authorities deviating from the tax return when assessing the tax payable, or that they adopt a different legal standpoint. To obtain justice despite such differences, it is necessary to institute extra-judicial appeal proceedings and in some cases to seek recourse before the Fiscal Court. If the tax return in dispute was prepared by our firm, examining the tax assessments and decisions of the tax office is included, of course, in the range of services we provide. After such review, we decide whether the assessment of tax was correct, or if an appeal would have prospects of success. The number of objections to tax office decisions is constantly on the increase, because input errors, superficial clarification of the facts of a case, or tax assessments by the tax authorities on the basis of outdated legal practice are leading in more and more cases to unlawfully excessive tax assessments. In appeal proceedings, we provide the substantiation of your case, negotiate with the tax authorities, represent you in settlement proceedings or later, if none of this has helped, in proceedings before the Fiscal Court. Even when it seems that nothing more can be achieved under the tax laws, there are often formal pathways that we can try to take on your behalf in order to bring the matter to a successful conclusion, after all. And if the tax return was not prepared by our firm, we will gladly assist you in any legal disputes you may have with the tax authorities. Here, too, our aim is to ensure that you obtain the just treatment to which you are entitled.
Eckhard Strohkirch, Lawyer Dr.
Josef Sommer, Tax Consultant Ronald
Haupt, Tax Consultant |
| Strategic tax planning Strategic tax planning assists and guides you in your business life, from the establishment of your company until its final liquidation or sale. Legislators’ original objective of subjecting different legal forms for enterprises to a similar level of taxation has failed to materialise. The choice of legal form is therefore of major importance, and exerts a decisive influence on your future tax burden. In the course of time, the framework within which a company operates is liable to change, necessitating adjustments of various kinds. Tax legislation still provides a number of options for making such adjustments by changing the legal form of the company without incurring a higher tax burden. We know these pathways and will gladly explain them to you. Strategic tax planning is based on comparisons of tax burden under different alternatives. In the private domain, too, strategic tax planning may be imperative, particularly with regard to the law of succession. Inheritance tax will become increasingly important in future; skilled tax planning can often lead to far greater tax savings that even the best schemes for investment write-offs. We will design a concept for you that best fits your circumstances.
Eckhard Strohkirch, Lawyer Dr.
Josef Sommer, Tax Consultant Ronald
Haupt, Tax Consultant |
| Valuation of companies and enterprises When selling your company or professional practice, determining the intrinsic value is generally a key issue. There is usually a considerable discrepancy between the seller’s price tag and the price that the potential buyer is prepared to pay. In addition, there are many different methods for valuing companies or professional practices, each based on different weightings that in turn lead to totally different valuations. Using commonly applied and recognised valuation methods, we prepare an expertise on the value of the company or practice, taking your own price target into account as far as possible. Such an expertise means you are well armed to negotiate your price. Of course, we will also advise and support you in asserting your target price in negotiations. Ronald
Haupt, Tax Consultant Dr.
Josef Sommer, Tax Consultant |
| Transboundary tax planning/International tax law Tax planning is no longer confined to national boundaries. With globalisation advancing by the year, international tax law is coming to play an increasing role alongside purely national law. Examples include the establishment of enterprises in other countries, the relocation of businesses abroad, or seeking an optimal location for a holding company. There is also a “tax gradient” within the EU that needs to be exploited. Some locations provide enormous tax benefits for holding companies compared to others. Our job is to find suitable locations for your specific needs. International tax law is becoming increasingly important in the private sphere as well. Income from financial investments abroad can often be generated with almost no tax liability – in a perfectly legal manner – in that the income is subject to foreign taxation, with different states offering exemption limits for the assessment of “tax aliens”. Ask us about ways to minimise tax on your investments. Ronald
Haupt, Tax Consultant Dr.
Josef Sommer, Tax Consultant |
Business Audit Services
Business Audit Services (classical Audit Services) |
| System audits We support companies in inventories of their organisation and give advice regarding necessary reorganisations. We reliably attend to the documentation and optimisation of organisational processes. We review the organisation as well as the function of organisational or, respectively, technical systems, which need to be judged with regard to adequacy and effectiveness. Those systems are adequate, whose organisational structure and components are suitable to directly reach the set targets. Those systems are effective, which function continuously and independently from persons. The services we are offering include: Review
of the adequacy of management Review
of internal control systems Review
of risk early identification systems Review
of quality control systems Review
of internal audits
Michael Carl, Wirtschaftsprüfer/Steuerberater
|
| Audit related services In the range of business audits special solution-oriented skills are demanded. In this regard we provide substantial advisory support in accounting and controlling projects: When
introducing new accounting or management information systems When
changing the accounting to IFRS When
introducing integrated planning systems, e.g. for profit, financial and asset planning For the establishment of internal company structures we develop standards
for the efficient realisation of consolidated accounting when organising
cost accounting systems tailored individually to the company (cost type
accounting, cost centre accounting, cost unit accounting based on direct
or full costing). |
Due Diligence (DD) audits |