We support you in protecting your rights in the market.

In particular, this concerns the many aspects of mergers, protection against unfair competition and the antitrust review of contracts under national and European law.

Customers and Business Partners

We design your legal relationship with customers and business partners and draft the general terms and conditions (GTC) and contract forms used in the process. In addition, we support you in defending claims made by customers and business partners and in recovering your claim.

Competition

Competition clauses and prohibitions as well as non-solicitation clauses are subject to certain limits in respect of time, content and area. Beyond these limits, they are immoral and invalid. We are happy to advise you on the drafting and review of contracts containing such clauses and prohibitions. Competition clauses and non-solicitation clauses are not only found in employment contracts, but also, for example, in assignment agreements on the occasion of the sale or lease of companies. We have prepared a white paper specifically on this topic, which you can read here.

We represent credit and financial institutions, financial service providers and insurance companies in all matters relating to their business areas.

Drafting of Contracts

We can also advise you on complex issues of banking and insurance law. The requirements for effective loan and financing agreements are increasing, not least due to the strict statutory information requirements. We draft legally secure loan and financing agreements as well as general terms and conditions.

Enforcement of Claims

Our services also include the recovery of claims and the defence of asserted unjustified claims.

We represent you in civil and administrative proceedings.

Litigation

Litigation – be it civil proceedings, administrative proceedings or judicial criminal proceedings – is particularly stressful for those affected, especially when the focus of legal proceedings is on oneself (e.g. before the labour court, in the event of a divorce, in the case of inheritance disputes, etc.). We represent our clients in order to make this extraordinary situation easier for them.

Representation before Authorities

However, we do not only represent you in court, but also in official proceedings. In view of the complexity of matters such as the construction of a real estate, the obtaining of business licenses or the approval of a plant, legal assistance is necessary. We also represent our clients in appeals before the Supreme Administrative and Constitutional Court.

We handle insolvencies and also support companies that experience distress.

Situational Analysis

In the event of a critical situation, we will work with you to determine the specific situation of your company. Together with partners, we can also prepare a continuation analysis for you in order to have a clear picture regarding future development opportunities.

Handling of Insolvency Proceedings

After clarification of all legal issues inherent in insolvency, if necessary we file an application for the opening of insolvency proceedings and work optimally with the court-appointed administrator during the proceedings to represent your interests. In particular, it is crucial to secure your livelihood or to achieve a reorganisation plan and thus the continued existence of your company.
We also act as court-appointed administrator and creditors’ representatives.

Our specialists draft your employment and management contracts.

Employment law is one of the most extensive legal matters. It regulates the legal relationship between employer and employee. The basis is the employment contract, which is concluded between the two parties; we are happy to support you with our expertise in the wording of this document.
The framework for the employment relationship is provided by many individual laws, such as the Salaried Employees Act (‘Angestelltengesetz’), the Vacation Act (‘Urlaubsgesetz’), the Labour Constitution Act (‘Arbeitsverfassungsgesetz’) and collective agreements. Since legal matters in this area are frequently amended, experienced guides through the ‘jungle of articles’ are needed.

Consulting

We support you in cases of dismissals and redundancies, but also in the areas of labour leasing, equal treatment, employment of foreigners and transfer of undertakings.

Disputes

We are at your side when it comes to disputes that go to the labour court. Particularly in the case of dismissals, there are short deadlines that must be adhered to. Moreover, these cases in particular are associated with a lot of emotion. Here we can advise and represent you competently and with a cool head. Many topics of labour law are subject to interpretation due to the extensive regulations in the most diverse matters. One example is the Home Office Act. In this case, the legislator provides guidelines, but at the same time leaves many questions open that need to be regulated.

We have prepared a white paper specifically on the topic of home office, which you can read here.

We offer comprehensive support regarding the purchase and sale of real estate.

The legal provisions concerning real estate are largely regulated in the General Civil Code (‘Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch’, ABGB). However, other laws must also be observed. If a real estate transaction is not part of your everyday business, we as experienced lawyers ensure legal certainty.

Drafting of Contracts

Our services start with the drafting of purchase and tenancy agreements for land, flats, residential or commercial buildings. If you want to build a structure yourself (on your own land or on third-party land as a ‘Superädifikat’), we will support you in the drafting of contractor and property development agreements, in claim management and in respect of tenancy law. We are also happy to assist you if you wish to sell or rent out a property yourself.

Legal expertise is required, especially when a company is about to have a successor.

There are many family businesses in Austria. A distinctive stage in life is the handover of your life’s work to the next generation or the sale to a third party if no one within the family can be found who wants to take over.

Inheritance

Business owners and other private individuals entrust us with the binding regulation of their life and asset planning. Company succession and asset realisation are the focus here, as is, for example, the preparation of a will, a codicil or a power of attorney (healthcare proxy).

Family

Living together as a family sometimes also leads to legal problems. We advise our clients even before they start a family in the joint drafting of marriage or partnership contracts and support them in the event of separation in the drafting of divorce agreements, custody and contact rights arrangements as well as in the contentious enforcement of their claims.

Private Foundation

Private foundations or sub-foundations are often set up in Austria to safeguard and pass on large assets. We assist you in the establishment and administration of a foundation as well as in the transfer to the next generation. The profound expertise of our law firm repeatedly prompts founders to appoint our lawyers to board functions. We also support our clients in making investments outside of Austria and can fall back on our network of other law firms.

Protection of know-how and company trademarks are of utmost importance.

Technical inventions and developments, design drafts, brands and designs, company names, company trademarks – they are all protected as intellectual property of the respective company by intellectual property rights. A multitude of laws – from patent law to trademark law, domain law, design law, utility model law and licensing law – apply here. Very often, companies also need legal expertise in drafting non-disclosure agreements or labour law protection against the taking or passing on of intellectual property.

We can also support you in the drafting of license, management and exploitation agreements.

Securing Claims

We advise you on how to protect your intangible claims in a legally compliant manner. This also includes the implementation of national and international registration procedures. We also support you in drawing up contracts if you want to grant licenses to third parties, for example.

Legal Enforcement

Due to the unauthorised use of another’s intellectual property, both injunctive relief and claims for damages and even criminal prosecution are possible. Should infringements of your claims by third parties occur, we will represent you in court or in out-of-court proceedings to enforce your rights.

Data protection and non-disclosure agreements are among the most important building blocks of your legally secure presence in the field of information technologies.

As a result of the European General Data Protection Regulation, which came into force in 2018, the topic has become even more important for companies. Ensuring the lawfulness of the processing, use and disclosure of personal data, the preparation of necessary declarations of consent under data protection law and the legally compliant design of marketing campaigns are of greatest importance.

Use of Data

We advise you on questions such as: Use of Google Analytics, right to be forgotten on the internet, video surveillance or design of data protection declarations. Our services also include the review and negotiation of contracts as processors and representation before the data protection and telecoms authorities.