Christoph Plähn
Lawyer / Strategic consultant / Restructuring expert
Formation, company start-up or development, transactions, crisis or succession planning: regardless of the stage your company is at, I will be your strategic partner.
Our collaboration is based on my considerable expertise and many years of professional experience. I may also bring together expert teams to find the optimal solution for challenges you are facing.
I do not think in legal terms only, but from the perspective of your company. That is why I always consider your company in its entirety when I am working with you.
Collaboration with my clients is characterised by personal contact and up-to-date, digital tools as well as, of course, reliability, flexibility and transparency.
Expertise / Practice areas / Services
I am a lawyer specialised in tax, commercial and company law. From the formation of your company, choosing the right legal form and drafting the relevant contracts for your company, to passing it on to the next generation or selling it: I will help you to achieve your business goals.
This includes collaborating with specialised lawyers or tax advisors whenever this is necessary for comprehensive and targeted advice and representation.
I am by your side in times of crisis, too. As a certified Restructuring Consultant (certified by the IfUS Institute Heidelberg, Germany), I will support you in negotiations with your creditors as well as with the restructuring of your company within or outside insolvency proceedings, taking into account all relevant options such as preventive restructuring pursuant to the German Act on the Framework for the Stabilisation and Restructuring of Companies (Gesetz über den Stabilisierungs- und Restrukturierungsrahmen für Unternehmen / StaRUG), debtor-in-possession management or an insolvency plan.
I can provide assistance with
As the founder of a company, you are regularly faced with numerous challenges. The sooner you clarify legal issues, the earlier you will be able to concentrate on your core business. I will be by your side while you are setting up your company and will help you to set the course for a successful business. In particular, I will provide advice on the following:
- choice of legal form
- articles of association / shareholder agreements
- participation agreements
- financing negotiations
Are you planning on founding a company, setting up a holding structure, transforming your company (by way of change of legal form, division or merger), selling your company or acquiring a company? Together we will identify the best and safest way to realize your plans, considering the liability-related challenges you are facing as a shareholder / partner or CEO. Please contact me regarding the following:
- choice of legal form
- formation of a company
- liability of corporate bodies
- corporate governance and compliance
- company transformations
- acquisition / sale of a company
- disputes between shareholders / partners
A company crisis is not only legally complex, but above all an emotionally charged situation. The first big challenge for you as a company owner is to take a frank and honest look at your own company. However, with the right support every crisis is also a new opportunity.
Are you unsure about your legal situation or are you seeing signs of an emerging crisis? Please do not hesitate to contact me. For more than 15 years now, I have been assisting companies and company owners in restructuring their companies. If an out-of-court restructuring is impossible or not promising, I will assist you in requesting the opening of insolvency proceedings and in conducting such proceedings.
Of course, I can also assist you if you are the creditor and one of your business partners is unable to pay or if a request for the opening of insolvency proceedings has been filed or such proceedings have already been opened.
- advice for creditors
- shareholder / partner liability
- CEO liability
- requests to open insolvency proceedings
- debtor-in-possession management / insolvency plan
- restructuring advice
- right to contest debtor’s transactions in insolvency proceedings
- representation in dealing with insolvency administrators
- restructuring pursuant to StaRUG (German Act on the Framework for the Stabilisation and Restructuring of Companies)
Business consultancy is hardly possible without considering the fiscal implications. Quite often, tax law even determines the envisaged options. Therefore, collaborating with your tax advisors is one of the central pillars of my work. I will advise you on transformations and transactions as well as in the case of disputes with tax authorities.
- fiscal aspects (esp. company transformations)
- accounting law
- tax advisor liability
- fiscal court proceedings
Good and structured planning is key to successful company succession. Ideally, the transfer process will start several years before the actual signing of the contracts.
Are you looking for a successor for your company, or have you found one already? Do you need help with drafting the succession contracts, or do you want to prepare your company for succession well in advance? I will help you with the timely consideration of all the details.
- succession planning
- testaments and inheritance contracts
Corporate day-to-day life is subject to constant change. Hiring, setting up new business relations or fulfilling internal compliance requirements: it is all about contract design. As your reliable strategic partner, I will help you with the legal aspects of your day-to-day business, always considering your company as a whole.
- commercial agency and distribution agreements
- purchase / sale contracts
- contracts to produce a work
- loan agreements
- employment contracts
- general terms and conditions of business
