Successful Multi- Disciplinary Law Firm
Wülfing Zeuner Rechel (WZR) is a law firm, focused on offering legal services to medium sized cases. The firm was delighted to achieve the Exclusive Leading Adviser of the Year – Germany accolade, as part of the Leading Adviser Awards 2017. To mark this success, we interviewed Dr. Thomas Wülfing, the founding partner, to find out more about the firm’s impressive track record in the provision of legal services.
Wülfing Zeuner Rechel WZR) emerged from another law firm, back in 2005. The founding members were Dr. Thomas Wülfing, Rafael Villena y Scheffler, Prof. Dr. Mark Zeuner and Dr. Hans-Peter Rechel. Since then, the law firm has steadily grown and has taken on more partners over the years.
Since the establishment of the law firm, the team has continued to grow. Today, there are more than 20 professionals (i.e. lawyers and tax consultants) working for WZR. WZR operates offices in Hamburg, Cologne, Rostock, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Schwerin, Dubai, Beijing, Tehran and Zurich.
Together with two in-house tax consulting firms and an associated audit firm, Wülfing Zeuner Rechel (WZR) offers fully integrated services. Therefore, WZR is considered a multi-disciplinary law firm that covers business and corporate and tax law, but also more specialised areas such as labour law, IT law and inheritance law.
Dr. Thomas Wülfing starts by revealing how the firm stands out in the work they do and the strong support given to clients. He also outlines the legal areas the firm specialises in.
“The firm stands out through its personal approach to its clients and its pragmatic view, as well as both our approach and philosophy. WZR is wellknown for its non-bureaucratic and straightforward support, in often long-lasting relationships with our clients.
““Our renowned law firm supports clients in both the shaping and realising of their visions. The cooperation between WZR and our clients is based on already long-lasting relationships and an efficient and transparent fee structure, which is particularly important for clients.
“WZR offers comprehensive support for mediumsized client cases. In addition to commercial, corporate and tax law, the portfolio of services they offer also includes insolvency administration, restructuring advice, labour law, as well as IP, IT and copyright laws. Moreover, the firm has a decentralised focus on the other fields, such as criminal tax law as well as banking and inheritance law consulting.”
Dr. Wülfing then keenly tells us how it feels to be selected as Exclusive Leading Adviser of the Year – Germany, as part of the Leading Adviser Awards 2017, in his own words.
“It is an honour for our law firm to be part of the Leading Adviser Awards 2017. The appreciation and recognition associated with it is based on the professional and competent work of all members of the WZR Group. Every employee plays a significant role in the continuous success of the firm and is, therefore, also responsible for the award.
“As part of the Leading Adviser Awards 2017, our task is to maintain the high-quality service and the professionalism towards the clients. Our goal is to successfully complete a financial year and to build on it during the next year. For us, success means, firstly, to have satisfied clients and to build professional relationships with them for many years. A successful and always trusting collaboration between consultants, employees and clients is the basis for mutual success. In addition, this award is the acknowledgement of our long-term work. The personal commitment and the trustworthy approach to the client, leads to the conclusion that the path that was taken, is the right one.”
Dr. Thomas Wülfing as the founding and responsible partner of WZR is the leading specialist in the areas of corporate law, commercial law and tax law. He is also the managing director of WZR Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft mbH and WVS Steuerberatungsgesellschaft mbH.
He advises the managing directors, board members and partners of well-known companies in all matters of national and international commercial law. He is a praised consultant in resolving corporate conflicts, conducting complex business transactions and developing tax-optimising strategies.
Thomas then reveals more about his own specialist areas, plus more of the firm’s expertise and what they can offer to potential future clients.
“As a corporate and tax lawyer and, above all, as the initiator of the international consulting firm Germela, I am thoroughly familiar with the legal and business issues that arise during operations of a German firm abroad.
“WZR offers full-range service packages, for medium sized businesses in most areas of the law. When it comes to labour law, we support our clients in the cases of insolvency, in-company training advice on the right to dismiss, the right to employee representation, co-determination, collective bargaining and the drafting of contracts.
“On energy and infrastructure, our focus is the renewable energy as well as projects in the field of transport infrastructure, especially airports and sea ports. We support our clients in engineering, supply and installation contracts (in individual lots or as an EPC/Turnkey project) and the corresponding maintenance contracts (O&M).
“In terms of inheritance law, I would say that basing on your ideas and requirements as a private individual, we structure a testament ensuring a conflict-free transfer of assets to the next generation by drawing on all legal possibilities. We regulate the legal framework for handing over your firm to the next generation, according to your wishes and visions.”
Thomas keenly outlines to us further aspects of the firm’s work.
“On corporate law, the firm will support and advise you in all questions regarding this. When it comes to commercial law, we advise and support you in all questions concerning service contracts, sales law, cooperation agreements in joint ventures, commercial representatives, international commercial law, drafting of terms and conditions as well as litigation and arbitration. “In the field of real estate law, we advise on all aspects of real estate law, real estate transactions, property purchase agreement drafting, commercial co-contracting, rental management, housing property law, real estate funds and project development. In addition, the bankruptcy law department accompanies you in the insolvency administration, in the preparation of an insolvency plan, in a transfer of remediation, in the selfadministration/protection screening process, in credit counselling and debt counselling, in the supplier pool as well as in insolvency law.
“We also support you in M&A worldwide, international corporate law, international commercial law as well as acquisition of the real estate abroad. We support you in all aspects of IT, brand and competition law. If all that wasn’t enough, then WZR can also provide experienced mediators to solve a conflict. WZR advises you in all areas of the media, entertainment and culture.”
The firm can also aid you in medical law – for example in clinic succession plans, contract law, fee questions, profitability and plausibility checks, health insurance law, medical care centres, home and care law as well as the hospital bill. They also advise on restructuring, refurbishment, banking and financing, tax restructuring, distressed M&A and asset protection.
WZR also advise their clients on self-reporting, international tax law, company auditing, charity and foundations and German tax reporting for banks and their German clients especially in Luxemburg, Switzerland and Austria (WZR German Tax Reporting Steuerberatungsgesellschaft mbH). Or perhaps you need support in the criminal-free selfreporting as well as a tax criminal procedures?
Thomas adds that as a partner, WZR support you in public building and construction law, antitrust law, aid law, environmental law as well as in banking and capital market law and administrative representation.
In closing, he explains the type of clients the firm serves and how they are approached. Daniel also reveals the vital role that staff play in the success of WZR’s and the firm’s outlook for the future.
“We offer comprehensive support for medium-sized companies. WZR is a frequently recommended
law firm, which acquires and brings together its clients through participation in events, as well as the organisation of its own seminars and events. WZR is a law firm that focuses on cost efficiency and transparent, comprehensible and thus regularly satisfactory fee structure for clients. These characteristics are important factors when acquiring new clients, giving WZR the edge over comparable companies.
“The role of WZR’s employees is a significant factor for us. Now, there is a young staff structure in place that gives us both the opportunity and the freedom to bring new ideas as well as impulses into the law firm and as such, to bring them within the employees. Therefore, WZR can continue to develop and remain at the forefront of its time. Innovative ideas and visions, paired with entrepreneurial thinking are native to the WZR philosophy and as such, they form a unique selling for us point in the market place today.
“Our aim is to continue the successful work we do and continue to fulfil the trust placed in WZR by the clients we serve. Furthermore, WZR’s focus is firmly on the strategic expansion of competencies and a continuing healthy growth.”
Company: Wülfing Zeuner Rechel (WZR)
Name: Dr Thomas Wülfing (Marketing: Daniel Wietstock)
Email: hamburg@wzr-legal.com
Web Address: www.wzr-legal.com
Address: Lehmweg 17 D–20251 Hamburg, Germany
Telephone: +49 40 480 639 0
