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If an employee chokes while drinking coffee at work and subsequently falls, this may constitute an accident at work in terms of Social Security Law in individual cases. This was held by Saxony-Anhalt Regional Social Court in its judgment of May 22, 2025 (Ref. L 6 U 45/23). Facts of the case The plaintiff is...

The (second) ordinance amending the Ordinance on Jurisdiction of June 3, 2025 (GV. NRW 2025 No. 27 of June 17, 2025, p. 507 ff.), the statewide jurisdictions of the Higher Regional Courts of Hamm and Cologne were expanded as of July 1, 2025. At the same time, a new judicial focus is being established at...

FGvW has advised the managing shareholders of RJ Lasertechnik GmbH, based in Übach-Palenberg north of Aachen, on the sale of their shares to the Dutch Andra Tech Group. RJ Lasertechnik GmbH was founded over 30 years ago as the first spin-off of the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT) in Aachen and is one of the pioneers...

FGvW has advised Global Gate, a leading international investment company, on the acquisition of a distribution center in Groß-Gerau, southwest of Frankfurt am Main. The real estate transaction, with a volume of around 22 million euros, was carried out by Dietz AG, a company specializing in logistics real estate, as the seller. The distribution center is conveniently...

Once a year, the US publisher “Best Lawyers” asks business lawyers for their recommendations from other law firms. We are happy about the results again this year: 37 of our firm’s lawyers are among the “Best Lawyers” in Germany. The recommendations are distributed among these practice areas: Advertising Law, Arbitration and Mediation, Competition/Antitrust Law, Construction Law,...

If the parties do not contractually waive that the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (“CISG”) applies, CISG is automatically applicable to many cross-border sales contracts. In the case of such a sales contract, the parties can only withdraw from the contract without setting a deadline in the event of non-delivery...

Under the German Transformation Act (Umwandlungsgesetz – UmwG), companies can reorganize through mergers, demergers, or changes of legal form. A common demerger type is a spin-off, where a business unit is transferred from one company (the transferring legal entity) to another (the transferee). The spin-off takes effect automatically under the UmwG, avoiding the need for...

When calculating compensation for a post-contractual non-competition clause in accordance with Sections 74 et seq. of the German Commercial Code (HGB), benefits from a virtual stock option program are also included. However, this only applies if the option rights were exercised while the employment relationship was still in place, according to the Federal Labor Court...

According to the case law of the Federal Labor Court (judgment of April 16, 2025 – 10 AZR 80/24), this is possible under certain conditions. Facts of the case The judgment of the Federal Labor Court is based on the following facts. The plaintiff was employed by the defendant, a company that deals with cryptocurrencies,...

On June 28, 2025, the new German Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG) comes into force in Germany and obliges many companies to make their digital products and services accessible. The German law is based on the European Accessibility Act (EAA) from 2019. Digital accessibility means that websites, apps and other digital content must be designed in such a...