Your law firm for compliance and business law
horak Rechtsanwälte Partnerschaft mbH advises companies and organizations on compliance and related business law issues. We support you in identifying legal risks, defining responsibilities and implementing appropriate measures for your business.
Clients and advice
Our advice is aimed at small and medium-sized companies, corporations, institutions of the economy and public bodies. We accompany our Clients national and cross-border situations.
The focus is on the legal review and the practical implementation of compliance measures. These include the analysis of operational risks, the design of guidelines and responsibilities, and the introduction and further development of Compliance management systems. The measures required and appropriate are, in particular, based on the applicable rules, the size of the company, the industry and the specific risk situation.
Federal and international cooperation
In the case of cross-border mandates, we coordinate legal processing with the requirements of the relevant legal systems. As far as necessary, we cooperate with appropriately qualified law firms abroad. We use an international cooperation network in industrial property rights.
The responsibilities, the scope of advice and the involvement of other consultants are coordinated for the respective mandate.
Offices
The Headquarters of our firm is located at Georgstraße 48 in Hanover, opposite the Opera and near the main train station. Further contact points and their contact details can be found in our Location overview.
Operation and equipment
We use legal literature as well as national and international legal databases to process our mandates. We take into account the relevant legislation and jurisprudence and continuously maintain our technical and organizational equipment.
Our consulting combines the legal evaluation with the economic and organizational requirements of your company. We explain options for action and their risks intelligibly and coordinate the further procedure with you.
Representation before courts and authorities
Our lawyers represent clients nationwide before courts and authorities in accordance with the applicable procedural regulations. In civil proceedings before the Bundesgerichtshof, representation by a lawyer authorised there is in principle required (§ 78 (1) ZPO).
In particular, proceedings before the Court of Justice and the General Court of the European Union shall be governed by Article 19 of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union. In the case of proceedings before courts of other States, the rules of admission and procedure shall be observed there and, where necessary, representatives shall be involved on the spot.
In industrial property law, we also accompany clients in proceedings before the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA), the European Patent Office (EPO), the Office of the European Union for Intellectual Property (EUIPO) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). The respective rules of procedure and representation apply; the EPO is governed by professional representation, in particular Art. 134 EPC.
Contact
Would you like to clarify a compliance question or have your company accompany you legally? Please contact us.
More about Rechtsanwalt Dipl.-Ing. Michael Horak, LL.M.
Your contact persons and the mandate management
Our advice combines legal and technical perspectives. The following profiles provide an insight into the existing qualifications and areas of activity. Which lawyer will take care of your specific concern, we will vote on the legal territory, possible conflicts of interest and the agreed order.
Personal contacts for your business
Our team combines legal and patent experience with technical understanding. We shall coordinate the responsibility according to your request and the required field of expertise.
Dipl.-Ing. Michael Horak, LL.M.
Attorney Specialist in industrial property law Specialist in copyright and media law Adviser engineer
Julia Ziegeler
Attorney-at-law Specialist in intellectual property law Specialist in copyright and media law
Dipl.-Phys. Andree Eckhard
Patent Attorney European Trademark Attorney and Design Attorney
Typical occasions for our consultation
- Establishing an organisation: Your company is growing or wanting to arrange responsibilities, guidelines and controls in a comprehensible manner.
- New requirements: Customers require compliance evidence; new markets, products, service providers or AI applications are added.
- Edit notes: A suspicion of misconduct, a complaint or a notification requires a confidential and structured examination.
- Accompanying requests for authorities: A review, a request for information or any other administrative measure requires legal support.
- Clear responsibility: Management and executives want to review delegation, decision-making basis or personal liability risks.
The Overview of our consulting topics leads to the individual specialist pages. There you will find typical cases, legal requirements and possible services for your company.
This is how the cooperation works
1. Declaring concerns and jurisdiction
They describe the occasion, the undertakings and persons involved, as well as any time limits. We will first clarify whether and to what extent we can take over the mandate. Sensitive documents will be exchanged via a coordinated route of transmission.
2. Arrange contract and remuneration
Together we determine the concrete questions, the companies and processes to be involved as well as the desired work result. Compensation and billing are based on the respective agreement and legal requirements. Information on the possible models can be found at: Court of First Instance.
3. Review the facts and legal situation
We evaluate the relevant documents, clarify open questions and discuss existing processes with the responsible persons. Recognizable gaps in the factual basis and special risks are identified. If necessary, coordination is carried out with IT, data protection, personnel, revision or other experts.
4. Determine the possibilities for action and measures
You will receive an understandable legal evaluation and concrete proposals for further action. Actions are ordered by urgency and importance. Responsible, necessary decisions and meaningful implementation steps are defined jointly.
5. Supporting implementation and further development
Depending on the order, we support contract and guideline texts, training courses, government communication or the legal evaluation of follow-up measures. An ongoing monitoring and subsequent review may be agreed separately.
Which work results can be commissioned?
- Test report or opinion: comprehensible answer to the agreed legal questions and presentation of essential risks.
- Risk and action overview: prioritized areas of action with responsibilities and implementation steps.
- Directives and Code of Conduct: specific rules for everyday business, such as grants, AI or business partners.
- Contractual clauses and release processes: legal design of selected business relationships and decision-making processes.
- Investigation plan or final report: substantive processing of a suspected case to the agreed extent.
- Training documents and workshops: training tailored to the tasks and previous knowledge of your employees.
Not every mandate needs all the results. Scope and form are agreed on in accordance with the request. A legal examination shall be distinguished from a technical certification or an examination according to a special auditing standard.
Frequently asked questions about the assignment
Which documents are needed first?
For an initial classification, a brief description of your business model, the specific occasion and any deadlines will help. Depending on the subject, organizational chart, existing guidelines, contracts or a factual chronology are added. We will coordinate the required documents in advance.
Can we also have a single contract or directive examined?
Yeah. A job can be limited to a single question or document. We name recognizable interfaces and limits of the test, so that the result can be correctly classified.
Is consultation possible without a personal appointment?
Depending on the request, processing can be done by telephone, videoconferencing and coordinated document exchange. If an on-the-spot discussion is appropriate, this will be agreed separately.
How are the costs determined?
This depends in particular on the subject matter, scope and accounting model. For example, a compensation agreement may provide for settlement by time or a clearly defined flat rate. The concrete agreement will be discussed before the appointment.
Can companies and managers be represented together?
This presupposes that there is no undue conflict of interests. In the case of internal investigations or liability issues, interests may fall apart and require separate representation.
Is a contact request already giving rise to a mandate?
A request alone does not justify any promised processing. We clarify the appointment and the order explicitly with you. In the event of urgent deadlines, you should already mention them at the time of the request and confirm the acceptance of the time-limited task.
Your next step
Ask for advice via the contact page. For further training, you will find topics and procedures in our Training programme.