Dirk has a broad public law practice with a particular focus on regulated industries. He acts for investors, companies and entities from various sectors in all public law and regulatory matters relating to transactions and restructurings.
He is an experienced litigator representing his clients in administrative proceedings and legal disputes in all instances before specialized courts. Dirk's practice covers fundamental legal questions and landmark proceedings under European Law, Constitutional Law and Administrative Law. He also has expertise in Environmental Law, Energy Law, Healthcare/Life Sciences (in particular Drug Law and Statutory Health Insurance Law), Data Protection Law, Compliance, Internal Investigations, Corporate Social Responsibility and background advice in matters of Commercial Criminal Law.
Being a Member of the Board of the Düsseldorf Bar Council, Dirk also concentrates on laws and regulations of the legal profession, and advises clients from numerous economic sectors on the prevention of money laundering.
Dirk's clients include energy supply companies (RWE, E.ON, TenneT, DONG Energy and many others), pharmaceutical companies (such as Bayer HealthCare, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline and Janssen-Cilag), statutory health insurances (AOK Bayern) and banks (Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley etc.), as well as industrial companies (GEA, Thyssen Krupp) and media groups (Bertelsmann Group, Axel Springer SE).
In the energy sector, Dirk has been actively involved in all relevant transactions regarding the sale of German transmission system operators, including the sale of transpower (now TenneT TSO) by E.ON (2009), the sale of Thyssengas by RWE (2010), the sale of Open Grid Europe by E.ON (2012) and the sale of Ferngas Nordbayern (2013). In addition, Dirk advised RWE on the sale of RWE Dea (2014), and TenneT Holding on the acquisition of Netz Veltheim (2015). Most recently, Dirk represented TenneT TSO, a transmission system operator, in civil damage proceedings, as well as in landmark proceedings before the Higher Regional Court in Düsseldorf and the Federal Supreme Court concerning fundamental questions of offshore grid extension and regulations on network charges. Dirk’s energy law practice includes power generation, renewable energies, unbundling of distribution and transmission system operators and energy infrastructure regulations.
In the Healthcare/Life Sciences sector, Dirk advises research-based pharmaceutical companies in regulatory, market access and reimbursement matters, as well as statutory health insurances in legal disputes concerning selective agreements.
Dirk fundamentally believes in efficient, appropriate and risk-adequate regulation of all economic sectors being sufficiently distanced from the state. This is particularly reflected in his strong engagement against entrenched monopoly and oligopoly structures violating constitutional and European Laws, e.g., in the public transport sector (Uber), and in converging gambling law markets where Dirk is currently involved in various constitutional complaint proceedings before the Federal Constitutional Court.
