Addleshaw Goddard (AG) has hired a seven-strong team of energy lawyers in Germany from EY Law.

The team is led by Boris Scholtka, who headed EY Law’s German energy practice. He will join alongside fellow partners Dr Laurenz Keller-Herder and Eric Glattfeld, counsel Karl Holtkamp and three associates. 

The team’s hire continues a period of expansion for AG in Europe, where the firm debuted in 2019 with the launch of an office in Hamburg. Since then its Germany team has grown to house nearly 50 lawyers across four locations. 

AG said that Scholtka, Keller-Herder, Holtkamp and a pair of associates will join from EY Law in its new Berlin office, where it added its first partner, real estate lawyer Kristina Baurschmidt, in May. Meantime Glattfeld will join in Munich, where AG opened in 2022, and the remaining associate will come aboard in Hamburg. It also opened an office in Frankfurt last year. 

Michael Leue, AG’s head of Germany said: “We are delighted to welcome the team to Addleshaw Goddard and to grow the energy practice in Germany, which is strategically important for our firm.

“With our new partners’ expertise, high visibility and considerable network in the market, we are specifically strengthening the international sector group and will be able to better meet the service requirements of our global clients.”

Scholtka was a partner at PwC Deutschland before joining EY Law in 2020 and brings 25 years of experience advising on German and European energy, renewable energy and regulatory and antitrust law matters. His areas of expertise include energy transition projects, generation projects and PPAs, district heating and hydrogen ramp-up issues. He also has extensive experience in contract negotiations and primarily conducts court proceedings, as well as serving as an arbitrator and mediator. At EY Law he was EMEIA (Europe, Middle East, India and Africa) co-leader for ESG due diligence.

Meantime, Keller-Herder advises energy utilities and the public sector on energy trading and contract law, PPAs, concession contract and concession fee law, and sector-specific transactions. He also has broad experience in litigation. 

Glattfeld’s experience covers energy, regulatory, concession and project law. He advises industrials and large enterprises on energy supply and electricity cost optimisation, as well as municipal utilities, public and private companies and project entities from the traditional energy and utilities sector.

“The energy transition presents our clients with countless legal and economic challenges, not only in Germany, but across borders,” Scholtka said. “With its industry expertise combined with a global network, Addleshaw Goddard offers our clients an ideal framework – wherever they need us.” 

AG has also added to its Germany team this year with the hire of M&A partners Dr Nina Leonard and Christian Lang in Munich from Pinsent Masons as well as banking regulatory lawyer Marco Zingler in Frankfurt, who also joined from EY Law. The firm said it expected to grow its Germany team further. 

Outside Germany, AG has opened European offices in Paris, Luxembourg and Dublin since 2021 and earlier this year announced it was hiring a trio of partners from firms including Latham & Watkins to open an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

In August the firm reported it had grown turnover 18% to £443m in the year ended 30 April against an equal rise in total profits to £184m, making it something of an outlier in a year when many firms reported modest revenue growth and flatlined profits. AG declined to disclose profits per equity partner, which edged up 2% in FY22 to £866k, saying it no longer used it to measure performance.