LexBerg advises clients in German and English as standard. Several members of our team also work in French and Arabic. For proceedings or negotiations conducted in other languages, we work with a network of accredited legal interpreters and translators who are experienced in legal and technical contexts. We understand that language barriers can be particularly significant in immigration, criminal, and family law matters, and we take care to ensure every client fully understands the advice they receive.

Our fee structure depends on the nature of the matter. For most advisory, transactional, and immigration work, we charge on a time-and-materials basis at agreed hourly rates, and we provide a cost estimate at the outset of each instruction. For litigation and arbitration, we can discuss fixed-fee arrangements for defined stages of proceedings. For certain employment and discrimination cases, we may be able to agree a contingency or conditional fee structure. All fee arrangements are set out in a clear engagement letter before work begins. We do not charge for an initial consultation in most cases — please ask when you contact us.

The EU Blue Card is a combined work and residence permit for highly qualified non-EU nationals who wish to live and work in Germany. To be eligible, you generally need a recognised university degree (or equivalent qualification), a concrete employment contract or binding job offer in Germany, and a gross annual salary that meets the statutory minimum threshold — currently €45,552 for most professions, or €35,983 for shortage occupations including IT, engineering, medicine, and mathematics. Under the 2022 Blue Card reforms, experienced ICT professionals without a formal degree may also qualify in certain circumstances. The Blue Card offers a faster route to permanent residence than a standard work visa and comes with enhanced family reunification rights for your spouse and children.

Processing times vary between Ausländerbehörden (local foreigners' authorities) across different German cities. In major cities such as Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin, well-prepared applications with complete documentation are typically processed within four to eight weeks, though delays can occur during periods of high volume. The most common cause of delay is incomplete documentation — in particular, unrecognised foreign qualifications or salary structures that require additional clarification. LexBerg prepares all applications with pre-checked documentation packages specifically designed to minimise the risk of delay or rejection at first application.

Yes — the EU Blue Card includes some of the most favourable family reunification provisions under German immigration law. Your spouse or registered partner is entitled to join you in Germany immediately, without the usual requirement to demonstrate basic German language skills (A1 level) that applies under standard family reunification rules. Your spouse is also immediately entitled to take up any employment in Germany without restriction. Children under 18 accompanying or joining a Blue Card holder are similarly entitled to residence rights, though specific conditions around German language proficiency may apply for children over 16. LexBerg can prepare your family reunification applications in parallel with your Blue Card application to minimise the time before your family can join you.

You have the right to remain silent under German law — and you should exercise it. You are not required to answer any questions beyond confirming your personal details (name, date of birth, address). Do not attempt to explain yourself or provide context to the police before you have spoken with a lawyer, even if you believe you have done nothing wrong. Statements made during initial questioning frequently cause difficulties later in proceedings. You also have the right to contact a lawyer immediately upon arrest. LexBerg's criminal defence team is reachable by telephone and will attend police interviews when instructed. Contact us as soon as possible — the earlier we are involved, the more effectively we can protect your position.

In Germany, criminal proceedings begin with a preliminary investigation (Ermittlungsverfahren) conducted by the public prosecutor's office, often in cooperation with the police. During this phase, you have the status of a suspect (Beschuldigter) and have the right to remain silent and instruct a lawyer. The investigation ends either with the charges being dropped (Einstellung) or with the public prosecutor filing an indictment (Anklage) with the court. If the court accepts the indictment, formal charges are brought and trial proceedings begin. It is important to instruct a defence lawyer as early as possible — ideally at the investigation stage — because decisions made and statements given at that early stage can have a decisive impact on the outcome of any subsequent trial.

The right structure depends on the nature of your business, the number of founders, and your growth and investment plans. The most common forms are the GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung), which is equivalent to a limited liability company and suitable for most SMEs and startups; the UG (haftungsbeschränkt), a simplified variant with lower minimum share capital often used for early-stage ventures; and the AG (Aktiengesellschaft), which is required if you intend to raise capital through public markets. For international investors, a German GmbH held through a foreign parent company is frequently the most tax-efficient structure. LexBerg advises on the full range of business formation options, including the regulatory and tax implications of each, and can incorporate your chosen entity and draft all constitutional documents.

Legal due diligence on a German company acquisition typically covers: corporate structure and ownership (confirming clean title to shares and the absence of third-party rights); material contracts and their change-of-control provisions; employment matters including works council agreements and key executive contracts; intellectual property ownership and any licensing arrangements; real estate and lease obligations; pending or threatened litigation; regulatory compliance including data protection under GDPR; and environmental liabilities where applicable. The scope of due diligence is calibrated to the size and risk profile of the transaction — a startup acquisition requires a different scope than the purchase of a regulated financial institution. LexBerg tailors the due diligence scope to the specific transaction and provides a clear issues report identifying and pricing the risks found.

Yes. Germany has significantly strengthened its FDI screening regime in recent years under the Foreign Trade and Payments Act (Außenwirtschaftsgesetz) and the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (AWV). Acquisitions of 10% or more of a German company operating in a sensitive sector — including critical infrastructure, defence, healthcare, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and certain media — may be subject to review by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs. Transactions in critical infrastructure sectors require mandatory notification regardless of the acquirer's origin. For non-critical sectors, the Ministry can open a review up to five years after the transaction where the acquirer is based outside the EU/EFTA area. LexBerg advises on FDI screening risk at the outset of any cross-border acquisition and manages the notification and review process where required.

Dismissal without notice (fristlose Kündigung) in Germany is only lawful in cases of serious misconduct — what the law calls an "important reason" (wichtiger Grund) under §626 BGB. Examples include theft, serious breach of trust, or sustained refusal to follow reasonable instructions. Even where misconduct exists, the employer must give the employee an opportunity to respond before dismissing, must comply with the works council consultation requirements where applicable, and must act within two weeks of learning of the alleged misconduct. Dismissals without notice that do not meet these requirements can be challenged before the Labour Court. If you have received a dismissal without notice, you must file a protection against dismissal claim (Kündigungsschutzklage) within three weeks — missing this deadline forfeits most of your legal rights. Contact LexBerg as soon as possible after receiving any notice of dismissal.

Under §622 BGB, the statutory minimum notice period for ordinary dismissal depends on how long you have been employed. It starts at four weeks and increases progressively with length of service: one month after two years, two months after five years, three months after eight years, four months after ten years, five months after twelve years, six months after fifteen years, and seven months after twenty or more years of service. These are minimums — your employment contract or a collective bargaining agreement may provide longer notice periods. Senior executives employed under service agreements rather than employment contracts may have different arrangements entirely. Note that the statutory notice protections under the Dismissal Protection Act (Kündigungsschutzgesetz) apply only to employees in companies with more than ten employees who have completed a six-month qualifying period.

Germany operates a system of deferred community of accrued gains (Zugewinngemeinschaft) as the default matrimonial property regime, unless a prenuptial agreement (Ehevertrag) has established a different arrangement. Under this system, each spouse retains ownership of their own property throughout the marriage, but upon divorce, the increase in net assets (the "accrued gain") achieved by each spouse during the marriage is equalised. The spouse who accrued more during the marriage must pay half the difference to the other. Assets owned before the marriage, and gifts or inheritances received during the marriage, are generally excluded from the calculation. Germany also has a statutory pension sharing regime (Versorgungsausgleich) that divides pension entitlements accumulated during the marriage between the spouses. International couples may have additional complexity where assets are held or pension entitlements accrued in multiple countries.

If your child has been taken to or retained in another country without your consent, this constitutes international child abduction. Where the country concerned is a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (which includes most EU and many other countries), you can apply for the child's prompt return under the Convention through Germany's designated Central Authority. The Convention creates a legal presumption in favour of returning the child to the country of habitual residence, and the process is designed to operate quickly. Where the destination country is not a Hague Convention signatory — such as certain Middle Eastern or African states — the available options are more complex and typically require parallel proceedings in both jurisdictions alongside diplomatic intervention. LexBerg has experience in both Hague Convention return proceedings and non-Convention international custody disputes. Speed is critical — contact us immediately if you believe your child has been wrongfully removed or retained abroad.

Yes. Germany levies inheritance tax (Erbschaftsteuer) on assets inherited from a deceased person, as well as on lifetime gifts (Schenkungsteuer) under the same framework. The applicable tax rate and available allowances depend on the relationship between the deceased and the beneficiary. Spouses and registered partners benefit from a personal allowance of €500,000; children receive an allowance of €400,000 per parent; grandchildren receive €200,000; and more distant relatives or unrelated beneficiaries receive only €20,000. Tax rates range from 7% to 50% depending on the taxable amount and the relationship class. For international estates, Germany may assert taxing rights where either the deceased or the beneficiary was resident in Germany at the date of death, or where German-situated assets are involved. Careful estate planning — including the use of German and international trust structures, gifting strategies, and appropriate will drafting — can significantly reduce the inheritance tax exposure for your family.

Within the European Union, the EU Succession Regulation (No. 650/2012) provides that your estate is generally governed by the law of the country in which you were habitually resident at the time of your death. However, the Regulation also allows you to make a formal choice of the law of your nationality to govern your estate — meaning that a German national habitually resident in France, for example, could elect for German law to apply to their entire estate. This choice must be expressed clearly in a will or other testamentary document to be effective. Outside the EU, the rules are more varied and depend on the specific countries involved. For individuals with assets or family connections across multiple countries, early and careful planning — including a properly structured international will — is essential to avoid uncertainty, competing claims, and unintended tax consequences after death. LexBerg's estate planning team advises on cross-border succession structures regularly.

International arbitration is generally preferable to national court litigation where the parties are from different countries and neither party wants to submit to the other's home courts. The key advantages of arbitration include: the ability to choose your arbitrators, including specialists with relevant technical expertise; confidentiality of the proceedings, which matters considerably in commercial disputes; a single neutral seat that avoids jurisdictional disputes; and — most importantly — enforceability. An arbitral award can be enforced in over 170 countries that have ratified the New York Convention (1958), which makes arbitration far more effective than a national court judgment for cross-border recovery. International arbitration under ICC, LCIA, DIS, or UNCITRAL rules is particularly well-suited to high-value commercial, construction, energy, and joint venture disputes. LexBerg represents parties in arbitration proceedings under all major institutional rules and advises on arbitration clause drafting in international contracts.