In March 2025, the Germany Office of Guozun Law Firm (GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES) was successfully completed and officially put into operation. This is a key step for Guozun to improve its European legal service network and expand into the German-speaking region and the core European market. It marks a further upgrade of Guozun’s service capability in the EU and Western Europe, and has built a professional legal bridge for China-Germany and China-Europe cross-border economic and trade cooperation.
Introduction to the Guozun Germany Office
The Guozun Germany Office is located in two core German cities — Berlin and Munich — both situated in the local core business districts, with superior geographical location and convenient transportation. It can efficiently radiate to Germany’s major industrial and financial centers such as Frankfurt and Düsseldorf. At the same time, relying on Germany’s locational advantage as a core EU member state, it further radiates to the entire German-speaking region and the European continent, achieving full regional service coverage and precisely connecting with the core needs of China-Germany cross-border business.
The office has complete local German practice qualifications and holds German local practice licenses. It has established a professional team composed of lawyers qualified in both China and Germany and senior local German legal experts. Team members all meet Germany’s strict lawyer practice standards. They must complete four and a half years of systematic legal study, pass two state examinations, and complete two years of internship. The whole process requires at least seven years to obtain practice qualifications. They possess a solid legal professional background, rich local practice experience, a deep understanding of the German legal system, EU legal rules, and local business culture, and are also proficient in multiple languages such as Chinese, English, and German, enabling barrier-free communication with clients and precise connection with various cross-border legal needs.
Relying on mature local judicial resources and a good industry reputation, the office breaks through the connection barrier between international vision and local implementation. It has efficient local judicial coordination capability, can respond quickly to client needs, and provide clients with legal solutions that fit German local realities and comply with EU norms. The team attaches importance to continuous professional improvement, regularly participates in various EU and German legal seminars and training courses, closely follows the latest legal developments such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), ensures that it always masters cutting-edge legal policies, calmly responds to complex cross-border legal challenges, and provides clients with high-quality and efficient legal service guarantees. Its service capability has been recognized by many Chinese-funded enterprises in Germany and multinational companies.
Introduction to the Scope of Legal Services
I. Cross-Border Investment and Corporate Governance
Two-way investment between China and Germany: due diligence, investment structure design, and the full process of M&A transactions, including document drafting, negotiation, and closing.
Corporate procedures: German company registration, equity changes, corporate restructuring, and capital operations.
Daily governance services: continuous services such as board compliance and shareholder rights protection.
Coverage of key industries: manufacturing, new energy, auto parts, hydrogen energy, and others, assisting in completing BMWK filings and antitrust review.
II. EU and German Compliance Services
Core compliance services: EU CBAM, GDPR, and German LkSG compliance, including building compliance systems and completing rectification.
Policy interpretation and risk control: interpretation of German and EU trade and tax policies, supply chain due diligence, anti-money laundering, and antitrust compliance.
Regulatory response: assisting in responding to regulatory inspections, carrying out compliance training, and connecting with CSDDD compliance requirements.
III. Intellectual Property and Digital Technology Law
Intellectual property services: application, maintenance, and infringement protection of EU and German trademarks, patents, and copyrights.
IP-related matters: trade secret protection and cross-border IP licensing and transfer.
Digital technology compliance: compliance for projects involving cloud computing, blockchain, software research and development, and matters related to software copyright and media law.
IV. International Trade and Customs Law
Customs and tariffs: interpretation of EU and German customs policies and tariffs, tariff planning, and response to customs inspections.
Trade compliance: import and export compliance and response to trade remedies, including anti-dumping and anti-subsidy matters.
Contracts and disputes: drafting and review of cross-border trade contracts, performance risk control, and handling of international trade disputes.
V. Labor and Employment Law
Employment management: China-Germany cross-border employment management, labor contract design, and compliance with employee representative mechanisms.
Labor disputes: signing of collective agreements, employee dismissal, and representation in labor arbitration and litigation.
Personnel mobility: compliance for cross-border personnel dispatch and employee data protection, in line with German labor regulation requirements.
VI. Finance and Tax Law
Financial services: application for German financial institution licenses, credit compliance, and legal services for acquisition financing.
Tax-related matters: cross-border tax planning, compliance review, and coordination of tax disputes.
Tax treaties: interpretation of the China-Germany bilateral tax treaty, avoidance of tax risks, and optimization of tax structures.
VII. Dispute Resolution and Cross-Border Enforcement
Litigation and arbitration: full-process representation in China-Germany cross-border commercial litigation and international commercial arbitration.
Enforcement of decisions: cross-border recognition and enforcement of German and EU court judgments and arbitral awards.
Diversified dispute resolution: efficient resolution of cross-border commercial disputes through mediation, settlement, and other methods.
VIII. Private Wealth and Cross-Border Family Affairs
Wealth management: cross-border asset allocation, establishment of family trusts, and legal services for inheritance.
Family affairs services: handling of cross-border marriage and family matters, compliance in wealth inheritance, and risk isolation.
Personalized solutions: providing customized private wealth legal protection for high-net-worth clients.
IX. Legal Services in Special Fields
Special industry services: patent layout for auto parts, compliance for high-end manufacturing, and implementation of new energy projects.
Personnel mobility services: China-Germany cross-border personnel mobility and immigration-related legal matters.
Enterprise support: providing professional legal support for the cross-border deployment of enterprise talent.
The official establishment of the Guozun Germany Office is both an important extension of Guozun’s globalization strategy and an important measure to help deepen China-Germany economic and trade cooperation. In the future, the office will continue to deeply cultivate the local German market. Relying on its professional lawyer team, complete local qualifications, and rich judicial resources, and adhering to the service philosophy of “professional, efficient, and precise,” it will connect with Guozun’s global legal service network, provide comprehensive cross-border legal services for enterprises and individuals from China and Germany, promote the high-quality development of economic and trade cooperation between China and Germany and between China and Europe, safeguard global business exchange and cooperation, and help Chinese enterprises achieve the full-chain implementation of “R&D + production + channels” in Germany.
Global Legal Consultation Hotline: 4006661890
Domestic Legal Consultation Hotline: 010-65915691