Hong Kong meets Europe: Eckart Brödermann, Hamburg

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1 Eckart Brödermann, Hamburg Professor Dr. Eckart Brödermann, LL.M. ((Harvard) is managing partner and founder of the boutique corporate law firm Brödermann & Jahn which operates worldwide out of Hamburg/Germany with connections to over 40 jurisdictions in an average practice year (see In his practice, Eckart concentrates on international transactions, contracts and arbitration. He is expert in transnational project management. With his team of 20 lawyers, he has been involved in the past years in-depth in about 20 industries including e.g. aviation (aircraft), automotive, chemistry, construction, cosmetics, energy (oil, gas, electricity, renewable energy), food, health care, insurance, IT & technology, logistics, pharmaceuticals, real estate, satellite, shipbuilding, sports, textile. Eckart Brödermann Brödermann & Jahn T: M: E: Eckart.Broedermann@ german-law.com He is also Professor at the University of Hamburg where he teaches international contract law and arbitration including risk management. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (London). Eckart is President of the Chinese European Legal Association (CELA) which is the shareholder of the. He is member of the Board of the Hamburg Bar which has initiated the CEAC project. Eckart is author or co-author of numerous books and articles including a commentary on German Civil Law (6th edition 2011) and a practice oriented book on private international law and international procedure (6th edition 2012). Eckart was initially trained as a French lawyer ( ). He holds titles from the Universities of Paris (Licencé en Droit 1980, Maître en Droit 1981). He then studied in the United States at Harvard University (LL.M. 1983) and took the New York Bar Exam (1983/84). Until today, he is a member of the New York Bar. After a year in an international law firm in Washington D.C., Eckart registered as an U.S. attorney in Germany while he studied at Hamburg University ( ). Following the first state exam, he clerked at the Court of Appeal in Hamburg for two and a half years. After his admission to the Bar in Germany and besides practicing international business law in a major law firm, Eckart went on writing and teaching. In 1994, the University of Hamburg awarded him the title of a Doctor Iuris. In 1996, Eckart founded BRÖDERMANN & JAHN. In 2011, Eckart became a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (London). In 2011, Eckart was awarded the life long title of a Professor. He is member of the Faculty of Law of the University of Hamburg. 7

2 Dominik Ziegenhahn, Hamburg Dr. Dominik Ziegenhahn is a partner of Graf von Westphalen and works in the firm s Hamburg office. Graf von Westphalen is a general partnership of lawyers and one of Germany s major independent law firms. With more than 130 professionals based in offices in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich as well as in Alicante, Brussels, Istanbul and Shanghai, Graf von Westphalen operates nationally and internationally. As a full-service law firm, Graf von Westphalen offers its clients one-stop legal services that cover all aspects of corporate and commercial law. Over the last decade, Graf von Westphalen has developed a strong focus on emerging markets advising on inbound and outbound investments and transactions between Europe and the growing countries worldwide. Dr. Dominik Ziegenhahn Graf von Westphalen T: M: E: d.ziegenhahn@gvw.com Dominik is a member of Graf von Westphalen s corporate practice group and specializes in corporate law and mergers and acquisitions. He is member of the firm s China Desk and responsible for its international business development. He advises both European, in particular German companies and investors on cross-border M&A transactions including investments and joint ventures as well as Chinese companies on their market entry in Europe. In addition to that, he advises Chinese companies on IPOs and listings in Germany. Before joining Graf von Westphalen, Dominik was a member of the Corporate/M&A group of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and worked in their offices in Hamburg, Frankfurt and Milan for seven years. Dominik completed his legal education at the universities of Kiel and Rome. He holds the degree of doctor of laws (Dr iur) in public international and European law from the University of Kiel and qualified as a German lawyer in Until 2009, Dominik was with the international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and advised on private and public M&A transactions. At the end of 2009, Dominik became partner of the German law firm Graf von Westphalen and started to concentrate on Sino-European business transactions. 8

3 Thomas Weimann, Düsseldorf Thomas Weimann is Head of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice of in Düsseldorf. operates worldwide in close to 30 jurisdictions with almost lawyers. 's Hong Kong office was established in In mainland China, s Beijing office opened in 1985, followed by the Shanghai office, which opened in 1993; today, these two offices represent one of the largest Mainland presences of any international law firm. Thomas is a member of the firms China Group and concentrates on international dispute resolution specializing in international construction, plant construction and M&A disputes originating in these and comparable industries (including automotive and energy). Within the last 20 years, Thomas has formed the firm s Düsseldorf litigation practice to be a tier one dispute resolution team for industrial clients. His team, consisting of ten lawyers, is active in all industries (including but not limited to chemical, steel, consumer goods, utilities, energy, automotive, construction). Thomas Weimann T: M: E: Thomas.Weimann@ CliffordChance.com Thomas is a regular speaker on international conferences, acts as arbitrator and contributes to the academic discussion in articles and books. He is the Vice-President of the Chinese European Legal Association (CELA), the parent of the. Thomas was trained in Germany at the Universities of Bonn, Münster and Osnabrück. He then worked for the Austrian Law Firm of Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld in Vienna. Following the first state exam, he clerked at the Court of Appeal in Düsseldorf for two and a half years. In 1993, Thomas joined Pünder, Volhard, Weber & Axster, inter alia the first continental European Law Firm in the PRC. Thomas became a partner in this firm in In 2000, Pünder, Volhard, Weber & Axster was merged into. Thomas has stayed with ever since and concentrated on developing the business and high quality for his international client base. In 2007, Thomas was elected Vice President of the Chinese European Legal Association. In this capacity, he travels to Greater China frequently and speaks on seminars and conferences. 9

4 Christine Heeg, Hamburg Dr. Christine Heeg, LL.M. (Sydney) is one of three Managing Directors of the (CEAC) and is working in private practice with the boutique law firm of Brödermann & Jahn specializing on international business law. Christine s focus in her practice is on dispute resolution including litigation, arbitration and mediation as well as international contracts and transactions. She is trained and certified in mediation by the University of California, Berkeley. She became active in the in 2007 and accepted her appointment as Managing Director in In her position, Christine has promoted the arbitration institution globally on numerous occasions. Christine Heeg CEAC T: M: E: heeg@ ceac-arbitration.com Christine speaks German and English as well as Russian and French. She practiced and lived in Russia and in the United States. She is co-author of several articles on Sino-European arbitration and regularly speaks at international conferences including the IBA Annual Meeting just recently. Beside serving as CEAC Managing Director, Christine is an officer for Greater China for the Membership Sub-Committee of the IBA Mediation Committee. Christine was awarded her law degree in 2001 by the Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg im Breisgau. After that she received her PhD (doctorate) from the University of Osnabrück for a thesis comparing German, EU and US American company law. She completed her LL.M. studies at the University of Sydney including studies at Ritsumeikan University, Tokyo and East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai. Christine was trained as a mediator in Sydney and Berkeley and is certified as mediator by the University of California, Berkeley. Before joining Brödermann & Jahn in 2007, Christine worked with a major international law firm as trainee lawyer as well as with the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) and German courts. In 2008, Christine became one of the three Managing Directors of the (CEAC). She, however, still works in private practice. 10

5 Thorsten Vormann, Frankfurt am Main Dr. Thorsten Vormann, LL.M. (McGill University) is a partner in the Frankfurt office of since He has been a specialist in intellectual property for over 20 years and is the head of the German IP and TM Department. Thorsten is an active member of Clifford Chance s Automotive and Healthcare Groups. He advises on the protection and enforcement of all forms of intellectual property, with a strong focus on patent infringement litigation. Moreover, Thorsten is acting in non-contentious IP-matters, in particular, counseling in the field of R&D projects, licensing and distributorship agreements. He has worked in an array of complex technologies, including energy, automotive, industrial, medical, electronics, telecommunications, computer hardware and software. Thorsten Vormann T: M: E: thorsten.vormann@ cliffordchance.com Thorsten is author and co-author of various books and several articles on patents, trademarks, registered designs and unfair competition issues. Recently he was interviewed by the German newspapers Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Süddeutsche Zeitung and Handelsblatt on the patentability of software and the rise of patent enforcement companies in Europe. He is a regular speaker at international conferences mainly for audiences from the automotive and pharmaceutical industries. Thorsten Vormann was awarded his law degree by the Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main. He then worked for the German-Arab Chamber of Commerce (Cairo,1990). After that, he was awarded his Masters Degree (McGill University Montreal, Canada, 1991). One year later, he received his PhD (doctorate) (Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, 1992). Following this, he joined the German predecessor of over 20 years ago. Since 2003, he has been heading the German IP team of. 11

6 Clifford Borg-Marks, Beijing Clifford Borgs-Marks is a member of Bird & Bird s Intellectual Property Group in China. His focus is on portfolio management, licensing, due diligence and lobbying. He is renowned for troubleshooting on behalf of companies facing an IP-related crisis in China. In the 1990's, Cliff developed a pioneering IP practice and executed a remarkable number of IP firsts in China. These include: Clifford Borg-Marks Bird & Bird LLP T: M: E: Clifford.borgmarks@ twobirds.com the first enforcement campaigns against software piracy at the retail level and against hard-disk loading (for the Business Software Alliance and Microsoft Corporation); the first ever computer software case to be accepted by the National Copyright Administration (for Sega Enterprises); the first administrative review of a decision of the State Pharmaceutical Administration for pipeline protection; the first cyber-squatting dispute decided by CIETAC (for PepsiCo). Cliff graduated from Beijing University in 1982 and ran Malta's embassy in Beijing as Chargé d'affaires in 1982 to Apart from Chinese law, he also studied South Pacific legal systems and is admitted to the Supreme Court of Tonga. He is a member of the International Trademark Association and chaired its China Subcommittee for two years during which time INTA established formal relations with the China Trademark Association. He is also a member of the Sports Lawyers' Association. Cliff's effective lobbying of Chinese government bodies has resulted in the issuance of a number of official interpretative notices on such matters as enforcement against software and movie piracy on grounds other than copyright, the unauthorized use of trademarks in signboards by service centers and concept stores and conflicts between trademarks and design patents. Cliff was regularly consulted by the Office of the USTR on IP issues in the run-up to China's entry into the WTO. In June 2010, Cliff contributed the article on China to Managing IP s 20th anniversary edition, Leading figures on 20 years of IP trends. Cliff s book credits include: Trade Mark Law in the People s Republic of China (Oxford University Press 1998, co-authored with LK Tan), Trademark Anti-counterfeiting in Asia and the Pacific Rim (INTA, New York 2001, contributing author and editor). He is fluent in Chinese, English and Maltese and has a working knowledge of Italian and French. 12

7 Kristofer Bott, Frankfurt am Main Dr. Kristofer Bott is a lawyer and partner at Graf von Westphalens Frankfurt office. Graf von Westphalen is a general partnership of lawyers and one of Germany s major independent law firms. With more than 130 professionals based in offices in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich as well as in Alicante, Brussels, Istanbul and Shanghai, Graf von Westphalen operates nationally and internationally. As a full-service law firm Graf von Westphalen offers its clients one-stop legal services that cover all aspects of corporate and commercial law. Over the last decade, Graf von Westphalen has developed a strong focus on emerging markets advising on inbound and outbound investments and transactions between Europe and the growing countries worldwide. Kristofer Bott Graf von Westphalen T: M: E: k.bott@gvw.com Kristofer is a certified specialist lawyer in intellectual property law and head of the firm s IP/IT/Media practice group. Kristofer advises both domestic and foreign clients in his areas of expertise, with a focus on copyright and trademark litigation and on licence agreements with a technical background (patents, IT, know-how). Before joining Graf von Westphalen, Kristofer was member of the IP group of Taylor Wessing and worked in their Frankfurt office for seven years. Kristofer completed his legal education at the universities of Frankfurt and Milan where he studied Law, History, and Philosophy. He holds the degree of doctor of laws (Dr iur) in Private Law from the University of Frankfurt and qualified as a German lawyer in Kristofer is a member of AIPPI, IBA and INTA. He publishes regularly on various topics in his area of expertise. 13

8 Helena Chang-Schoene, Frankfurt am Main Dr. Helena Chang-Schoene, LL.M. is a fully qualified German lawyer and works as an associate of Graf von Westphalen (GvW) in the firm s Frankfurt office. Graf von Westphalen is a general partnership of lawyers and one of Germany s major independent law firms. With more than 130 professionals based in offices in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich as well as in Alicante, Brussels, Istanbul and Shanghai, Graf von Westphalen operates nationally and internationally. As a full-service law firm Graf von Westphalen offers its clients one-stop legal services that cover all aspects of corporate and commercial law. Over the last decade, Graf von Westphalen has developed a strong focus on emerging markets advising on inbound and outbound investments and transactions between Europe and the growing countries worldwide. Helena Chang-Schoene Graf von Westphalen T: M: E: h.chang-schoene@gvw.com Helena is a member of Graf von Westphalen s corporate practice group. Her focus areas of practice are corporate law, merger and acquisitions and commercial law. Helena is member of the firm s China Desk and is responsible for coordinating cross-border businesses relating to Greater China. Specifically, she advises Chinese companies and investors on cross-border M&A transactions including investments as well as Chinese enterprises on their market entry in Europe. In addition, Helena advises Chinese companies on IPOs and listings in Germany. Helena completed her legal education at Soochow University (Taipei, Taiwan) and the Universities of Arizona (USA), Gottingen and Frankfurt am Main (Germany). She holds a doctoral degree (Dr. jur.) in employment law from the University of Gottingen, an advanced law degree (Master of Laws in International Trade Law, LL.M.) from the University of Arizona and qualified as a German lawyer in December Helena has been working with GvW as an associate since April

9 Qian Ma, Frankfurt am Main Dr. Qian Ma, LL.M. is an Attorney-at-Law (P.R. China) and a Foreign Lawyer at 's Frankfurt office. Being born and educated in the PRC, she obtained an LL.M. and a doctorate in Germany. Within the last 10 years, she has advised international clients in the field of cross-border M&A, capital market, intellectual property law and arbitration. Qian Ma is a member of the China Desk in Germany. Qian is author and co-author of numerous articles and books on German and Chinese IP, M&A and capital market issues. Qian is a regular speaker on international conferences and lecturer at the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main and University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt, Germany. She was academic researcher for the project Product and Brand Piracy and IP Protection in Asia and the PRC and was appointed as Resercher of the "Centers for Intellectual Property Right Studies" at the China University of Potical Science and Law, Bejing, P.R. China. Qian Ma T: M: E: qian.ma@ cliffordchance.com Qian was awarded LL.B. Bachelor of Laws with Honours at Jilin University P.R. China (2002). She then studied at the University of Saarland, Germany and obtained her LL.M. (2003). She was awarded her Juris Doctor degree at the University of Saarland, Germany (2007). During her doctorate study, she worked as Foreign Associate at Courdert Brothers LLP s Frankfurt office ( ). Following this, she joined Hengeler Mueller and worked as Associate at Hengeler s Frankfurt office ( ). Since 2008, she is lecturer at the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main and University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt, Germany, and focuses on Investment and IP (Patent, Trade mark, Design and Competition) law in China and Germany. She was an academic assistant for the research project Product and brand Piracy and IP Protection in Asia and the PRC at the University of Applied Sciences in Darmstadt (2009). Qian was appointed as Researcher of the "Centers for Intellectual Property Right Studies" at the China University of Potical Science and Law, Bejing, P.R. China ( ). Prior to joining, she worked as Legal Counsel and Project Manager at international firms in Germany ( ). In July 2011, Qian joined. 15