Dr. Elmar Schnitker

Milbank LLP Litigation & Arbitration partner Stacey Rappaport will speak on the Law Firm Leadership panel as part of Fordham Law School’s Structural Issues in Law Firm Management series on February 20, 2026. The Law Firm Leadership panel explores what makes great law firm leaders and how partners balance client work with business development, internal management, and talent development. The discussion will also examine leadership roles, partner expectations, and key lessons to be applied throughout the partner journey. Ms. Rappaport will be joined by Gabriel Yomi Dabiri (Global Head of Private Credit and Direct Lending, Squire Patton Boggs), Cara D. Edwards (New York Office Managing Partner, DLA Piper), Stephan Waldhausen (Partner and Global Co-Head of Industrials, Freshfields) and Alan F. Zoccolillo, Jr. (Partner and Chair, North American Transactional Practices; Co-Managing Partner, New York Office, Baker McKenzie). The Structural Issues in Law Firm Management series brings together leaders from top law firms and companies and other industry experts in discussions about best practices for law firm management. Ms. Rappaport received her J.D. cum laude from Fordham University School of Law and is a member of the school's Dean's Planning Council. She is also a board member of the Fordham Law Alumni Association and Lincoln Square Legal Services, Inc., Fordham Law’s student law clinic. Learn more about Fordham and its certificate programs here.

Jan 21

1 min

Japanese conglomerate Asahi Kasei Corp. said Thursday it has agreed to buy biopharmaceutical company Aicuris for €780 million ($920 million) cash to fuel the German company's research and development efforts, in a deal steered by Freshfields LLP and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Asahi Kasei will acquire Aicuris Anti-infective Cures AG through Veloxis, its U.S. pharmaceutical firm specializing in therapies for transplants. Asahi Kasei said the transaction is subject to "customary conditions." Freshfields is advising Veloxis, working with its in-house legal team led by Noel Barnard and Tom Brady. The Freshfields team includes Christian Ruoff, Michael Ramb, Stephan Denk and Jil Rollmann. Gibson Dunn is acting as legal adviser to Aicuris in the transaction, with a team that includes Dirk Oberbracht, Sonja Ruttmann, Ryan A. Murr, Aliresa Fatemi and Lars Petersen. Aicuris focuses on drug candidates for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases in people with weakened immune systems. "Asahi Kasei's goal to address serious unmet needs in infectious diseases aligns with our mission to provide innovative antiviral therapies for immunocompromised patients," Aicuris chief executive Larry Edwards said. "Becoming part of Asahi Kasei will accelerate our research and development." Aicuris has offices in Wuppertal, Germany, as well as a U.S. office in Massachusetts, according to its website. Asahi Kasei, which has its head office in Tokyo, has three business divisions comprising healthcare, home and materials. Its healthcare section includes pharmaceuticals, which covers areas such as therapeutic solutions in the fields of orthopedics and the immune system. "This acquisition strengthens our position across interconnected therapeutic areas, including autoimmune diseases, transplantation, kidney disease, and severe infectious diseases," said Ken Shinomiya, head of Asahi Kasei's healthcare sector. "It enhances our pipeline and reinforces our strategy to build a leading global specialty pharmaceutical company," Shinomiya said. Asahi Kasei's home and materials divisions includes construction and car interior products, respectively.

Feb 26

2 min

Global law firm Freshfields has advised Vossloh AG on the issuance of subordinated unsecured notes with a total volume of €250mn. The term of the notes is indefinite, and the notes are callable for the first time after five years and solely by Vossloh. The notes bear interest at a rate of 5.375 per cent per annum and were issued at 100% of the nominal amount. Because of the specific terms and conditions of the notes, the nominal amount will be reported as equity in Vossloh’s IFRS consolidated financial statements. Vossloh intends to use the proceeds from the issuance for general corporate purposes including the financing of acquisitions and the refinancing of outstanding financial debt. Jefferies acted as Global Coordinator and Manager in the placement of the notes for Vossloh. The notes will be included in the Open Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The Freshfields team included Partners Christoph Gleske (Capital Markets, Frankfurt) and Georg Roderburg (Dusseldorf), Counsel Peter Stark (Frankfurt, both Tax), Principal Associate Birgit Schulz and Associate Julius Stecher (both Capital Markets, Frankfurt).

Jan 27

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has advised gategroup on the outsourcing of pension liabilities to Funding Solutions Germany – a third-party provider specialised in acquisition, administration and processing of pension liabilities. gategroup had taken over pension liabilities with a volume of around €800 million in the course of the purchase of the European part of Deutsche Lufthansa's catering business in December 2019. gategroup had then decided to outsource a significant part of these liabilities. For this purpose, around €300 million of pension liabilities vis-à-vis pensioners and deferred pensioners were initially, by way of conversion law, transferred to two (group-owned) legal entities set up specifically for this purpose. For the proper funding of these legal entities, CTA plan assets were transferred and a long-term financing structure was developed which was specifically tailored for gategroup and the pensioner firms. The legal entities to which the pension obligations were transferred, were subsequently acquired by Funding Solutions Germany. The restructuring is intended to ensure the long-term funding of the pension liabilities with a balance sheet effect. The complex and comprehensive advice in this transaction spanned over a period of more than one year and represents one of the first large-volume transactions with this concept, which can be regarded as groundbreaking for future buy-out solutions of pension liabilities. The Freshfields team, led by Partner Thomas Granetzny and Partner Elmar Schnitker (Düsseldorf, both Employment Law), included Associates Vera Münsch (Munich) and Sarah Richter (Düsseldorf, both Employment Law) and Partners Philipp Pütz (Düsseldorf), Konrad Schott, Alexander Glos (both Frankfurt), Counsel David Schwintowski (Berlin), Associates Justus Pauls, Maxim Gomer (both Düsseldorf), Principal Associate Alicia Hildner (Frankfurt, all Corporate/M&A) as well as Partner Jan Brinkmann and Principal Associate Leonard Kirscht (both Tax Law, Frankfurt).

Jun 9

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields advises Allfunds Group plc (‘Allfunds’) on its recommended cash and share acquisition by Deutsche Börse AG (‘Deutsche Börse’). Allfunds is a leading global dealing and distribution platform in the wealth management industry, listed on Euronext Amsterdam. Deutsche Börse is a global market infrastructure provider for trading markets in financial instruments, headquartered in Frankfurt. The transaction, valued at approximately €5.3bn, is expected to complete in the first half of 2027 subject to the approval of Allfunds’ shareholders and regulatory conditions being satisfied. The Freshfields team is being led by partners Nick Jones, Stephen Hewes and Michael Black on M&A, Uta Itzen, Andreas von Bonin and Jenny Leahy on antitrust, David Franco and Cyrus Pocha on financial regulation, Alice Greenwell on employment, Martin Hutchings on finance, Christoph Seibt on German law matters and Hanneke Rothbarth on Dutch law matters.

Jan 22

1 min