People

Timo Holzborn Partner Restructuring, Capital Markets

Munich

Timo is passionate about contributing his deep practical know-how and broad market experience to combine legal excellence and economic understanding for solutions that work best for his clients.

Timo heads our Capital Markets and Banking & Finance (incl. Regulatory) practice in Germany and has been advising clients on respective law matters for more than 15 years.

He inter alia advises in the fields of regulatory & asset management (incl. AIFs) and restructuring, corporate law and derivative/carbon trading and is member in a creditors committee.

Timo helps his clients, among them banks, corporates, listed companies, and asset managers in capital markets and finance transactions, M&A, squeeze outs, IPOs/ICOs as well as with regard to compliance. He also has special market experience regarding (renewable) energy, banking (stock exchange), insurance, and fund structuring as well as technology.

Louisa Kallhoff Managing Associate Employment Law & Litigation

Düsseldorf

Louisa Kallhoff is an experienced Managing Associate in the Düsseldorf office and a member of Orrick's German Employment Law Practice.

Louisa advises national and international companies on all issues of individual and collective employment law.

The main focus of her practice comprises employment aspects of transactions and restructurings, as well as employment and labor law issues such as personnel leasing, co-determination of employees and service agreements of managing directors and board members. She also advises national and international companies on day-to-day employment law matters.

Christine Kaniak, LL.M. (Waikato) Partner Banking & Finance, M&A and Private Equity

Munich

Christine is dedicated to providing her clients with comprehensive, excellent legal advice combined with a deep understanding of the economics of the deal and actual business needs. Her long-standing transaction experience and deep market insights are huge assets, in particular in high-end cross-border transactions.

Christine’s work is focused on Banking and Finance. She advises on complex national and international financings in private equity transactions and in particular on acquisition financings and refinancings. Christine has also advised on a considerable number of financial restructurings.

Her clients mainly include large private equity firms as well as their portfolio companies from various industries.

IFLR1000 recognizes Christine as a “notable practitioner” in their 2019 edition for her banking & finance work.

Christine studied law in Heidelberg, Passau and Mannheim and obtained her Master‘s Degree (LL.M.) at the University of Waikato/New Zealand.

Before joining Orrick in 2018, she had been a partner at another international law firm.

Marianna Karapetyan Associate Employment Law & Litigation

Düsseldorf

Marianna Karapetyan is an Associate in the Düsseldorf office and a member of the Employment Law Practice Group.

Marianna advises national and international companies on all issues of individual and collective employment law.

The main focus of her practice comprises employment aspects of transactions and restructurings, as well as employment and labor law issues such as personnel leasing, co-determination of employees and service agreements of managing directors and board members. She also advises national and international companies on day-to-day employment law matters.

Marianna joined Orrick in 2019.

Dr. Nicholas Kessler, LL.M., EMBA Partner International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution, Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Düsseldorf

Dr. Nicholas Kessler, Partner in the Düsseldorf Office, is a member of the International Arbitration Group. Nicholas' practice focuses on national and international arbitrations and complex litigations, predominantly with regard to post-M&A and corporate law disputes, investment protection cases, product liability and particularly to construction disputes.

Nicholas has extensive experience with arbitral proceedings under the auspices of all of the major arbitral institutions and rules (e.g., ICC, DIS, SCC, LCIA, UNCITRAL, ICSID, ad hoc).

Nicholas graduated from law school in 2003 (University of Munster), earned a PhD in law and an Executive Master of Business Administration (M&A) in 2005 and was allowed to the German bar in 2007. In 2008 he received a Master of Laws diploma from the University of Cambridge (UK) and was entered on the roll as Solicitor of England & Wales in 2010.

Dr. Kessler is a visiting lecturer at the University of Münster and teaches the international arbitration and mediation in the university's post graduate program on mergers and acquisitions. He frequently publishes and holds speeches on arbitration and litigation-related topics.

Margaretha Kramer, LL.M. Managing Associate International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution, Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Düsseldorf

Margaretha Kramer, née Lawrynowicz, is a Managing Associate in the Düsseldorf office and a member of the International Arbitration Group.

Margaretha advises and represents clients in national state court and international arbitration proceedings. She furthermore acts as Administrative Secretary for Arbitral Tribunals under the ICC and DIS Rules and has extensive experience with disputes under the ICC, ICDR, ICSID, DIS and the LCIA Arbitration Rules.

Margaretha’s practice focuses on corporate, construction, distribution and energy law matters. Her experience further extends to post M&A disputes, the determination of FRAND rates in license agreements in the telecommunications sector, gas price revision in long term contracts in the LNG sector as well as layer structured insurance policies in transactional matters.

Margaretha regularly publishes on topics related to international arbitration, particularly with a focus on post M&A disputes. She frequently appears as speaker at seminars.

Prior to working with Orrick, Margaretha was research assistant at the European Legal Studies Institute in Osnabrück where she wrote and presented briefing papers on behalf of and for the European Parliament (IMCO Comit

Dr. Andrea Köhler Senior Associate M&A and Private Equity, Corporate

Munich

Andrea advises national and international clients on M&A as well as Private Equity transactions and group reorganizations. She has a particular experience in the life sciences and healthcare sector.

Andrea has a particular focus on domestic and cross-boarder Private Equity and M&A transactions. She regularly advises German and international clients on corporate restructuring projects and on all aspects of corporate law. As she has profound experience in the life sciences and healthcare sector, Andrea also advises on particular sector related issues.

Prior to joining Orrick in December 2016, Andrea was Associate at the Munich office of Clifford Chance since 2014. 

Sebastian Meul Counsel International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution, Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Munich

Sebastian advises national and international clients on the resolution of disputes in arbitration and state court proceedings.

He specializes in arbitration proceedings in accordance with the ICC, DIS and VIAC Rules.

His professional focus is on providing legal advice in complex post-M&A and shareholders' disputes, in which he can particularly make use of his many years of experience as an M&A lawyer.

In addition, Sebastian advises his clients in disputes relating to major construction projects, manager liability cases and in other commercial disputes.

He also has extensive experience in advising clients on M&A transactions and corporate law matters.

Before joining Orrick, Sebastian worked in the Munich office of a renowned German law firm and in the Toronto office of a major Canadian law firm.

Abhijit Narayan Foreign Counsel M&A and Private Equity, Emerging Markets

Düsseldorf

Abhijit Narayan is a member of the M&A/Private Equity Group.

Abhijit is an India qualified and U.S. educated lawyer and focusses on advising Indian clients across different sectors on their business activities in Germany and beyond.

He has broad experience in advising both Indian investors as well as Indian corporates on outbound investments in Europe and especially in Germany. This inter alia includes M&A, private equity, venture/tech and joint venture transactions including the post-merger/post-acquisition integration but also setting up subsidiaries for Indian companies .

Further to his India focus, Abhijit also has significant experience in advising clients from the Middle East.

Prior to joining Orrick, Abhijit worked with J. Sagar Associates (in India), Hengeler Mueller (in Germany) and Slaughter and May (in the United Kingdom).

Dr. Wilhelm Nolting-Hauff Partner China, M&A and Private Equity

Düsseldorf

Olexiy Oleshchuk Senior Associate Banking & Finance, Restructuring

Munich

Olexiy focuses on providing legal advice to financial institutions and corporate clients regarding banking and finance, business restructuring and insolvency as well as capital markets matters.

Key aspects of his work are financings and restructurings of any kind as well as advising clients on issuance of shares, bonds and further instruments on capital markets. Apart from that, Olexiy was involved in a substantial number of disputes, dealing with matters of banking supervision law, capital market compliance, finance and insolvency law. Furthermore, Olexiy has specific know-how and experience in transactions and legal proceedings connected to CIS-states, in particular the Ukraine and Russia.

Before he joined Orrick, Olexiy worked for well-known international law firms in Frankfurt and Munich, where he gained substantial experience in banking supervision and regulatory law, banking and finance, restructurings as well as in general litigation and compliance matters. Olexiy studied at the Heinrich Heine University in Dusseldorf and focused his studies on commercial, corporate and tax law.