Construction, banking and finance, corporate and mergers and acquisitions
Ralph Panten has vast experience in complex commercial disputes. For more than 15 years he has served as the presiding judge of the 13th Civil Senate of the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg responsible for banking and finance law, corporate law as well as valuation proceedings (Spruchverfahren). He also serves as the presiding judge of the Civil Senate for public procurement law.
Dr Janko Büßer has been a judge in Hamburg since 2004. In 2012 he was appointed as a judge of the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg where he is a member of the 11th Civil Senate, specialising in corporate law and insolvency law, as well as of the Civil Senate responsible for public procurement law. Dr Büßer also has experience as chairman of ad hoc arbitration tribunals in commercial arbitration proceedings.
Dr Frank Bodendiek has been a judge in Hamburg since 2004 and has subsequently served for many years as the presiding judge of a Civil Division at the Regional Court of Hamburg specialising in construction law. In 2022 he was appointed to the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg where he is a member of the 4th Civil Senate responsible for construction law. Before joining the judiciary, Dr. Bodendiek had worked for several years as a lawyer advising on English-language M&A transactions. Dr Bodendiek also has experience as an arbitrator in commercial law disputes.
After having worked in the judicial administration, Sabine Schwandt was appointed as a judge of the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg where she had been a member of the Civil Senate responsible for insurance law and subsequently of the Civil Senate responsible for commercial legal protection. Since 2017 she has been a member of the 4th Civil Senate specialising in commercial tenancy law and construction law. She also acts as a trained mediator for the Higher Regional Court in accordance with Section 278 (5) of the German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO).
Dr Martin Tonner has been a judge in Hamburg since 2003 and a member of the 13th Civil Senate of the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg since 2017, specialising in banking and finance law, corporate law and valuation proceedings (Spruchverfahren). He also is a member of the Court’s Civil Senate responsible for public procurement law. His doctoral thesis on German and US stock corporation law was completed while working as an assistant to Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Karsten Schmidt at the University of Bonn. Dr Tonner has been a lecturer on banking law at the Bucerius Law School in Hamburg for more than 15 years.
Anke Viering was appointed as a judge in Hamburg in 2003 and became a judge at the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg in 2018. She is a member of the 15th Civil Senate which mainly handles cases in construction law, antitrust law and competition law. Additionally, she serves on the Civil Senate responsible for public procurement law. Anke Viering also oversees conciliation proceedings and mediations at the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg. In 1999 she received an LL.M. degree from the University of Edinburgh.
Dr Katharina Seiffert has been a judge since 2012. After serving in various chambers of the Regional Court of Hamburg and in the President’s Office of the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg, she is now a member of the 9th Civil Senate of the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg. Prior to becoming a judge, she worked for several years as a lawyer in M&A for an international law firm in London and Hamburg. Dr Seiffert has been a lecturer at the University of Hamburg for more than 12 years.