Dr. Stefan Kirsten, LL.M. (Michigan)

Dr Stefan Kirsten specialises in dispute resolution and litigation.

He advises clients i.a. on the enforcement of claims in all areas of commercial and corporate law and on the assertion of warranty rights in connection with company acquisitions. He also often represents companies and investors in liability claims under banking and insolvency law as well as in insurance, property and antitrust law disputes.  

Stefan has particular experience and expertise in hedging litigation risks through financing and insurance solutions. Before joining WILHELM, he worked for several years in a management position at an international litigation financier.

After training as a banker, Stefan studied at the University of Regensburg (Dr jur., summa cum laude) and Michigan Law School (LL.M.). He then worked for several years as a lawyer in an international law firm in Frankfurt (Main), Paris and Düsseldorf. From 2015 to 2023, he was a lecturer for International Litigation at the University of Regensburg.

• Advising a German federal state in connection with the dissolution of a public bank as a result of the global financial crisis, in particular successful defence against the drawing of a bank guarantee of over €2.75 billion and settlement with former auditors over €40 million
• Defence of the former managing directors of an international chemical group against liability claims of insolvency administrators in three-digit millions
• Advising an international industrial group regarding the threat of arbitration in France and Switzerland due to the aborted deliveries of goods to Iran
• Representation of an international project developer in the enforcement of claims for damages due to the delayed completion of an airport
• Defence of a Northern European financial investor against liability actions in Germany and Luxembourg after the aborted closing of an M&A transaction
• Representation of a German industrial company in a DIS arbitration against a consortium partner based on the delayed delivery of trains
• Representation of an international energy company in an ICC arbitration based on the defective high-voltage grid of a Spanish solar park
• Long-term strategic advice to a German credit institution with regard to proceedings before English and New York courts relating to asset-backed securities (ABS)
• Defence of major international banks against actions by municipalities based on swap transactions before German and French courts
• Defence of the main shareholder of a family company against actions for his dismissal as managing director
• Representation of a German business group in the enforcement of corruption-related damages claims against employees and contract partners
• Advising an international aviation group on the carve-out of a business unit
• Advising a German bank on the service of foreign actions in Germany
• Defence of an international glass producer against cartel damages claims by a customer
• Representation of a credit institution in the European-wide enforcement of credit claims against Icelandic banks
• Representation of a financial service provider in the confiscation of foreign aircraft in Germany

• Extrajudicial and judicial representation for the defence or enforcement of claims
• Strategic advice in commercial law disputes aiming at a pragmatic dispute resolution
• Advice on litigation financing options and hedging cost risks through innovative insurance concepts (litigation risk insurance)