Michael was admitted to the Düsseldorf bar in November 2006 and joined Bird & Bird in January 2007. He is a member of the public sector law group. Michael specialises in regulatory law, energy, environment, procurement and privatisation including Public Private Partnerships (PPP).
His practice primarily focuses on energy law and related issues as well as on procurement by public agencies and on anti-trust law issues. Michael advises clients from both public and private sectors. His practice includes advising clients on large projects in the fields of infrastructure, healthcare, energy and IT. Michael also advises on the awarding of concessions in the areas of electricity, gas, water and services.
Furthermore, his work focuses on the legal aspects of the transport and distribution of energy as well as on the contractual relations of energy companies, including unbundling issues.
In this context, Michael advises foreign investors looking for investment or takeover opportunities in the German energy sector. Besides the analysis of the contractual relations of the target company, this includes advising on the German and European business regulatory law, with a special focus on the regulation of the transport and distribution of energy.
Michael also advises contracting parties on public procurement procedures regarding energy contracting and energy delivery, including the drafting and review of contracts. He advises his clients at all stages of public procurement procedures, including litigation.
Michael studied law at the Universities of Konstance, Grenoble (France) and Munich. During his legal clerkship he worked on the legal aspects of Carbon Emissions Trading (CO2) with the competent German authority in Berlin (Deutsche Emissionshandelsstelle – DEHSt). He then worked in a law firm in Düsseldorf with a focus on civil law while specialising in energy law at the Institute for Mining and Energy Law of the Ruhr-University Bochum.
Michael speaks German, English and French.
