LAW FIRM
ZENK Rechtsanwälte Partnerschaft mbB is an independent, full service commercial law firm with approx. 50 lawyers, a notary office, a mediation practice and a tax consulting service at its offices in Hamburg and Berlin. It advises on national and international projects in all core areas of commercial law. Our clients include start-ups, medium-sized German companies, international corporations and public institutions at federal, state and local levels.
Hamburg
ZENK was founded in Hamburg at the beginning of the 1970s. At present, approximately 30 lawyers and tax consultants advise clients at the Hamburg office on Neuer Wall.
Berlin
In 1991, the Berlin branch was opened. At present, the Berlin office at Reinhardtstraße has approximately 20 lawyers. It also has its own notary office led by three notaries.
AWARDS
ZENK lawyers have been listed and awarded as leading advisors in the German legal market for years in numerous renowned rankings in the various fields of law. These rankings are based on surveys of leading media among legal colleagues (peer-to-peer reviews) and other market participants such as clients.
Best Lawyers / Handelsblatt
Exclusively for the German Handelsblatt and based on an extensive peer-to-peer survey, US publisher Best Lawyers identifies every year the leading advisors in the German legal market. The lawyers are nominated by colleagues and market participants and then evaluated in an anonymous survey. The ranking is also published exclusively in the Handelsblatt as “Germany’s Best Lawyers”.
Numerous lawyers from our specialist areas have been recommended as “Germany’s best lawyers 2025”:
In real estate law and construction law,
in public commercial law and environmental law,
in intellectual property law, advertising law, health law, and food law,
in our areas of expertise in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and restructuring and insolvency law,
as well as in labor law and occupational pension schemes.
In 2025, Prof. Dr. Stefanie Hartwig was named Lawyer of the Year in advertising law and Dr. Markus Kelber was named Lawyer of the Year in the field of occupational pension schemes.
JUVE Legal Directory
JUVE “Handbuch Wirtschaftskanzleien” is a reference work of the German legal market. The publication is based on extensive research carried out by an independent editorial team among law firms, corporate managers, representatives of public authorities and employees of the judiciary and academia.
The 2024/2025 handbook makes special mention of: Prof. Dr. Stefanie Hartwig (“looks beyond the horizon”, “very experienced, smart and pragmatic”, competitor); Sonja Schulz (“food lawyer who always keeps an overview”, competitor); Dr. Carsten Oelrichs (“absolutely knowledgeable food law expert”, competitor); Dr. Claudia Voggenreiter (“pragmatic, solution-oriented”, competitor); Carolin Klüpfel (“new generation at ZENK, very competent, especially in architectural law”, competitor) / (“representative of the youngest generation, unconventional approaches to solutions and on the pulse of time”, competitor); Florian Werner (“professionally and personally great”, competitor). Jan Birkefeld and Dr. Stephan Schäfer were also frequently recommended.
Legal 500 Guide for Germany
Legal 500 (Germany) provides an overview of around 400 commercial law firms and 2,700 lawyers through a detailed qualitative review of the firms and lawyers in 23 practice areas and 90 rankings, which are used as a reference by professionals and clients.
In the 2025 ranking, ZENK is once again listed in the areas of food and consumer goods law with a Tier 1 ranking and in the area of environmental and planning law.
Prof. Dr. Stefanie Hartwig and Dr. Carsten Oelrichs are particularly recommended as leading partners. Dr. Lisa Feuerhake was honored as a “next generation partner”.