13 Jan 2026
Freshfields strengthens German and Austrian Global Transactions partnership with new partners
"Freshfields appoints Dr. Florian Sippel, Dr. Carsten Bork, Dr. David Schwintowski and Lukas Treichl as partners in its Global Transactions group, bolstering Private Equity, M&A, insurance, technology and infrastructure teams in Germany and Austria."
Dr. Florian Sippel joins Freshfields’ Munich office as a Private Equity partner. He was formerly at Freshfields for seven years until 2021, working from Frankfurt, Munich and London. Sippel advises leading private equity funds and strategic investors with a sector focus on technology, e‑commerce and software. He has worked for funds including Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, Triton, TPG and Permira, and was part of Freshfields teams advising on Permira’s investment in Adevinta in 2021 and Hellman & Friedman’s acquisition of AutoScout24 in 2019.
Dr. Carsten Bork will be a partner in Frankfurt. He focuses on advising cross‑border transactions in the infrastructure and energy sectors, particularly for private equity and strategic investors. His clients include CPP Investments, Brookfield, Global Infrastructure Partners and AXA IM. Bork co‑led the team advising the Federal Republic of Germany on a security agreement in connection with the TKMS IPO and, together with Dr. Lars Westpfahl, headed the Freshfields team handling the restructuring of Meyer Werft.
Dr. David Schwintowski returns to Munich as a partner, having most recently been based in Singapore and previously in Freshfields’ Munich office. He will provide strategic and transactional advice exclusively in the insurance sector. Schwintowski has advised Vienna Insurance on its merger with Nürnberger, led for Cinven on the sale of Viridium, and together with Dr. Heiner Braun headed the team advising Baloise on its merger with Helvetia.
Lukas Treichl joins as a partner based in Vienna and Munich and is a member of the Global Transactions practice and Co‑Head of the Lab. He regularly advises on data‑driven transformation projects and strategic digital matters, notably in the automotive industry, and on digital infrastructure transactions for private equity and telecommunications clients. An AI collaboration platform he developed with the Lab and CARIAD was honoured by the Financial Times in 2024; he has been recognised as a “Future Leader” by WirtschaftsWoche and among “30 talents under 35” by Die Presse.
In addition, partners Dr. Heiner Braun and Dr. Stephan Waldhausen, Global Co‑Head of the Industrials sector group, will further strengthen the Munich office. Braun is known for high‑volume international transactions and for handling deals with complex regulatory aspects, regularly advising private capital clients such as KKR; in 2024 he recorded the largest deal volume in Germany, advising on the sale of Techem and acting as lead partner on DSV’s $14.3bn acquisition of Schenker. Waldhausen is a highly rated adviser on corporate law and takeovers with strong ties to listed industrial and technology companies; his clients include Siemens Energy, Porsche SE, Beiersdorf, ZF Friedrichshafen, Deutsche Telekom, E.ON, thyssenkrupp and CompuGroup, and he regularly advises on complex M&A across Europe, the US and Asia. This expansion brings the Munich office to over 90 lawyers, including 19 partners.