Niedersachsen
Firms in Niedersachsen also bank on the base of thriving Mittelstand clients remaining true to the long-established firms in the region. "It is our goal to keep the large firms out of the market" were the words of a lawyer in Hanover. For the regionally active lawyers it is clearly less interesting what Niedersachsen's large firms are up to. Listed companies like Volkswagen and Tui have after all been calling upon the large international firms for a long time. The fact that these firms were able to lure attractive Mittelstand clients away from the extremely well-networked "top dog" Göhmann Rechtsanwälte (which boasts frequent client connections to Tui and NordLB), the broadly positioned MDP KSB Intax or real estate experts Dr. Appelhagen und Partner, was not a problem during the M&A boom. However, this could change in the absence of large deals. Luther and Raupach & Wollert-Elmendorff are two large firms that already have their own offices in Hanover. Mostly active in transaction and project work, they are becoming ever more prominent in the market. A defensive approach will most likely not suffice if firms wish to hold on to market shares.