Top Legal Services Companies in Germany
As Europe’s largest economy and a global hub for commerce, Germany has a well-established and internationally recognised legal sector. From corporate law and intellectual property to dispute resolution and tax advisory, German legal services play a crucial role in supporting both domestic businesses and multinational companies operating across the region.
According to the Federal Chamber of Lawyers (BRAK), there are over 165,000 practising lawyers in Germany, reflecting the strength and breadth of the country’s legal profession. Many of the world’s leading law firms also maintain a strong presence in Germany, serving clients in industries ranging from finance and technology to energy and manufacturing.
In this article, we’ll highlight ten of the most prominent legal services firms headquartered in Germany. These firms span a wide variety of specialisms, offering expertise in areas such as mergers and acquisitions, regulatory compliance, employment law, and cross-border transactions.
Germany’s legal services landscape
Market size and scope
Germany has one of Europe’s largest and most developed legal markets. According to Grand View Research, Germany’s legal services market generated around $71.9 billion in revenue in 2024, reflecting both its domestic strength and the demand from international clients. The market is broad, spanning everything from corporate advisory and litigation through to intellectual property, employment, and tax law.
Key hubs
While Berlin and Frankfurt are recognised as major global business and finance centres, Germany’s legal expertise is distributed across multiple cities. Düsseldorf and Munich are known for strong commercial and industrial client bases, Hamburg has a long-standing reputation in shipping and trade law, and Cologne is a key location for media and telecommunications cases.
International influence
Germany’s legal sector is highly integrated with global markets. Many of the world’s largest law firms operate offices in Frankfurt, Munich, or Berlin, often handling cross-border M&A, regulatory, and arbitration work. German firms are also increasingly advising on EU-wide regulatory frameworks, ESG matters, and technology-driven disputes, giving them a strong position in the European legal landscape.
Recent trends
The industry continues to evolve in response to client demand and regulatory changes:
- Digitalisation: The rise of legal tech solutions, AI-driven contract analysis, and online dispute resolution platforms are reshaping how firms deliver services
- Sustainability and ESG: Corporate clients are increasingly seeking legal expertise on sustainability reporting, supply chain due diligence, and compliance with EU Green Deal legislation.
- Globalisation: Firms are strengthening cross-border capabilities to advise on complex transactions, particularly in M&A, tax, and competition law.
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Methodology
To be eligible for this ranking, a company has to meet the following criteria:
- Headquartered in Germany
- Listed as ‘Active’ on the German Handelsregister
- Classified within the legal services in Germany, using Beauhurst’s industry classification
Companies have been ranked by annual turnover. Only companies with turnover filed from 31st December 2023 onwards have been included in the ranking.
The data for this report was found using the Beauhurst platform, and is accurate as of 4 September, 2025.
Germany’s top 10 legal services companies by turnover
Ernst & Young Law
Founded: 2000
Location: Stuttgart
Turnover: €93.2m
Ernst & Young Law is the legal services arm of EY in Germany, operating as both a law firm and tax advisory practice. Based in Stuttgart, it forms part of the global EY network, giving clients access to integrated legal, tax, assurance, and consulting expertise.
The firm provides counsel across a wide range of practice areas including corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, antitrust, labour law, energy, and digital law. With more than 200 lawyers in Germany and offices across major hubs including Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, and Cologne, EY Law offers nationwide coverage and strong international connectivity.
Ranked Tier 2 nationally for corporate law and M&A, and Tier 1 regionally in North Rhine-Westphalia, the firm is recognised as a leading legal advisor in the German market. Its close integration with EY’s broader advisory services makes it particularly well-positioned for complex, cross-border and multidisciplinary mandates, from regulatory compliance to strategic transactions.
PwC Legal Germany
Founded: 1924
Location: Frankfurt am Main
Turnover: €95.9m
PwC Legal operates as the law firm and legal advisory arm within the broader PwC network in Germany. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it benefits from strong integration with PwC’s assurance, tax, and consulting services, delivering clients a unified advisory experience.
The firm provides a wide spectrum of legal specialisms including antitrust, public procurement and state aid law, and other commercial legal services. With over 14,000 employees across Germany and more than 20 offices — including major hubs like Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Munich, Berlin, Cologne, and Stuttgart — PwC Legal offers both national breadth and deep local reach.
PwC Germany generated total revenues of €2.93 billion in FY2022/2023, making it the leading Big Four firm by turnover in Germany. And with its strong market position, integrated service model, and reach across key legal domains, PwC Legal Germany is a top-tier legal advisor for clients navigating complex domestic and cross-border challenges.
Menold Bezler Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater Wirtschaftsprüfer Partnerschaft
Founded: 2004
Location: Stuttgart
Turnover: €119m
Menold Bezler is a full-service, interdisciplinary advisory firm based in Stuttgart, bringing together more than 140 lawyers, tax advisors, auditors, and business consultants, alongside nearly 350 support staff. The firm specialises in providing legal, tax, audit, and management consulting services to medium-sized enterprises and public-sector clients.
Founded in 2004, Menold Bezler has grown into a recognised market leader in Southwest Germany. It features prominently in industry rankings, listed among the top full-service firms in Germany by FOCUS Business 2024 and consistently ranked “Top tax firm” in the JUVE Handbuch Steuern and Legal 500 Deutschland.
It is particularly known for serving SMEs and the public sector, offering specialisms from corporate and antitrust law to public procurement, environmental, planning, and energy law, as well as auditing and management consulting.
Menold Bezler is also a member of MGI Worldwide, an international network of audit, tax, accounting, and consulting firms, enhancing its cross-border advisory capabilities.
Rödl & Partner
Founded: 1977
Location: Nuremberg
Turnover: €131m
Rödl & Partner is a multidisciplinary professional services firm rooted in Nuremberg, offering integrated legal advisory, tax consulting, audit, management and IT consulting, and business process outsourcing across more than 110 offices in approximately 50 countries. The firm employs around 6,000 people globally.
Founded in 1977 by Dr. Bernd Rödl, it has since expanded steadily through organic growth, primarily building its own offices rather than relying on networks.Across its services, M&A tax and legal advisory, transaction services, energy, public services, and digital transformation projects are key growth areas.
Known for its deeply interdisciplinary approach, Rödl & Partner emphasises collaboration across its service lines to deliver client-centric, holistic solutions, particularly for internationally active German corporations. This approach is regarded as a distinguishing feature in the professional services market.
RWT
Founded: 1947
Location: Reutlingen
Turnover: €133m
RWT is a well-established, interdisciplinary professional services firm based in Reutlingen. It began in 1947 as a local auditing and tax advisory practice and expanded in 1959 to include a law firm, laying the foundation for integrated legal, tax, audit, and consulting services.
Today, RWT employs around 350 professionals across three offices in southwestern Germany, providing a range of services tailored to family-owned businesses—including audit, tax, legal advice, management consulting, HR consulting, and IT consulting.
In 2023, the firm achieved a turnover of €40.9 million; an 11 % increase over the previous year.
With our data showing a €133m turnover for 2024, it’s clear this company is continuing to see significant growth.
With its holistic, client-focused approach and strength in family business advisory, RWT continues to build on decades of local and regional expertise.
KPMG Law
Founded: 2007
Location: Stuttgart
Turnover: €143m
KPMG Law is an independent business law firm associated with KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft. It combines deep legal expertise with business and technological insight, delivering customised, needs-oriented advice across public and private law. Its multidisciplinary model gives clients access to the broader KPMG network, including Audit, Tax, Deal Advisory, and Consulting, for truly integrated solutions.
As of now, the firm is represented by over 350 attorneys across its German offices, providing broad coverage and strong regional reach. In addition, KPMG Law is ranked nationally as Tier 2 in Corporate Law and M&A, and Tier 3 in Competition/Antitrust, Labour & Employment, Real Estate, and Tax. Regionally, it holds prominent Tier 1 and Tier 2 rankings in Berlin and Saxony across multiple legal areas.
CMS Hasche Sigle Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten und Steuerberatern
Founded: 1990
Location: Berlin
Turnover: €160m
CMS Hasche Sigle is the German member of the CMS global legal network, offering comprehensive corporate and commercial law services. Headquartered in Berlin, the firm continues the legacy of several historic practices united by CMS, including Hasche Sigle’s longstanding Berlin-based firm. It supports mid-market and major corporate clients with a full suite of services across commercial, tax, regulatory, and digital law.
With more than 600 lawyers, tax advisors, and notaries across its German offices, CMS Hasche Sigle combines domestic strength with CMS’s global reach, allowing it to advise on complex national and cross-border mandates.
CMS globally reached revenues of approximately €2.07 billion in 2024, driven especially by strong performance in corporate, tax, real estate, dispute resolution, employment, and banking practices. Regionally, CMS Hasche Sigle ranks among the top German law firms, with Germany-only revenue estimated around €110 million, placing it prominently among leading European law firms.
RSM Ebner Stolz
Founded: 2009
Location: Stuttgart
Turnover: €183m
RSM Ebner Stolz is a leading independent mid-market professional services firm in Germany, offering integrated legal, tax, audit, and management consulting services. In 2023, the business as a whole crossed the €400 million revenue threshold for the first time, with legal services contributing around €50.9 million, reflecting steady interdisciplinary growth.
As of 2025, the firm employs over 2,700 professionals across Germany and has firmly established itself as one of the top five audit and advisory firms in the country (per the 2025 Lünendonk ranking). Following its integration into the RSM International network in October 2023, the firm trades under the name RSM Ebner Stolz, gaining access to a global network spanning 120 countries, with over US$9.4 billion in international revenues.
Known particularly for its strong mid‑market focus, RSM Ebner Stolz specialises in transaction advisory, restructuring, digitalisation, ESG compliance, and regulatory consulting. It acts as a multidisciplinary partner for German SMEs across sectors like automotive, manufacturing, and technology.
Kleeberg Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft
Founded: 1966
Location: Munich
Turnover: €296m
Kleeberg Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft serves as the legal advisory arm of the Munich‑based Dr. Kleeberg & Partner group. Operating from Augustenstraße 10, it works within a collaborative ecosystem that blends legal, tax, audit, and advisory services under one roof, offering clients a seamless, multi‑disciplinary support model.
The firm advises on a wide array of matters including corporate law, transactional support, succession planning, compliance, commercial contracts, dispute resolution, and non-profit legal guidance, all delivered via a deeply integrated approach with tax and audit specialists.
With over 200 employees, including more than 90 licensed professionals (lawyers, tax advisors, auditors), Dr. Kleeberg & Partner group brings significant capacity and expertise to its legal services arm, including support for international matters through its Crowe Global network.
BDO
Founded: 1920
Location: Hamburg
Turnover: €341m
BDO Germany is a major provider of audit, tax, legal, and advisory services, ranking fifth among the largest professional services firms in the country. As a member of the international BDO network, it offers clients a broad multidisciplinary offering, underpinned by over 3,250 professionals nationwide.
BDO Legal Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft, its legal services arm, operates with more than 100 lawyers across 11 offices. It collaborates closely with the Tax & Legal, Audit & Assurance, and Advisory divisions, enabling it to deliver integrated, holistic legal support across commercial law disciplines.
The future of legal services in Germany
Germany’s legal industry is entering a period of transformation driven by digitalisation, regulatory complexity, and changing client expectations. As one of Europe’s most established legal markets, future growth is expected to come less from expansion in size and more from innovation in how services are delivered.
A key trend is legal technology adoption. Firms are increasingly using AI, automation, and advanced analytics to streamline due diligence, contract management, and compliance checks. According to the Legal Tech Monitor 2025, more than half of German law firms reported working on an internal AI project in the past twelve months, reflecting growing client demand for faster, more cost-efficient services.
Sustainability and ESG issues are also shaping legal demand. Companies require advice on new EU directives covering supply chain due diligence, corporate sustainability reporting, and climate-related disclosures. This is driving strong growth in regulatory, environmental, and compliance-focused practices.
Market consolidation is another defining theme. Mid-sized firms face increasing pressure from both ends; global players with vast resources and specialist boutiques with deep sector expertise. Mergers, alliances, and international partnerships are likely to continue, particularly in corporate and cross-border practices.
On the client side, demand is shifting towards flexible and transparent service models. Businesses increasingly expect alternative fee arrangements, fixed-price packages, and access to digital platforms that offer greater visibility over case progress and costs. For startups and SMEs, subscription-based legal services and on-demand access to counsel are becoming attractive alternatives to traditional billing.
In short, the future of Germany’s legal sector lies in blending tradition with innovation, maintaining its strong foundations in legal expertise while embracing new technologies, regulatory challenges, and client-driven business models.
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