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Contract Terms Germany

Morgan Lewis

German Federal Labor Court Strengthens Employee Rights for Virtual Stock Options upon Employment Termination - Legal Insights...

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In its ruling dated March 19, 2025, the German Federal Labor Court (BAG)—in contrast to the two previous instances and contrary to its previous case law—deemed an expiry clause in general terms and conditions to be...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

#ESOP: How to Deal with the New Case Law on the Forfeiture of Vested Virtual Shares – A Practical Update for Employers and...

Incentive programs like an employee stock option plan or a virtual stock option plan ("VSOP") are widely used by young technology companies ("Company") to reward and retain talent ("Beneficiaries"). A key feature in these...more

DLA Piper

Germany: Monitoring and Auditing Obligations of Controllers with Respect to Their Processors

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In a decision on immaterial damages under Article 82 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Higher Regional Court of Dresden, Germany (case number 4 U 940/24), set out important monitoring and auditing...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

German Federal Labor Court Finds Certain Virtual Stock Option Forfeiture Clauses May Unreasonably Disadvantage Employees

On March 19, 2025, the German Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht or BAG) held in Case No.: 10 AZR 67/24 that certain forfeiture clauses in General Terms and Conditions of Business (Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen or...more

DLA Piper

German Higher Courts Clarify Strict Requirements for Online Contract Cancellations

DLA Piper on

In two recent decisions, the German Higher Regional Courts (Oberlandesgerichte – OLG) of Cologne and Munich have clarified the – strict – German requirements for cancellation buttons on websites of tech companies providing...more

King & Spalding

VSOPs – the End of Bad Leaver Clauses in Germany?

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Virtual Stock Option Plans (VSOPs) are a common tool used by companies to incentivize employees by linking part of their compensation to the company’s long-term success. Unlike traditional stock options, VSOPs do not grant...more

Paul Hastings LLP

Ruling of the German Federal Labor Court on the Invalidity of Expiry Clauses in ESOP/VSOP - Applicability of the Ruling to MEPs

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On March 19, 2025, the German Federal Labor Court ("BAG") ruled that clauses that qualify as general terms and conditions and stipulate that virtual option rights that are already vested at the time of termination of an...more

Morgan Lewis

Formal Simplifications for Employment Contracts

Morgan Lewis on

The Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act also amended the Evidence Act. Employers no longer need to inform employees of the essential contractual terms of the employment relationship in writing, but only in text form. This means...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Legal Ninja Snapshot: #Employment Contracts: Digital Employment Contracts in Germany – But When is a Wet Ink Signature Still...

Digital Employment Contracts Are Now Generally Allowed With the new year, the Fourth Bureaucracy Reduction Act ("BEG IV") brings more flexibility by replacing the need for written form and qualified electronic signatures with...more

King & Spalding

Schluss mit dem Schriftformmangel!

King & Spalding on

Wer in der deutschen Immobilienwirtschaft Transaktionen begleitet hat, dem ist das Schreckenswort „Schriftformmangel“ vertraut. Kein Due Diligence-Bericht zu den Mietverträgen eines Objekts, der dieses Thema nicht...more

Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A.

Winthrop & Weinstine Team Obtains Jury Trial and Appellate Wins for American Distributor

This month, our appellate team comprised of Gerry Fornwald, Kyle Kroll, and Cianna Halloran prevailed at the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in obtaining victory for our client, an American distributor. The case involved a...more

WilmerHale

Draft Bill for the Modernization of German Arbitration Law

WilmerHale on

Germany is in the process of renewing its arbitration law, which in its current version dates from 1997. In April 2023, the German Federal Ministry of Justice (the “Ministry”) published a Key Issues Paper, identifying...more

Mayer Brown

The Right of Set-off in Insolvency Proceedings

Mayer Brown on

The right to set off a claim is a legal concept through which reciprocal claims between a creditor and a debtor company are settled against each other reducing or extinguishing the smaller claim and leaving only a balance...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

German Federal Labor Court: Employers May No Longer Cite ‘Better Negotiating Skills’ as an Argument for Unequal Pay

In the past, the argument was often made that a female employee might not be entitled to a differential compensation claim due to lower pay compared to a male colleague, if the higher salary of the male colleague who...more

BCLP

Urgent Need for Action for All Employers - Amendment to the Evidence Act

BCLP on

On June 23, 2022, the German Bundestag passed the draft law (BT-Drs. 20/1636, 20/2245) in the committee version (20/2392) to implement the EU directive on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union...more

Hogan Lovells

The Reform Of The German Nachweisgesetz And Its Consequences For Employment Contracts

Hogan Lovells on

With effect from 1 August 2022, the German Act on Proof of the Essential Working Conditions (Nachweisgesetz – “Act on Proof”) will undergo the most comprehensive reform since it entered into force in 1995. The government...more

Hogan Lovells

Die Reform des Nachweisgesetzes und ihre Folgen für Gestaltung und Abschluss von Arbeitsverträgen

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Das Nachweisgesetz erfährt mit Wirkung zum 1. August 2022 die größte Reform seit seinem Inkrafttreten im Jahr 1995. Der nun vorgestellte Regierungsentwurf verschafft ein klares Bild über die geplanten Neuerungen und,...more

BCLP

10 things you should know about lease agreements in Germany / England & Wales

BCLP on

German civil law differentiates between residential and commercial leases (Mietvertrag) and leaseholds (Pachtvertrag). Residential or commercial leases are more common than leaseholds: they grant the tenant a right to use the...more

Jones Day

Conflict in Ukraine: Excuses for Non-Performance of Contracts Governed by German Law

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Traditionally, industry in Germany has enjoyed close commercial ties with Russia and Ukraine. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the resulting sanctions imposed on Russia—and by Russia—will inevitably affect these business...more

Hogan Lovells

Vertragsgestaltung im Arbeitsrecht – Formerfordernisse vor und nach der Reform des Nachweisgesetzes

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Arbeitsverträge unterliegen keinem Formerfordernis? Bezogen auf unbefristete Arbeitsverträge ist das grundsätzlich richtig. Dennoch werden Arbeitsverträge regelmäßig noch mit handschriftlichen Unterschriften versehen, um den...more

Hogan Lovells

Änderungen im BGB seit 1. Januar 2022: Neues Vertragsrecht

Hogan Lovells on

Die Umsetzung der europäischen Warenkaufrichtlinie (2019/771) und der Richtlinie über die Bereitstellung digitaler Inhalte und digitaler Dienstleistungen (2019/770) in nationales Recht bringt einige wichtige Änderungen des...more

Hogan Lovells

Changes to the German Civil Code from January 1, 2022: New Contract Law

Hogan Lovells on

The implementation of the Sales of Goods Directive (Directive 2019/771/EU of May 20, 2019) and the Digital Content and Services Directive (Directive 2019/770 (EU)) into national law entails some important changes to the...more

BCLP

10 things you should know when investing in Germany or England and Wales

BCLP on

In what ways can ownership in Real Estate be acquired? In Germany - The most common way to obtain ownership in German real estate under German Law is in the form of absolute ownership. Pursuant to statuary law, absolute...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

“Ki(c)k“ boxing between tenants and landlords on rent payment obligations during Covid-related business closures continues even...

Latham & Watkins LLP on

This week, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) issued its eagerly awaited judgment on rent payment obligations during COVID-related business closures. The judgment eases, at least in part, landlords and tenants’ uncertainty...more

Hogan Lovells

Änderungen im BGB ab 1. Januar 2022: Neues Vertragsrecht

Hogan Lovells on

Die Umsetzung der europäischen Warenkaufrichtlinie (2019/771) und der Richtlinie über die Bereitstellung digitaler Inhalte und digitaler Dienstleistungen (2019/770) in nationales Recht bringt einige wichtige Änderungen des...more

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