16. February 2024

ARQIS wins the first The Legal 500 Germany Awards 2024 and is honoured as “ESG Firm of the Year.” ARQIS travelled to Frankfurt for the awards ceremony on 16 February 2024 with a total of three nominations: In addition to the “ESG Firm of the Year” category, the law firm was shortlisted in the “Labour & Employment Team of the Year” category. Counsel Anja Mehrtens was also nominated as “Labour & Employment Rising Star of the Year.”

The “ESG Firm of the Year” award was received on stage by the team led by Dr Friedrich Gebert, Head of the Regulatory focus group.

“This award is for the whole team and confirms our commitment and the direction we have taken in supporting our clients with the EU Green Deal and the resulting transformation in a forward-looking manner,” says Friedrich Gebert, overwhelmed by the award.

Dr Friedrich Gebert and his team have already been praised in the Legal 500 Germany Ranking 2024, which was published beforehand. It states: “The ARQIS team is a diverse and professional team that has understood how to centre its clients and put their needs at the focus. Their ability to quickly empathise with proceedings and ensure a sustainable flow of information within the process and team is outstanding.”

In addition to the two focus group leaders Dr. Friedrich Gebert (Regulatory) and Dr. Mirjam Boche (Risk), ARQIS was present with a total of eleven people: Dr. Astrid Seehafer, Hannah Düwel, Dr. Bernhard Gröhe, Clara Schmidt, Luise Schüling (all Regulatory), Donata Lasson, Anja Mehrtens, Martin Weingärtner (all HR.Law) and Daniel Schlemann celebrated their success until dawn. Dr. Andrea-Panzer Heemeier, Managing Partner at ARQIS, explains: “ARQIS has identified ESG as a cross-focus group consulting field and put together a great team. At the same time, we have initiated some important things internally, for example ARQIS is CO₂₂2-neutral and we have dedicated our Innovation Day to the topic of ESG. We are delighted that we have now been recognised as a law firm in this forward-looking field and this spurs us on further.”

ARQIS recognised early on that it is not enough to only think in one direction when it comes to ESG issues. For this reason, the law firm also works across focus groups and forms the necessary interfaces within relevant areas of law, particularly in the field of transactions. This resulted in the approach of ESG +.
Business as usual becomes a positive contribution - fair and sustainable action for people and the environment, for present and future generations: Simply, Make business positive.
In the area of Environmental, ARQIS focuses on the decarbonisation of the economy and the regulation resulting from the EU Green Deal. In the area of Social, ESG + focuses on the social aspects of the world of work, while the area of Governance is currently characterised by national and European supply chain legislation.

The Legal 500 Germany Awards are an annual competition that has been taking place since this year, focussing on the work of lawyers, law firms and in-house teams. The awards are presented in 70 different categories and recognise special team achievements as well as those of individuals.