Rechtsanwalt (attorney at law), conferred in the Federal Republic of Germany. Member of the Munich Bar Association (Rechtsanwaltskammer München), Tal 33, 80331 München (rak-muenchen.de).
Professional rules
BRAO, BORA, FAO, RVG and the CCBE Code of Conduct — available via the German Federal Bar at brak.de.
Liability insurance
Professional indemnity insurance pursuant to § 51 BRAO: HDI Versicherung AG, HDI-Platz 1, 30659 Hannover. Territorial scope: Germany / Europe per the policy terms.
Responsible for content
Patrick van den Hövel, address as above (§ 18 (2) MStV).
Dispute resolution
EU Commission platform for online dispute resolution: ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. Not obliged and not willing to participate in dispute-resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.
Privacy
Privacy policy
Controller within the meaning of the GDPR: Patrick van den Hövel, Wiegnerstr. 24, 85716 Unterschleißheim, Germany, info@vandenhoevel.com.
Hosting & server logs
This website is hosted by STRATO AG (Berlin) on servers in Germany. Technically necessary data is processed on each visit (IP address, date and time, page accessed, browser, operating system, referrer URL) — legal basis Art. 6 (1)(f) GDPR. The data is deleted or anonymised once no longer required and is not merged with other data.
Contact & intake
Data you submit via the intake form, by email or by phone (name, company, contact details, description of the matter) is processed solely to handle your enquiry and to establish a mandate — legal basis Art. 6 (1)(b) GDPR and professional-law obligations. Your information is treated confidentially; attorney-client privilege applies.
Cookies & consent
This website uses only technically necessary storage (e.g. your cookie decision and your practice selection). Non-essential third-party content — currently Google Maps — is loaded only after your explicit consent (Art. 6 (1)(a) GDPR, § 25 TDDDG). You can withdraw consent at any time via "Cookie settings" in the footer.
Google Maps
With your consent, a Google Maps map is embedded (Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland). Your IP address is transmitted to Google; transfers to third countries (USA) are possible. Details: policies.google.com/privacy.
External services
Appointment booking (Fantastical/Flexibits) and electronic signing (DocuSign) open external services in new tabs; the respective provider's privacy notices apply there. Web fonts are served by Google Fonts, which transmits your IP address to Google.
Your rights
Under Art. 15–21 GDPR you have the right to access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability and objection, and the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority — competent is the Bavarian Data Protection Authority (BayLDA), Ansbach.
Cookies & external content
This site uses technically necessary storage only. External content (Google Maps) loads only with your consent. You can change your decision at any time via "Cookie settings" in the footer.
Munich · Rechtsanwalt
Serious Germancounsel.Plainanswers.
I advise international and mid-market companies on German commercial law — disputes, contracts, and corporate matters — in German and English. One lawyer on your file from the first question to the last.
You talk to the lawyer who does the work — not a team you never meet.
Most firms sell you structure. I sell you judgement. When you instruct me, I run the matter: I read the contracts, I talk to the other side, I stand up in court, and I call you when there is something worth saying.
For international clients that means one German contact who understands common US and English drafting practice, negotiates in both languages, and tells you what German law actually requires — without the hedging.
01
Fixed fees where possible
You get a scoped fee letter before work starts. No surprises on the invoice.
02
Answers within 24 hours
Even when the answer is “this will take longer.” You always know where the matter stands.
03
German and English, equally
Pleadings, contracts, and negotiations in both languages — with no translation round-trip.
Practice
Six areas. Nothing outside them.
Select an area for detail.
Representation before German courts and in arbitration: supply and distribution disputes, warranty claims, management liability, and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and awards in Germany.
Landgericht & OLG
DIS & ICC arbitration
Interim injunctions
Drafting, review, and negotiation of distribution, supply, licence, and services agreements under German law — including adapting Anglo-American templates to survive German standard-terms review.
Standard terms (AGB)
Distribution & agency
SaaS & licensing
Forming German subsidiaries, shareholder agreements, managing-director service contracts and liability questions, plus day-to-day support on resolutions and commercial register filings.
GmbH formation
Shareholder agreements
Director liability
Working alongside US and international in-house teams and firms as their German contact: legal opinions, diligence input, register matters, and coordination of local proceedings.
Legal opinions
German diligence
Local counsel role
Enforcing established claims against German-domiciled debtors: asset tracing, attachment and garnishment, declaring foreign titles enforceable, and negotiating settlement where that pays better.
Attachment & garnishment
Exequatur proceedings
Asset tracing
Set hours each month as your first legal call — plus a clean set of your own templates and negotiation playbooks so your team closes the easy ones without me. For companies making legal decisions constantly who do not want to build a department for it.
Monthly retainer
Templates & playbooks
Contract risk review
Steering outside firms
Credentials
Admissions, memberships, and published work.
Admitted to practise in Germany, based in the Munich area. Below are the details clients and co-counsel usually check before a first instruction.
Admission
Rechtsanwalt, admitted with the Munich Bar Association (RAK München)
Memberships
German Bar Association (DAV)
Publications
Articles on distribution law and cross-border enforcement — titles on request.
Speaking
Talks on German contract practice for international in-house teams.
The other half
Alongside the practice: eighteen years in enterprise technology, most recently building Google Cloud's EMEA commercial operations. Advisory on go-to-market and revenue operations sits under Commercial.
Commercial · Go-to-market & revenue operations
Go-to-market thatcloses.Operationsthat scale.
I build and run the commercial engine behind enterprise revenue — GTM strategy, deal desks, negotiation, and the operating cadence around them. Eighteen years in enterprise technology, seven of them scaling Google Cloud's EMEA commercial operations from 5 to 45 people across 120+ countries.
Lead negotiator on multiple $1B+ multi-year partnerships. Pricing, non-standard obligations, and long-term risk, negotiated with the customer C-suite.
04
Transformation & integration
Retained operator through two acquisitions (Siemens IT S&S → Atos, Citrix Online → LogMeIn): cross-border governance, M&A execution, workforce continuity.
05
Commercial governance
Chairing the review board that governs pricing, deviations from standard terms, margin exposure and long-term risk across a regional portfolio.
06
AI & process automation
Contract automation, structured playbooks, and AI frameworks deployed for commercial scale — replacing manual operational dependency. MIT Sloan certified.
Track record
Signature transactions, not adjectives.
Direct counterpart to the Google Cloud President EMEA on the region's highest-stakes negotiations. Two organisations built from zero; two acquisitions carried as the retained operator.
$1B+
Enterprise cloud partnerships, Google Cloud EMEA
Lead negotiator on multiple multi-year recurring-revenue commitments.
~€500M
IT outsourcing contract, Atos / Siemens IT S&S
Negotiated and closed with a five-member team across a full contracting cycle.
160+
Employees transferred via structured asset deals
Completed without operational disruption to service delivery.
5
Legal entities consolidated across EMEA
Cross-functional restructuring across Finance, Tax and Operations.
3×
Faster deal cycle, qualified opportunity to signature
Achieved by restructuring approval authority and removing sequential steps.
Engagement
Three models. You choose the commitment.
Advisory
Standing counsel to the CRO or CEO
A recurring block of time on your commercial questions: pricing calls, deal structure, org design, forecast discipline.
Project
A diagnostic, or a deal desk built
Bounded work priced before we start: GTM diagnostic, deal desk design and launch, forecast cadence, negotiation playbook.
Interim
COO, GM or commercial lead
For transitions and scale-ups: an operator in the seat through a vacancy, an integration, or the first year of a new region.