Michaela advises national and international clients in the fields of corporate law and compliance as well as M&A and ESG related matters.

Her practice focuses on stock corporation law and compliance and particularly includes advice of companies and bodies in connection with governance and remuneration issues, business judgment decisions, board liability matters including D&O, compliance and ESG requirements. Michaela also advises clients on implementing compliance as well as sustainability management systems and conducting internal investigations.

She is co-author of numerous publications concerning corporate law and compliance.

Partner

Contact

T +49 621 4257 205

E Michaela.Balke@sza.de

Expertise

Foreign Trade LawCompliance, Internal InvestigationsESGCorporate LawM&APrivate ClientsLitigation & Arbitration

Tpirot sza ma 04 balke hires e 005 87 A3115

Tpirot sza ma 04 balke hires e 003 87 A3002

Work highlights

Compliance matters for various companies / executive boards / supervisory boards
Corporate and liability matters for various companies / executive boards / supervisory boards (including D&O)
Several companies on ESG related matters including advice on (i) CSRD implementation and (ii) on harmonization of climate-related reporting obligations under US and European law
Avantor Inc. in the acquisition of Ritter GmbH
Daimler (today Mercedes Benz Group AG) on (i) the dissolution of the EADS shareholder pact and sale of the remaining EADS shares and (ii) on various (confidential) compliance matters.

Shareholders of Gläser+Flaschen in the sale of the company to TricorBraun
Shareholders of Gross & Perthun GmbH & Co. KG in the sale of the company to Sherwin Williams
Consultation of UniCredit Bank AG’s supervisory board in connection with alleged claims for damages against board members (with regard to the so-called "Heidel"-suit).
DG HYP Deutsche Genossenschafts-Hypothekenbank AG with the planned merger with Münchener Hypothekenbank eG (said merger did not take place)
MLP Finanzdienstleistungen AG in the acquisition of the financial intermediaries ZSH and TPC
UNIWHEELS in the acquisition of the ATS group’s European activities
Daimler in the reduction of the investment in EADS by 7.5% by an indirect investment of a consortium of financial and insurance companies and placement of a 7.5% EADS package
DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG in the transformation into a GmbH & Co. KG
Renolit AG in connection with diverse acquisitions, inter alia the acquisition of the business division “industrial foils” of Solvay S.A.
Sanofi-Aventis in the dissolution of the joint venture with Pfizer and the transfer of rights to Exubera
Deutsche Bahn AG in compliance matters
Consultation of multiple large German banks in matters concerning the remuneration of the management board

Publications

Supervisory Board Committee for Related Party Transactions, AG 2022, 297 ff. (with Niklas Schmelzeisen and Dr. Cäcilie Lüneborg)
"Der Gesetzentwurf zur Einführung einer Musterfeststellungsklage", ZIP 2018, 1321 et. seqq. (with Dr. Thomas Liebscher and Dr. Ben Steinbrück)
"Moderne Kommunikationsmittel für den Zivilprozess - was heute schon geht", AnwBl Online 2018, p. 394
"Vorstandshaftung für fehlerhafte Ausrichtung der Compliance-Organisation", ZIP 2017, p. 2038 et seq. (with Karen Klein)
"Organhaftung und Compliance", in Born/Ghassemi-Tabar/Gehle (ed.), Gesellschaftsrechtliche Streitigkeiten/Corporate Litigation (Münchener Handbuch des Gesellschaftsrechts, vol. 7)

"Ein Anwalt im Aufsichtsrat schützt nicht vor Haftung", Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of 29 March 2012, p. 21 (with Nicolas Ott)
"Intensification of the Remuneration Requirements for Credit Institutions in the German and European Legal Areas", in: Asian Law Business 8-06
"Arbeitshandbuch für die Hauptversammlung", Semler/Volhard/Reichert (Hrsg.), 3. Aufl., (co-author)
"Die Berücksichtigung von Konzernzielen bei der variablen Vergütung des Vorstands einer abhängigen Gesellschaft im faktischen Konzern", Festschrift für Hans-Jürgen Hellwig, Cologne 2010, 285 et seq. (with Jochem Reichert)
"Zu den Auswirkungen des VorstAG auf bestehende Vorstandsdienstverträge", ZIP 2010, 1471 et seq. (with Georg Jaeger)
"Der Handelsvertreterausgleich nach § 89b HGb im Umbruch", NJOZ 2010, 1551 et seq. (with Simone Evke de Groot)
"Arbeitshandbuch für die Hauptversammlung", Semler/Volhard/Reichert (ed.), 3rd Edition, (co-author; in preparation)
"Uneingeschränkte Verfügung über Bareinlage für Kapitalerhöhung", annotation to BGH (German Federal Court of Justice), judgement of 18.3.2002 - II ZR 363/00, in: DZWiR 2003, p. 157 et seqq. (with Prof. Dr. D. Kleindiek)
"Kompensation einer eigenkapitalersetzenden Gebrauchsüberlassung", annotation to BGH (German Federal Court of Justice), judgement of 18.12.2000 - II ZR 191/99, in: WuB II C § 32a GmbHG 1.02
"Heilung nichtiger Satzungsbestimmungen analog § 242 AktG", annotation to BGH, judgement to 19.6.2000 - II ZG 73/99, in: WuB II C § 242 AktG 1.01 (with Prof. Dr. D. Kleindiek)

Education & Engagement

Mitglied Gesellschaftsrechtliche Vereinigung (VGR), Mitglied des Zivilverfahrensrechtsausschusses des Deutschen Anwaltvereins, Deutscher Juristentag, Referentin bei Seminarveranstaltungen zum Thema Aktienrecht/Corporate Governance