Interview with Dr. Dennis Schlottmann

How long have you been with Renzenbrink & Partner and how did you come to join the firm?

I joined R&P as a partner in mid-2017. I had previously worked for Hengeler Mueller in Düsseldorf and Berlin since joining the firm in 2010 and spent a year at a US law firm in Chicago. The contact came about through my partner Andreas Stoll, whom I knew from my Hengeler days. We then met with all the partners quite quickly and immediately realized that we were a good fit both personally and professionally.

What is special about Renzenbrink & Partner?

For me, the special thing about Renzenbrink & Partner is that we play in the “concert of the big players” in our client work, but have retained the advantages and culture of a compact boutique unit. For most of our mandates, we work with large law firms or other highly specialized advisors. We therefore work at “large law firm level” and can offer our associates appropriate specialist training. Internally, however, it is very important to us to maintain a close personal relationship and a real team culture, which can only be developed in this form in a unit with a manageable number of staff. For example, when recruiting new staff – regardless of whether they are lawyers or assistants – we take great care to ensure that there is a good fit in terms of character as well as professional qualifications. For us, working in such a setting is the most fun. This culture also benefits our clients, who can rely on a highly motivated and homogeneous team.

What does the day-to-day work in corporate/M&A/private equity look like for a partner?

Very varied in any case. As our client base is made up of very different companies and individuals, each mandate has its own “laws”. For example, it makes a considerable difference whether we are advising a highly professional private equity deal or a medium-sized entrepreneur who wants to sell his “life’s work” and is coming into contact with M&A for the first time in his life. Ultimately, the exciting thing is that there is no such thing as “everyday work”. There are always new challenges that can sometimes be solved with legal skills alone, but usually (also) require a feel for the dynamics of a transaction or simply dealing with people. Our work is therefore very multifaceted and is based on a high level of legal expertise without being limited to this.

How do you support young professionals at Renzenbrink & Partner?

First and foremost through excellent practical training. As we are also a compact team that relies on a division of labor, our associates are fully integrated into the client work from the outset and take on individual areas of responsibility. Of course, we do not leave anyone alone and take care not to overburden anyone at the beginning. This enables our associates to very quickly develop their own advisory personality, which we expressly support and encourage.

In addition to the daily training we provide for our clients, we offer a weekly internal training event in which we systematically prepare and deepen key aspects of our areas of activity or discuss particularly interesting practical cases and current case law. We also support external training opportunities through special leave and the assumption of costs. Specifically, we offer participation in external seminars and specialist lawyer courses and support the acquisition of additional qualifications, e.g. a doctorate or an LL.M. degree and training as a tax consultant.

What qualifications or prior knowledge should a newcomer to the corporate/M&A/private equity sector have?

Previous experience is of course very welcome, but not a real recruitment criterion. We are looking for very good lawyers who also fit in with us and our working style. Of course, we also look at exam grades and additional qualifications in terms of professional qualifications and are happy to see very good English language skills. However, the candidate’s personality and mentality are also important.

We are advocates of 360° consulting. This means that each of our employees should have the ability and motivation to examine every task from all angles and consider possible interactions. We are not looking for clerks, but problem solvers who want to fully understand issues and solve them in the interests of the client. Enjoying the consulting profession and teamwork are just as important. If you have these basic skills, you will acquire the necessary knowledge “by yourself” in a short space of time.

What is the most exciting, unforgettable, funny or thrilling thing that has happened to you in your day-to-day work?

As we almost always deal with interesting clients and personalities, there are many exciting encounters and surprising events that remain in my memory. For example, I will never forget a company sale worth over half a billion euros, which we handled from due diligence to signing in just a few days. It makes you wonder whether things could always go that quickly.

What is the best thing about working at Renzenbrink & Partner?

Every employee is given a great deal of basic trust. This is expressed in the high degree of independence that each employee is given from day one. The wide variety of transactions and processes also makes the work particularly varied. Ultimately, however, it is the people who have found their professional home with us that make us special.

What restrictions does the job entail?

It’s no secret that working as an M&A lawyer requires a lot of time and that you don’t always have control over your own schedule. From time to time you have to change your plans and put private appointments on hold if there’s no other way. However, I don’t see this as a real restriction, as outside of “hot” transaction phases you are quite flexible when it comes to organizing your time.

What is your balance to everyday office life?

First and foremost sport. I like to go running in my lunch break or after work or use our cooperation with Urban Heroes for a fitness session. I also enjoy traveling. Getting to know other countries and cultures provides a good balance to work.

Which three terms do you associate with the word Jura?

  • Language – as our tool of the trade,
  • Precision – as a working maxim,
  • Marathon – because of the long training.

What tip would you like to give every young lawyer?

Use your studies and especially your legal clerkship to gain an insight into various legal professions and fields of activity. Try things out and listen to your gut feeling as to what is right for you.

Dr. Dennis Schlottmann, Partner
schlottmann@renzenbrink-partner.de