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The international law firm of Noerr has extended its leading position in product liability law in Germany, as confirmed by national and international studies of the legal counsel market. The legal publishing company Juve, in its Manual on Commercial Law Chambers 2005/2006 published on Monday (November 13), made Noerr firm of the year for product liability. The reasons are above all the growth in the client portfolio, client loyalty and the increasing degree of specialisation in the fields of public product safety law and criminal law. The development is rounded off by prominent new recruitments. For instance, Dr. Thomas Klindt, one of the most renowned product safety experts in Germany, has been working at the Munich office of Noerr since the beginning of the year.
At the same time, the head of the product liability department, Noerr partner Michael Molitoris (46), is regarded as “Best lawyer for defending product liability claims in Germany”. This was the result of a poll of clients and other product liability lawyers carried out by the London company Law Business Research, which conducts this poll every year for its Who's Who of Product Liability Defence Lawyers. The book is published this year for the fifth time. Law Business Research is the official partner for such market studies of the International Bar Association, the international representative body of attorneys at law. The results of the study are published on www.whoswholegal.com.
In the poll, Molitoris was described as “superb” and “one of the outstanding product liability lawyers in the world”, to quote the announcement in Who's Who. The assessment is based on six months of independent research in 29 legal systems.
The topic of product liability and product safety has increased strongly in importance here in Germany and internationally. This has long not been simply a reflection of the well-known excesses in US litigation. Major product recall campaigns concern not only the manufacturers of the end product but also the suppliers and insurers against whom claims are also made. The safety authorities are much more active in their market supervision function in the whole of Europe than they were only a few years ago. Criminal charges against the managers of manufacturing companies and the publication of these charges in the mass media are common practice. Product liability issues have effects that ultimately lead to the question of a need for ad hoc communications by listed enterprises and a fundamental assessment within the framework of corporate acquisitions and mergers.
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