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Anne Caroline Wegner, LL.M. (European University Institute)
Lawyer
│
Partner
Areas of practice
Anne Wegner specialises in German/European antitrust and distribution law as well as litigation in these areas. Her advisory services cover, in particular, distribution antitrust law, antitrust damages, compliance, fine proceedings, merger control, joint ventures and abuse of market power. She has many years of experience in representing her clients in these areas before antitrust authorities, in court and arbitration proceedings, and in contract drafting and negotiations. She has extensive experience in particular with matters relating to the automotive industry, logistics, the building materials industry and chemical distribution.
Conciliation office for antitrust law Anne Wegner is a state-approved conciliation office within the meaning of Section 794 (1) No. 1 of the German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO), which offers out-of-court settlement of claims for damages, injunctive relief, delivery, etc. based on antitrust law. The conciliation procedure has various advantages. Settlements reached before the conciliation office are enforceable titles.
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Vita
Anne Wegner joined Luther’s Dusseldorf office as a Partner in 2010 and is head of Luther’s antitrust team. Before moving to Luther, she worked for nine years for the international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Cologne and Brussels in the field of antitrust and distribution law. Anne Wegner studied law in Marburg (Germany), Strasbourg (France), Cologne (Germany) and at the European University Institute in Florence (Italy).
Honors and distinctions
- Chambers Global 2026: Ranking in "Competition/European Law", Band 6 (first ranking in 2018)
- Chambers Germany 2025: Rankings in "Commercial Contracts", Band 2 (first ranking in 2015, "Anne Caroline Wegner is very active in conferences and definitely a strong colleague." "She is experienced.") and "Competition/ European Law", Band 6 (first ranking in 2017)
- JUVE Guide 2025/2026: Award "Leading Name in Trade and Distribution" (first awarded in 2017/2018, "fair, pragmatic negotiator; extensive expertise in distribution antitrust law", competitor) and listed under "Frequently Recommended" in "Trade, Distribution and Logistics" (first listed in 2011/2012) and "Antitrust Law" (first listed in 2011/2012, "extensive expertise in antitrust law and compensation for damages, as well as being pleasant and cooperative", competitor)
- JUVE Guide 2021/2022: Listed under "Frequently Recommended" in "Dispute Resolution" (first listed in 2015/2016, "good tactical sense", competitor)
- The Legal 500 Germany 2026: Award "Leading Name" in the category "Commercial and Distribution Law - Distribution/Commerce/Logistics" (first award in 2016, "Anne Wegner: A competent point of contact for competition law.", "Anne Caroline Wegner has very good experience and excellent specialist knowledge.") and recommendation in the category "Antitrust Law" (first recommendation in 2023, first mention in 2014, "Sebastian Felix Janka and Anne Caroline Wegner are outstanding competition lawyers of their generation, who have already achieved international renown at a young age.", "Anne Caroline Wegner: Very good, profound work and always easy to reach directly.")
- The Legal 500 Germany 2025: Mentioned in "City Focus - Düsseldorf" (first recommendation in 2023)
- The Legal 500 Germany 2019: Mention in the category "Dispute Resolution - Commercial Disputes" (first mention in 2016)
- Lexology Index 2025 (former WWL Who’s Who Legal): Award "Thought Leader" in "Thought Leaders – Competition" (first award in 2021) and recommendation "National Leader" in "Germany - Competition" (first recommendation in 2019)
- Lexology Index 2024 (former WWL Who’s Who Legal): Award "Thought Leader" in "Thought Leaders – Germany" (first award in 2022) and recommendation "Global Leader" in "Competition" (first recommendation in 2013)
- kanzleimonitor.de 2021/2022: Recommended in "Antitrust Law" (first recommended in 2018/2019)
- Best Lawyers 2026: Recommended in "Competition/Antitrust Law" (first recommended in 2014), "Corporate Governance and Compliance Practice" and "Litigation" (first recommended in 2024)
- WirtschaftsWoche 2022: Recommendation "Top Lawyer" in "Antitrust Law" (first recommendation in 2020)
- Expert Guides 2021: Recommended in "Competition and Antitrust" (first recommended in 2012) and "Women in Business Law" (first recommended in 2012)
- "Corporate INTL Award" 2014 in "Distribution Law"
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Clients
- Advising diverse clients in cartel proceedings (partly including leniency applications) before the Federal Cartel Office and the European Commission (among others wholesaling of sanitary and healing products, automotive supplier industry, building material sector)
- Representing Erste Bank in an action for annulment of a cartel fine (“Lombardclub”)
- Merger control filings with the Federal Cartel Office and the European Commission as well as multijurisdictional filings (among others, Remondis’ acquisition of Xervon, Sodecia’s acquisition of a competitor from the automotive supplier industry)
- Jointventures (merger control, non-compete obligations, FuE-cooperations, specialisation agreements)
- Litigation: representing several importers of motor vehicles against individual and class actions by their authorised distributors (among others concerning standard terms, guarantee remuneration, margin, transport costs, contract termination, defence in refusal to supply actions, access to the distribution system)
- Advising several clients on the adjustment of their distribution systems to the legal framework of the motor vehicle block exemption regulations (Commission Regulation (EC) no. 1400/2002 and 461/2010)
- Advising an importer of automobiles on the set-up of a pan-European distribution system
- Antitrust Due Diligence for an investment bank regarding the acquisition of a construction materials group
- Advising a company in the out-of-home media industry with respect to the sector inquiry of the Federal Cartel Office
- Defending a manufacturer of automobile components in an injunction proceeding concerning delivery of parts (“refusal to supply”)
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Publications
- Germany: FCO tightens grip on cartels with increasing number of dawn raids and court proceedings, in: GCR – Europe, Middle East and Africa Antitrust Review 2026, Juni 2025
- Germany: Ex officio enforcement stays vigilant while number of leniency applications remains low, in: GCR – Europe, Middle East and Africa Antitrust Review 2025, Juni 2024
- Germany: vigilant cartel enforcement led to dip in cases, in: GCR - Europe, Middle East and Africa, Antitrust Review 2024, Juni 2023, S. 252-268
- Die neue Vertikal-Gruppenfreistellungsverordnung (EU) 2022/720 nebst Vertikal-Leitlinien – Kontinuität und Umbruch in der Vertriebspraxis, in: Zeitschrift für Wettbewerbsrecht (ZWeR), Heft 03/2022, S. 243 (gemeinsam mit Samira Altdorf, LL.M. & Benjamin Schwenker)
- Zeitenwende im Kartellrecht: Einführung einer missbrauchsunabhängigen Entflechtungsbefugnis des Bundeskartellamts durch die 11.GWB-Novelle?
- Germany: Cartels, the dynamics of settlements and the (risky) court battle, in: GCR – Europe, Middle East and Africa Antitrust Review 2023, Juni 2022
- Collective class actions und claims Aggregation in Germany, in: GCR Private Litigation Guide - Third Edition 2021
- Germany: Addressing the Power Dynamic, in: GCR – Europe, Middle East and Africa Antitrust Review 2022, Juli 2021
- Antitrust law / Litigation: No "mass debt collection": Munich Regional Court I rejects 600 million Euro claim for damages regarding the truck cartel!
- Collective or Class Actions and Claims Aggregation in Germany, in: GCR Insight - Private Litigation Guide, 2019
- Prescription of Cartel Damages Claims: Analysis of Higher District Court of Karlsruhe's decision of 9 November 2016 (6 U 204/15) (German Language)
- Recent Competition Law Developments in the Automotive Industry
- Only extraordinary circumstances can render a two years termination notice void - comments on judgment of Higher District Court Frankfurt of 22.12.2015, 11 U 25/14 (Kart)
- Distribution Contracts and Antitrust Law in International Arbitration - the Arbitrators' Challenge
- The joint venture - antitrust challenges from the cradle to the grave
- The Application of Competition Law to the Automotive Industry
- "Vertikal–GVO", in: Kölner Kommentar zum Kartellrecht
- European Merger Control Regulation
- Denying Internet trader access to brick and mortar wholesaler-association does not infringe antitrust laws - commentary to judgment of Higher District Court of Düsseldorf
- Zitat in: German broadcasters drop joint venture - Competition News, Features and Reviews
- GMO expert: EU has revised positions
- Market definition for authorised repairers and spare parts supply
- European Court of Justice (EuGH) confirms Commission's Guidelines on internet trading
- Paradigm shift in motor vehicle sales?
- New Motor Vehicle Block Exemption (461/2010), part III: The sale of new vehicles from June 2013
- The new freedom of car manufacturers
- EuGH: Vertriebsverbote im Internet untersagt - Entscheidungsbesprechung des Urteils vom 13.10.2011 - C-439/09 (Pierre Fabre)
- New Motor Vehicle Block Exemption (461/2010), part II: Agreements in the Aftermarkets outside the scope of the BER
- New Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (Reg. 461/2010), part I: The Aftermarkets
- Commentary to Art. 3 European Merger Control Regulation
- On the Prerequisites under which an Exclusive Supply Contract for Petroleum Products between a Service-station Operator and an Oil Company is exempted from the Scope of Art. 81 EC – Annotations to the Judgment of the European Court of Justice of 11.09.200
- New notices of the Federal Cartel Office on Co-operation between Businesses: De Minimis Notice 2007 and Notice SMEs 2007
- On the Effectiveness of Terminating a Distribution Agreement relating to Motor Vehicles and the Compatibility of such a Termination with the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (EC 1400/2002) – Annotations to the Judgment of the European Court of Jus
- Commentary to Art. 3 European Merger Control Regulations
- Commercial Agent’s Privilege: Sales via Commercial Agents - a Viable Exemption to the Prohibition under Art. 81 of the EC Treaty / § 1 of the German Act Against Restraints on Competition (GWB?)
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Blog posts
- Luther Competition Forecast 2026
- Dawn raids at Red Bull: General Court clarifies preconditions for adopting an inspection decision and confirms the Commission’s wide discretion in conducting its antitrust investigations
- EU Commission investigates SAP regarding licensing of ERP software – What does this mean for SAP customers?
- No ‘Carte blanche’ for dawn raids under EU Antitrust Law: General Court partially annuls European Commission’s inspection decision against Michelin
- ECJ clarifies conditions for restrictions on active sales in exclusive distribution contracts under the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation
- ECJ facilitates enforcement of claims of app providers against dominant platforms to establish interoperability of app and platform
- Webinar: Luther Antitrust & Competition Law Forecast 2025
- Luther Antitrust & Competition Law Forecast 2025
- European Court of Justice rules: an energy supplier and a food distributor can be ‘potential competitors’
- Expiry of Block Exemption Regulation for Liner Shipping Consortia – Background and outlook
- 11th Amendment of the German Competition Act gives the Federal Cartel Office far-reaching powers of intervention
- ECJ judgement Unilever Italia: Attribution of distributors’ conduct to the manufacturer in an abuse of dominance case
- New draft German antitrust bill: Will the Federal Cartel Office be vested with new powers to order unbundling on any disfunctional market without having to prove a violation of an-titrust laws?
- Changes for online platform business due to new competition law on vertical restrictions
- Luther Competition Law Forecast 2022 – Topics that will be important under antitrust law in 2022
- Antitrust and distribution – current status of the reform of the Block Exemption Regulation for distribution agreements (VBER)?
- Challenges in dealing with cross-border cartel cases – why is this so relevant right now?
- Free-riding allowed? - BGH declares Booking.com's ‘narrow most favored nation clause’ illegal
- "ARC Digitisation Act" came into force today - important changes to the German Competition Act [Update]
- COVID-19 still causes turmoil in competition (law)
- Dawn raids: EU General Court partly annuls the Commission’s decision authorising a dawn raid at French supermarket chains
- Cartel follow-on litigation: Dortmund court quantifies cartel damages without econometric analysis
- Big Bang in automotive distribution contracts? The order of the Higher Regional Court in Vienna dated May 2, 2020 on the invalidity of certain conditions and practices in the automotive industry under antitrust law
- Overcoming the crisis in the automotive sector: The Bundeskartellamt temporarily tolerates certain forms of cooperation during the restart of production and restructuring
- Collective follow-on cartel damages actions: 600 million Euros group claim for follow-on damages (truck cartel) rejected by Regional Court of Munich I
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Lectures
- 10.04.2025: Ringvorlesung Kartellrecht – Thema: Refusal to supply.
- 18.02.2025: Webinar: Luther Antitrust & Competition Law Forecast 2025
- 29.06.2023: Kartellrechts-Webinar – das neue Vertriebskartellrecht
- 20.09.2022: Luther Kartellrechtsfrühstück 2022 I Hamburg „Das neue Vertriebskartellrecht"
- 14.09.2022: Luther Kartellrechtsfrühstück 2022 I München „Das neue Vertriebskartellrecht"
- 08.09.2022: Luther Kartellrechtsfrühstück 2022 I Düsseldorf „Das neue Vertriebskartellrecht"
- 06.07.2022: Jahrestagung Recht in der Automobilzulieferindustrie
- 21.06.2022: M&A-Forum 2022 I Köln
- 29.04.2022: Deutschen Gesellschaft für Vertriebsrecht, Leipzig: Die neue Vertikal-GVO
- 10.12.2021: Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht: Der Entwurf der neuen Vertikal-GVO
- 29.11.2021: Hot topics in merger control in the antitrust sector
- 03.03.2019: Access to Repair and Maintenance Information and Authorized Repairer Networks, Competition Law Challenges in the Motor Vehicle Sector (Brussels)
- 02.02.2018: Access to network claims – Jaguar Landrover case(s), Competition Law Challenges in the Motor Vehicle Sector (Brussels)
- 01.01.2017: Access to Technical Information (RMI), Competition Law Challenges in the Motor Vehicle Sector (Brussels)
- 30.06.2015: Internet retailing, Competition Law Challenges in the Motor Vehicle Sector 2015 - IBC Legal
- 09.10.2014: Recent developments in Germany, Competition Law Challenges in the Motor Vehicle Sector Conference (Brussels)
- 14.11.2013: Internetvertrieb – Kartellrechtliche Fallstricke, 13. PraxisFORUM Vertriebsrecht
- 04.11.2013: Access to (selective) distribution networks, Competition Law Challenges in the Motor Vehicle Sector Conference (Brussels)
- 06.03.2013: Internetvertrieb Aktuelle Rechtsprechung, Entwicklungen und Problemfelder, Praxisseminar Forum Institut
- 22.11.2012: Rechtsprechung – Vertragsgestaltung - Praxis, 12. PraxisFORUM Vertriebsrecht 2012
- 25.09.2012: Quantitative Selektion – Neues aus Luxemburg, 13. PraxisFORUM Kfz-Vertrieb 2012 - Erfahrungen mit der geänderten Kfz-GVO.
- 04.07.2012: Aktuelle Fragen des Kfz-Vertriebs – Strukturierung von Kfz-Vertriebssystemen, Forum Institut
- 28.06.2012: Competition Law Challenges in the Motor Vehicle Sector 2012, IBC Legal Conferences
- 09.10.2011: Single Branding under Block Exemption Regulations 461/2010 and 330/2010, Competition Law Challenges in the Motor Vehicle Sector Conference (Brussels)
- 01.09.2011: Aktuelle Rechtsprechung zum Kfz-Vertrieb und deren Auswirkung auf die Praxis, Kfz-Vertriebsforum
- 01.09.2011: Aktuelle Rechtsprechung zum KFZ- Vertrieb und deren Auswirkung auf die Praxis, KFZ- Vertriebsforum (Forum Institut)
- 01.01.2011: Multi-Branding and Non-Competes , Vortrag in englischer Sprache auf der IBC Legal Konferenz zur Auswirkung der neuen GVO auf den Automobilvertrieb
- 01.11.2009: Specific Antitrust Problems in the Aftermarkets, Vortrag in englischer Sprache auf der IBC Legal Konferenz zu den Entwicklungen im Automobilvertrieb
- 01.08.2009: Elektromobilität: Kooperationen zwischen Stakeholdern, Mandantenseminar zum Thema "Elektromobilität - Neue Infrastruktur und der Zugang zum Kunden"
- 01.07.2008: Access to Technical Information under the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption and after its Expiry, Vortrag in englischer Sprache auf der IBC Legal Konferenz zur Zukunft des Automobilvertriebs
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![[Translate to English:] Luther Competition Forecast 2026](/fileadmin/user_upload/AdobeStock_1067447554.jpeg)
![[Translate to English:] Durchsuchungen bei Red Bull: EuG klärt Voraussetzungen für Durchsuchungsanordnungen und bestätigt den weiten Ermessensspielraum der Kommission bei der Durchführung von Durchsuchungen](/fileadmin/user_upload/SMC_RedBull2.jpg)
![[Translate to English:] No ‘Carte Blanche’ for Dawn Raids under EU Antitrust Law](/fileadmin/user_upload/Bild_Blog_No_%E2%80%98Carte_Blanche%E2%80%99_for_dawn_raids_under_EU_Antitrust_Law_1.jpg)
Sebastian Fedder
Of Counsel
Hamburg
Artur Winkler
Counsel
Hamburg
Yann Spiegelhalter
Counsel
Luxembourg
Wolfgang Liebau
Counsel
Dusseldorf
Prof. Dr Hans-Georg Hahn
Of Counsel
Hanover
Volker Steimle
Partner
Cologne
Volkan Top
Senior Associate
Hamburg, Frankfurt a.M.
Vivien Insa Seifert
Associate
Hanover
Vanessa Meireles Schilling, LL.M. (Geneva MIDS)
Senior Associate
Hamburg
Dr Valerie Blettenberg
Associate
Munich
Valentin Hubert
Associate
Hamburg
Dr Ulrich Philippi
Partner
Stuttgart
Thi Thuy Trang Phan, LL.M.
Partner
Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City
Tim Rauschning
Partner
Hamburg
Tillmann Kamp
Associate
Cologne