Dr Helmut Janssen, LL.M. (King's College London) | LUTHER Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH

Dr Helmut Janssen specialises in European and German antitrust law. His advisory services include, in particular, providing preventive advice (e.g. on compliance systems) and defending his clients against antitrust infringement allegations, assisting with foreign and domestic merger control proceedings, reviewing and structuring distribution systems and cooperation agreements between competitors. Helmut Janssen also advises on a wide range of public grant cases (EU state aid law). A further area of expertise is international trade law (WTO and EU anti-subsidy/antidumping law). Helmut Janssen has 20 years of experience dealing with EU institutions. Furthermore, he has authored a reference textbook on antitrust law (6th edition 2023) and numerous specialist and academic publications on antitrust and state aid law. He is a member of the antitrust sections of the International Bar Association, the American Bar Association and of the leading German antitrust and state aid associations.

Court-approved antitrust mediator

Dr Helmut Janssen is an antitrust mediator approved by the competent German Court of Appeal. As a mediator, he specialises in the out-of-court settlement of claims arising under antitrust law, e.g. for damages, supply and injunctive relief. A procedure before an antitrust mediator offers several advantages. An agreement concluded by the parties in front of a court-approved mediator has the same effect as a state court judgment.

Antitrust mediators
Rules of procedure

Public Subsidies/State Aid Law
Antitrust Law
International Trade Law
Compliance & Internal Investigations
Commercial & Distribution Law, Product Liability/Product Compliance

Dr Helmut Janssen studied law and political science at the University of Münster (Germany), was a research assistant at the Institute of International Business Law and later gained his Doctorate of Law Degree summa cum laude from the University of Münster. He was awarded his Master of Laws (LL.M.) from King’s College London (England). He completed internships with the German Foreign Office, a Member of the European Parliament and a German court of appeal. He was admitted to the German Bar in 1997 and has worked in Hamburg (Germany), Toronto (Canada), Budapest (Hungary) and Brussels (Belgium). Helmut Janssen has been the head of Luther’s Brussels office since 2003.

Chambers Global 2019: Ranking in "Competition/European Law - Foreign Expert for Germany" (first ranking in 2012)
Chambers Global 2016: Ranking in "Corporate/M&A: Competition (Experts Based Abroad) - Belgium" (first ranking in 2013)
JUVE Guide 2023/2024: Award "Leading Advisors" and listed in "Antitrust Law" (first recommendation in 2009/2010, "very competent lawyer, good cooperation", competitor)
JUVE Guide 2023/2024: Listed under "Frequently Recommended" in "Public Sector - State aid law" (first listed in 2016/2017, "with a broad knowledge of state aid law", competitor) and "Foreign Trade Law"
JUVE Guide 2022/2023: Listed under "Frequently Recommended" in "Distribution/Trade/Logistics - Foreign Trade" (first listed in 2009/2010, "very experienced and competent, extremely pleasant to deal with", competitor)
The Legal 500 Germany 2024: Recommendations in the categories "Public Law - State Aid Law" (first recommendation in 2019, "Helmut Janssen: Pragmatic and solution-oriented.") and "Commercial and Distribution Law - Foreign Trade Law" (first recommendation in 2020) and mention in the category "Antitrust Law" (first recommendation in 2020, "Very competent, thinks practically, structured. Teams very good, very good accessibility.")
Who’s Who Legal 2024: Award "Thought Leader" in "Competition" (first award in 2022) and recommendation “Global Leader” in “Competition" and "Competition – State Aid” (first recommendation in 2019)
Best Lawyers (Belgium) 2023: Recommendation in "Competition/Antitrust Law" (first recommendation in 2014)

Defense against claims of price fixing allegations before the European Commission and the US Department of Justice (sanitary equipment industry), action before the General Court and the European Court of Justice (pending, C-604/13 P)
Defense against anti-trust infringement allegations before the European Commission and in the action before the European Court of Justice (Calciumcarbide, T-400/09)
EU merger control proceedings, such as clearing the establishment of a joint venture within the pharmaceutical industry (Sanacorp/Cerp Rouen/Millennium), the acquisition of control of Extra-Holding over the Israeli IDB Group (EXTRA HOLDING / DOLPHIN / IDBD), the participation of Post NL, Madsack Media Group and Georg von Holtzbrinck in a joint venture for postal services (MVD/POSTCON/ADVO)
Numerous German and multi-jurisdiction merger control proceedings (e.g. Phase-II proceeding for the hospital Friedrichshafen in the acquisition of the Tettnang hospital; ThyssenKrupp in an IT outsourcing project).
Numerous consultations of investors and public companies on the legal structure of an investment, as well as defense against grievances made by third parties before the European Commission (subvention law, EU subsidy control)
Numerous actions before the General Court oft eh EU against state aid decisions of the European Commission (e.g. T-230/14, T-235/14, T-276/14, T-109/15, T-294/15, T-319/15)
Comprehensive advice of an importer in opposition to the introduction of importation quotas by the EU, assistance of the involved government in WTO-related questions, successful negotiations with the Commission in the legislation procedure
Approval of a medical product by the European Commission