Prof. Joachim Scherer has more than 20 years experience of advising companies, financial institutions and public authorities in the fields of public law and governmental regulation. His main areas of practice are regulatory law (telecommunications, energy and transportation), environmental law and EU law. Over the last decade, he has been consistently ranked as a leading regulatory lawyer by Chambers and other legal directories.

Currently the head of the public law group of the German offices and of the Firm’s telecoms practice (both in Europe and globally), he served on Baker & McKenzie’s Executive Committee (2000-2004) and chaired the Professional Responsibility and Practice Committee (2002-2004).

He is an adjunct professor of law at Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University in Frankfurt. He serves on the Board of Legal Examiners of the State of Hessen and is a member of the Frankfurt Bar Association’s Committee for Specialist Attorneys in Administrative Law.  Prof. Scherer has published numerous books and legal articles on topics of national, European and international public law and is co-editor of a commentary on the German Telecommunications Act.

Practice Focus

Prof. Scherer acts for companies, in particular regulated companies, financial institutions, and public entities both in transactions and in litigation. He advises clients in the telecommunications, energy and transportation sectors on rate regulation, interconnection, network access and other regulatory issues, including representation before the Federal Network Agency, the German courts, the European Commission and the European Court of Justice. He has advised on numerous national and international regulatory projects and privatizations, including telecommunications privatizations in Germany, Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America.

Representative Legal Matters

• Represented the German Federal Government in litigation regarding revocation of a frequency license and refund of EUR 8.4 billion license price.
• Represented a gas pipeline operator in connection with the regulation of network access rates before the German courts.
• Advised a global satellite network operator on regulatory compliance including management of a 25 jurisdiction compliance review.
• Acted for the governments of the states of Brandenburg, Hamburg and Lower Saxony in connection with the privatization of their state-owned hospitals, including advice on relevant legislation.
• Advised a mobile communications network operator in conjunction with an auction relating to UMTS frequencies, network roll-out and rate regulation.
• Advised state governments, privatization agencies and investors on the privatization and regulation of telecommunications entities in Bolivia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Lithuania, Panama, Peru, Uruguay.

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Frankfurt Bar Association - Member of Committee for Specialist Attorneys in Administrative Law
• State Board of Legal Examiners, State Ministry of Justice - Member of Board of Legal Examiners
• Vereinigung Deutscher Staatsrechtslehrer [Assocation of Professors of Public Law] - Member
• Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Recht und Informatik e.V. [German Society for Law and Information Tech.]

Admission

Attorney Specializing in Administrative Law~Germany (1989)
Rechtsanwalt, Germany (1981)

Education

University of Frankfurt/M.  (Post-doctoral thesis / Habilitation) (1985)
Assessor Exam (1981)
University of Frankfurt/M.  (Dr. jur., summa cum laude) (1979)
Columbia University  (LL.M.) (1977)
University of Frankfurt/M.  (Referendar Exam) (1976)
University of Lausanne  (Certificate) (1971)