People

Dr. Jan Heithecker

Partner

Heithecker, Jan

Jan Heithecker has a general EU and German competition law practice with a special emphasis on worldwide merger control law and EU State aid law. 

Mr. Heithecker has extensive experience with multi-jurisdictional merger notifications within and outside the EU. He regularly advises and represents national German and international clients in merger control proceedings before the German Federal Cartel Office and the EU Commission and has acted in numerous complex proceedings before both merger control authorities.  

In addition, Mr. Heithecker regularly advises and represents both beneficiaries and their complaining competitors in EU State aid matters. He has acted in numerous State aid proceedings before the European Commission and in State aid litigation before national and EU courts. 

Mr. Heithecker spent several years in the Brussels office of WilmerHale. He has considerable litigation experience before the European Courts, in particular regarding court proceedings relating to EU merger control and State aid law.

Mr. Heithecker's clients belong to a variety of industries, including aviation, defense, energy, environmental services, gaming, industrial process technology, logistics, machine building, manufacturing, media, medical technology, measurement technology and raw materials.

Recent Highlights

Mr. Heithecker regularly advises on mergers that require numerous filings worldwide, e.g., regarding the formation of the joint venture Springer Nature by Holtzbrinck Publishing Group and BC Partners. In the area of State aid he currently represents among others Pollmeier Massivholz GmbH & Co. KG in an appeal procedure before the European Court of Justice with regard to State aid in favor of a competitor (Cases C-242/15 P and C-246/15 P) and the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) in the first EU court case regarding the State aid assessment of online gambling taxes (Cases C-541/14 P and C-563/14 P).

Honors & Awards

  • Since its 2011/2012 edition, JUVE Handbook has been consistently recommending Mr. Heithecker for the areas of Competition/Antitrust ("highly efficient," "very good quality," "very convincing," "pleasant, constructive cooperation") and EU State Aid ("expert in the field and very efficient").
  • Recommended by Handelsblatt Best Lawyers® 2013-2015 in the field of antitrust and competition law as a top German business lawyer.
  • Recommended by Legal 500 EMEA 2009 and 2013 in the area of Antitrust.
  • Recommended by The Legal Experts EMEA 2011 report as a leading attorney for EU and competition.

Publications & News

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December 1, 2015

Article 101 TFEU, cases II.9 – Acquisition of shares, including the setting up of creation of joint ventures

A chapter by Jan Heithecker, published in the Frankfurt Treatise on Competition Law (Frankfurter Kommentar zum Kartellrecht).

November 18, 2015

JUVE Ranks WilmerHale Lawyers and Practice Areas in Germany

JUVE, a prominent legal publication in Germany, highly recommends WilmerHale in several practice areas.

July 2, 2015

WilmerHale Lawyers Named to Best Lawyers in Germany 2015

Nine WilmerHale lawyers from the Berlin and Frankfurt offices were listed in Best Lawyers in Germany, ranking in a recent edition of Handelsblatt.

February 5, 2015

Thermo Fisher Scientific Strengthens Bioproduction Offering by Acquiring Advanced Scientifics, Inc.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today announced it has acquired Advanced Scientifics, Inc. (ASI).

June 10, 2014

WilmerHale Lawyers Named to “Best Lawyers in Germany” 2014

Nine WilmerHale lawyers from the Berlin and Frankfurt offices were named "Best Lawyers" in a recent edition of Handelsblatt.

June 1, 2014

State Aid Modernization (SAM) from the point of view of lawyers: The refinement of the substantive conditions of compatibility

A chapter by Jan Heithecker, appearing in EU State aid law in crisis – reform of EU State aid law (Beihilfenrecht in der Krise – Reform des Beihilfenrechts), pp. 141-170.

March 28, 2014

WilmerHale’s Antitrust Group Wins Litigation of the Year Award from GCR

WilmerHale's Antitrust and Competition Practice was announced the winner of the Litigation of the Year Award for the German Rail Cartel follow-on litigation in a Global Competition Review (GCR) awards ceremony held in Washington DC on March 25, 2014.

June 21, 2013

WilmerHale Lawyers Named to Best Lawyers in Germany 2013

Eight WilmerHale lawyers from the Berlin and Frankfurt offices were recently named in the 2013 Handelsblatt edition of Best Lawyers in Germany.

June 1, 2013

Article 107(3) TFEU (Balancing Test)

A chapter by Jan Heithecker, published in European State Aid Law (Europäisches Beihilfenrecht), pp. 402-403, 505-524.

May 20, 2013

Legal 500 EMEA 2013 Recognizes WilmerHale Attorneys, Practices

The 2013 edition of The Legal 500 Europe, Middle East and Africa has been released, and includes recognition for 10 WilmerHale practice areas and 13 individual lawyers.

Professional Activities

Mr. Heithecker regularly publishes on various EU competition law issues, i.a. in Frankfurter Kommentar on Competition/Antitrust.

Practices

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Education

Doctorate in Law, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, 2002

Second State Exam, Berlin, Court of Appeals, 1997

First State Exam, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, 1994

Bar Admissions

Berlin

Languages

German

English

Spanish