Dr Johannes Knop

My main areas of practice
I work for German and international clients and advise listed and non-listed companies as well as their boards and shareholders comprehensively on economically complex issues in Corporate, Group and Capital Markets Law.

A major focus of my work is on assisting with M&A transactions, corporate restructurings and general meetings.
In the field of M&A, my range of services therefore includes advising on the entire transaction process, conducting due diligence reviews and comprehensively drafting and negotiating all relevant contracts.

In the field of Capital Markets Law, I assist our clients both in the conduct of general meetings and in the implementation of measures adopted at such meetings.

In addition, I also provide support in contentious disputes. The range of services I provide in litigation covers the entire spectrum of corporate litigation, in particular shareholder disputes, post-M&A disputes, directors' and officers' liability claims as well as representation in actions for rescission under corporate law and status proceedings on co-determination.

I advise our clients in German and English.

Publications
I have published the following articles, among others:

• Capital increases under the ZuFinG, AG 22/2024, p. 807 et seq.
• Note on the judgment of the Higher Regional Court of Munich of October 25, 2022, Ref. 7 U 1785/18 - Re: Sec. 302 (3) sent. 1 AktG, EWiR 2023, 392-394
• Effects of the EU Listing Act on IR practice, DIRK 2024 (Impact of the EU Listing Act on IR practice DIRK - German Investor Relations Association)
• Future Financing Act – A “double whammy” for capital raising by listed SMEs? (Future Financing Act: Easier capital increase for SMEs (capital market blog))

My background
I completed my studies at the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel with a focus on Civil Procedural Law, where I also completed my doctorate on an insolvency law topic. I completed my legal traineeship in the district of the Schleswig-Holstein Higher Regional Court.

I was admitted to the bar in 2015 and became a specialist lawyer for Commercial and Corporate Law in 2018. In 2021, I also successfully completed the specialist lawyer course in Tax Law.

Before joining Fieldfisher, I worked for several years in the Hamburg office of an international commercial law firm and in a boutique law firm in Hamburg.