Dr. Hans-Markus Wagener

Hans-Markus specializes in European and German antitrust law with a focus on cartel and abuse of market power proceedings as well as complex merger control. He represents clients before the European Commission and the German Federal Cartel Office as well as before European and German courts. Another particular focus of his practice is corresponding crisis management and compliance.

Work highlights 

• Covestro: advising on an Investment Agreement with certain entities of ADNOC Group and in connection with a public takeover offer by ADNOC to all Covestro shareholders.

• Volkswagen: advising on a pending USD 5 billion investment and electric vehicle technology joint venture with California EV manufacturer Rivian.
• Silgan Holdings Inc. advising on all aspects in the context of cartel proceedings before the German Federal Cartel Office and the European Commission in the metal packaging sector, in proceedings before the General Court of the European Union.

• Hamburger Hafen und Logistik Aktiengesellschaft (HHLA): advising on merger control and foreign investment law in the context of the joint takeover bid of Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC) and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg to the HHLA shareholders.

Hans-Markus joined Linklaters as an Associate in 2023. Previously, he worked for the firm in different functions, first as Research Assistant and later as Legal Trainee.

Furthermore, he has fundamental experience in the field of dispute resolution (litigation and arbitration) due to an earlier engagement at another major international law firm.

From 2019 to 2021, Hans-Markus was a Research Fellow at the Chair of Civil Law as well as German and International Corporate, Commercial and Antitrust Law at the Law Faculty of Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf.

Hans-Markus is admitted at the Düsseldorf Bar Association (Rechtsanwalt). He is a member of the Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht, a renowned association of lawyers and economists with a specific interest in competition law related matters.

Hans-Markus studied law at the University of Münster, Germany. At the same time, he completed the faculty’s specialized foreign language training for lawyers in Spanish. After passing the state examination, he worked as a research assistant at Linklaters during his major studies and later while completing his legal doctorate.

In 2022, he was awarded the legal doctorate (Dr. iur.) by the Law Faculty of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf based on his research dedicated to the effects of competition on the development of legal norms.

Hans-Markus completed his legal clerkship in 2023 in the district of the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf including stages at Linklaters, the Chancellery of the Federal Republic of Germany as well as at the Munich Security Conference.

He speaks German, English and Spanish.

Hans-Markus regularly publishes articles in German and English language. Recent publications include:

• Commentary on Art. 6(3)-(5), (12) and (13) as well as Art. 8(2)-(9) Digital Markets Act (DMA), in: Frankfurter Kommentar zum Kartellrecht, Cologne, Verlag Dr. Otto Schmidt (in German language only)
• Die Normativität von Wettbewerb – Zugleich eine Untersuchung der Rechtsgenese im Bereich der institutionellen Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit, Berlin, Peter Lang Publishing, 2022 (in German language only)
• Die wirtschaftliche Einheit als Schuldner im Zivilprozess: Eine für alle und alle für eine? in Neue Zeitschrift für Kartellrecht (NZKart) 2020, 238. English version: Claiming Cartel Damages against the Economic Unit – One for All and All for One?, available at SSRN

• Follow-up zu Skanska – Bisherige „Umsetzung“ durch nationale Zivilgerichte in Neue Zeitschrift für Kartellrecht (NZKart) 2019, 535. English version: Follow-up to Skanska – The 'Implementation' by National Courts So Far, available at SSRN