Yukiko Hitzelberger-Kijima

Yukiko advises German and international companies on all issues relating to individual and collective employment law, in particular in connection with transactions, restructurings, transfer of businesses and outsourcing projects. She also has extensive experience in headcount reductions, including conducting court proceedings, cross-border employment issues, drafting all types of agreements (e.g. employment and service agreements, termination agreements, works agreements), employee data protection and compliance. Furthermore, she has a special focus on all matters related to remuneration systems in regulated sectors such as financial services.

Yukiko is a member of the Linklaters ESG Working Group and she regularly advises clients on diversity, equity and inclusion aspects of their business.

Work highlights

Her recent experience includes:

• CLARK: advising on the acquisition of finanzen Group from Allianz X as well as on the conversion of the legal form into an SE. 
• Covestro: advising on the acquisition of the Resins & Functional Materials business from Royal DSM.
• EDP Renováveis: advising on the acquisition of a 70% stake in solar project developer Kronos Solar. 
• KfW: advising on the acquisition of a 50% share in the project company for the planned LNG terminal in Brunsbüttel from the Dutch gas grid operator Gasunie.
• PRIMARK: advising in all strategically relevant areas, in particular collective labour law, works constitutional law, employee data protection, litigation, management/executives, representation in conciliation boards.
• UBS Europe: advising on the sale of the Spanish wealth management business to Singular Bank as well as on the acquisition of the Latin American private client asset management business of Deutsche Bank, based in Hamburg.

Yukiko has been practicing law since 2004. She has been working as a Managing Associate at Linklaters since 2020 and was appointed Counsel in 2021.

She is a member of the German Japanese lawyers’ assication and the DJW working group German Japanese Professional Women’s Network.