Dr. Kathrin Bauwens

Kathrin advises and represents clients in complex domestic and international disputes, including litigation, arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution. She has extensive experience in product liability disputes, competition litigation, post-M&A and commercial disputes and has more than eight years of experience in defending individual consumer compensation claims. She also regularly advises our clients on the drafting of complex contracts, including general terms and conditions.

Kathrin is a core member of our cross-practice ESG team with a particular focus on liability risks (supply chain due diligence, greenwashing, circular economy aspects and climate disputes) and part of the firm’s global collective redress, arbitration and Automotive Sector groups. She co-heads the editorial board of ProductLiabilityLinks, Linklaters’ product liability blog, which provides insights, commentary and regular updates on commercial and regulatory developments, current initiatives and relevant decisions in product liability related matters.

Kathrin has significant industry experience in the automotive, healthcare, industrials, technology and consumer goods sectors.

Kathrin is listed as “One to Watch” for Dispute Resolution, Arbitration/Alternative Dispute Resolution/Mediation and Product Liability by Handelsblatt/Best Lawyers.

Work highlights

Kathrin has advised on a full range of national and international litigation and arbitration matters, examples are:

• Defending an international payment technology company against numerous cartel damage claims;

• Various multinational corporations: advising on the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act as well as on strategies to avoid greenwashing;

• Defending one of the leading manufacturers of medical devices in over 100 lawsuits of patients and health insurers before German courts and coordinating the litigation strategy for both in- and out-of-court claims;

• Volkswagen: advising on a range of ESG issues in connection with the IPO of Porsche AG;

• Advising and representing a world-leading automotive supplier in cartel damages claims in connection with various cartel investigations in Germany and worldwide;

• Advising a leading Tier 1 automotive supplier on a settlement in a complex supply chain dispute;

• Representing a major international industrial service provider in an infrastructure related post-M&A arbitration;

• Representing an insolvency administrator in a multiparty post-M&A arbitration;

• Advising a manufacturer of consumer goods on a silent recall and in sanctioning proceedings.

Kathrin co-heads the editorial board of ProductLiabilityLinks and is an active contributor to our ESG blog Sustainable Futures. She regularly publishes insights, commentary and updates on commercial and regulatory developments, current initiatives and relevant decisions in product liability related matters. Main topics are in particular: collective redress, issues at the interface of ESG and product liability, liability for emerging technologies and AI, as well as supply chain due diligence and greenwashing.

Further recent publications are: 

• „Recht auf Reparatur fordert Hersteller heraus“, Börsen Zeitung, 7. Juni 2024 (gemeinsam mit Dr. Rupert Bellinghausen)
  
• „Das neue EU-Recht auf Reparatur – Welche Pflichten kommen auf Unternehmen zu?“, Deutscher Anwaltsspiegel, 24. April 2024 (gemeinsam mit Dr. Rupert Bellinghausen)
  
• „Kreislaufwirtschaft: Das Recht auf Reparatur“, DB-Beilage „Environment – Social – Governance 2024“ (gemeinsam mit Dr. Rupert Bellinghausen)
  
• „Anlassbezogene Sorgfaltspflichten in Bezug auf mittelbare Zulieferer unter dem LkSG – wann besteht „substantiierte Kenntnis“?“, DB-Beilage „Environment – Social – Governance 2024“ (gemeinsam mit Dr. Julia Grothaus)
  
• „Was ändert sich durch die EU-Lieferkettenrichtlinie?“, DB-Beilage „Environment – Social – Governance 2024“ (gemeinsam mit Kamaljot Kaur Dhadda)
• „Greenwashing auf dem Vormarsch”, DB-Beilage „Environment – Social – Governance 2023“ (zusammen mit Dr. Christian Schmitt, Dr. Frederik Winter und Dr. Julia Grothaus)
  
• „Sustainable Products Initiative: Chancen und Risiken“, DB-Beilage Environment – Social – Governance 2022“ (zusammen mit Dr. Rupert Bellinghausen)
  
• Neue EU-Richtlinienvorschläge zur Haftung für künstliche Intelligenz und zur Produkthaftung – der „Doppelwumms“ zur Haftungsverschärfung, Phi – Haftpflicht international – Recht und Versicherung – Jubiläumsausgabe 2022