Afileon launches in the German market

Afileon brings together mid-sized law firms to form a strong corporate group. The law firms enter into reciprocal shareholding, in which the partners are directly invested in Afileon and Afileon takes over the shares of the law firm in return. Unlike previous approaches in the law firm market, which either rely on individual law firms, industry systems or large corporations, the partners in the Afileon Group enjoy entrepreneurial freedom and offer their advisory services regionally with their mid-sized law firms. They are supported by a high-performance service company.

The Afileon Group offers partner law firms the opportunity to strategically position themselves for the future. The industry is facing considerable challenges due to the need for digitalisation, a shortage of skilled specialists and ever increasing complexity. Afileon provides the answers: Because the network provides the HR, marketing, IT and administrative structures for all law firms. This allows the individual law firms to concentrate fully on providing advisory services, while benefitting from the combined expertise of the various affiliated law firms.

The management team at Afileon:

• Uwe Richter, CEO & Director

• Michael Wilhelm, Director

• Carsten Tschöpe, CFO & Director

• Frank W. Jacob, CCO

• Christof Kurz, CTO & Director

• Alexander Libor, CHRO

• Chris Kreis, CSO

At the launch of Afileon, 19 partner law firms with total combined revenue of 100 million euros are on board:

The benefits at a glance: Centralisation of tasks and joint investments

A business model that is both straightforward and convincing: Afileon takes over the law firms, the tax consultants remain on board as directors, continue to manage their business and remain the first point of contact for their clients. Anyone who joins the network enjoys multiple benefits:

1. Investments in digitalisation and AI: Afileon provides state-of-the-art technologies and tools to optimise processes and increase service quality.

2. Centralised services: One central service company supports law firms in the areas of marketing, HR and training – leaving more time for providing clients with valuable advisory services.

3. Career and further training opportunities: Enticing career paths and specialised training within the Afileon Group attract the best talent and offer long-term prospects.

4. Marketing and market development: Modern marketing increases the visibility of the network and also the individual law firm in the market. Professional market development secures realisation of additional business potential.

5. Centralised knowledge: An internal training academy increases Afileon's expertise, efficiency and service quality.

Boosting the economic and personnel situation

The tax consultancy market in Germany is currently highly fragmented with over 50,000 independent law firms.

The "Big 4" and "Next 10" focus their advisory services primarily on DAX companies and larger SMEs. To date, SMEs have mainly been served by individual, mid-sized law firms. As a large provider, Afileon now addresses SMEs so that they can benefit from the professionalism and technical infrastructure of a large network of law firms, while still enjoying the individual support of a small service partner. Alongside tax consultancy, SMEs will also be able to take advantage of auditing and legal consulting in future, thereby enjoying an excellent service portfolio from a single source.