Hennerkes, Kirchdörfer & Lorz

What Hennerkes, Kirchdörfer & Lorz does

Hennerkes, Kirchdörfer & Lorz, Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater, Partnerschaft mbB, is a Stuttgart-based German law and tax advisory partnership founded in 1929. The firm specializes in advising family-owned enterprises and wealthy private individuals across Germany, with a service portfolio organized around seven core competency areas: succession planning, family enterprises and foundations, restructuring and legal form selection, financing, purchase and sale of family businesses, testamentary execution, and supervisory/advisory/foundation board services. Its clients are German Mittelstand family companies, larger family-controlled groups, and entrepreneurial families facing multi-generational wealth transfer, governance and tax-structuring questions.

The partnership operates a relationship-driven, project-based professional services model. Fees are governed by German statutory schedules (RVG for legal services, StBVV for tax advisory) plus individually agreed hourly or fixed fees for out-of-court advisory mandates. The firm markets itself exclusively through thought leadership: a publications library on its website, the FuS academic journal co-founded and co-edited by firm partners, partner professorships at several German universities, and speaking engagements at family-enterprise conferences. There is no software platform, no digital self-serve channel, and no AI-driven product; every engagement is delivered by the partnership's lawyers and tax advisors.

The firm's organizational structure is a partner-owned partnership (Partnerschaft mbB) with roughly 16 professionals including partners and associates across law and tax. Multiple partners hold honorary professorships at universities including Stuttgart, Witten/Herdecke, Münster and Pforzheim, and have credentials spanning LL.M. degrees from Berkeley, Harvard, NYU and the New York Bar. The firm's differentiation rests on an interdisciplinary approach that integrates legal, tax, and business-economic perspectives, treating the family, the enterprise, and the wealth as a single advisory system. Revenue is not publicly disclosed and the firm does not raise external capital.

Name

Hennerkes, Kirchdörfer & Lorz

Legal name

Hennerkes, Kirchdörfer & Lorz, Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater, Partnerschaft mbB

Website

https://www.hennerkes.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1928

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hennerkes, Kirchdörfer & Lorz is a law firm that focuses on corporate succession and succession planning for wealthy private individuals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Stuttgart

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Advisory Services: Fee-based legal advisory services for family enterprises, including succession planning, corporate restructuring, M&A, supervisory board mandates, and testamentary execution. Billed according to German legal fee schedules (RVG) for court-related matters and hourly rates or fixed fees for out-of-court advisory.
2. Tax Advisory Services: Tax planning and advisory services covering inheritance tax, corporate tax, restructuring, and international tax matters for family enterprises and wealthy individuals. Compensated via the German Steuerberatervergütungsverordnung (StBVV) fee schedule and agreed-upon advisory fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hennerkes, Kirchdörfer & Lorz is a German law and tax advisory partnership that provides interdisciplinary advisory services exclusively to family enterprises and entrepreneurial families. Its seven core practice areas cover succession planning, family foundations, restructuring and legal form selection, financing, purchase and sale of family businesses, testamentary execution, and supervisory/advisory board governance. Services integrate legal, tax, and business-economic perspectives under a single-partner-team model.

Product overview

Hennerkes, Kirchdörfer & Lorz is a German law and tax advisory firm (Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater Partnerschaft mbB) that provides interdisciplinary advisory services exclusively to family businesses and entrepreneur families. The firm offers a unified service portfolio centered on advising family enterprises across seven core competency areas: succession planning in family businesses, family enterprises and foundations, restructuring and legal form selection, financing, purchase and sale of family businesses, testamentary execution, and supervisory board, advisory board, and foundation governance. The firm combines legal, tax, and business administration perspectives in a holistic approach, acting as a single-point-of-contact for all significant topics related to family enterprises.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Succession Planning in Family Businesses (Unternehmensnachfolge) Advisory services for succession planning in family businesses, covering transfer of ownership to next generations, estate planning, and ensuring business continuity across generations. Targeted at owner-families of German family enterprises.
• Family Enterprises and Foundations (Familienunternehmen und Stiftungen) Development of tailored foundation concepts for family enterprises, including structuring of family foundations, foundation governance, and integration of foundations into succession planning. Targeted at wealthy entrepreneur families and family enterprises.
• Restructuring and Legal Form Selection (Umstrukturierungen und Rechtsformwahl) Advisory on restructuring and legal entity form selection for family businesses, including optimization of corporate structures and transformation planning. Targeted at family enterprises undergoing corporate change.
• Financing Advisory (Finanzierung) Advisory on financing options and capital structure for family enterprises, including support for financing arrangements and capital market access. Targeted at family enterprises planning capital structure changes or transactions.
• Purchase and Sale of Family Businesses (Kauf und Verkauf von Familienunternehmen) Advisory and support for purchase and sale transactions of family businesses, including M&A advisory, due diligence support, and transaction structuring. Targeted at family enterprises undertaking M&A or ownership transfers.
• Testamentary Execution (Testamentsvollstreckungen) Execution of wills and estate administration services, including appointment of executors and management of testamentary provisions. Targeted at wealthy individuals and families transferring estates.
• Supervisory Board, Advisory Board and Foundation Governance (Aufsichtsrat, Beirat und Stiftungsgremien) Establishment and advisory on supervisory boards, advisory boards, and foundation governance bodies for family enterprises. Targeted at family enterprises establishing or restructuring corporate or foundation governance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Firm has advised family enterprises continuously since 1929 — nearly 95 years of institutional experience.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Pohlmann & Company: Pohlmann & Company is a German boutique law firm that specializes in succession planning, family governance, and M&A for family businesses in Germany. It is the closest direct comparable to Hennerkes in terms of niche specialization, legal-tax integration, and Mittelstand client base.
• Flick Gocke Schaumburg: Flick Gocke Schaumburg is one of Germany's leading tax law firms, with deep family enterprise, succession, and inheritance tax practices and a strong academic profile among its partners. It directly competes for the same German family business advisory mandates Hennerkes serves, though at a larger scale.
• GSK Stockmann: GSK Stockmann is a German law firm with a dedicated practice for family businesses, foundations, succession planning, and real estate-related structures. It overlaps directly with Hennerkes' succession, foundation, and corporate law service lines while operating from multiple German offices.
• Taxgate: Taxgate is a Munich-based tax advisory firm that focuses on family businesses, succession planning, and inheritance/gift tax structuring in Germany. It targets the same Mittelstand and HNW entrepreneur segment with a similarly specialized, academic-leaning profile.
• Mayer Rechtsanwälte: Mayer Rechtsanwälte is a German boutique law firm focused on succession, inheritance, foundation, and family enterprise law. It mirrors Hennerkes' niche specialization and partnership-driven academic publishing model, and competes for the same high-stakes family business mandates.

Broad incumbents

• Rödl & Partner: Rödl & Partner is a large German-headquartered, internationally integrated advisory combining legal, tax, audit, and consulting services with a strong Mittelstand and family enterprise client base. It overlaps with Hennerkes in family business advisory but operates at much greater scale and geographic breadth.
• Noerr: Noerr is a major international German law firm with established practices in corporate succession, family business advisory, and foundation/family office work. It is a broader- portfolio incumbent that competes for German family enterprise mandates Hennerkes targets, especially on cross-border transactions.
• Hengeler Mueller: Hengeler Mueller is one of Germany's top-tier corporate law firms, advising large family-owned groups on M&A, restructurings, and governance. While not niche, it competes for the largest and most complex family enterprise mandates Hennerkes serves.
• PwC Germany: PwC Germany has dedicated family business and private business owner advisory lines spanning tax, legal, M&A, and consulting. It competes with Hennerkes for German Mittelstand succession and family office mandates, particularly on integrated cross-border engagements.
• KPMG Germany: KPMG Germany operates a Family Office and Mittelstand-focused practice combining legal, tax, and deal advisory for family-owned enterprises. It is a broad incumbent that overlaps with Hennerkes on succession, foundation, and intergenerational wealth structuring mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hennerkes, Kirchdörfer & Lorz