Dr. Edzard A. Schmidt-Jortzig
LL.M. (Stellenbosch)
About:
Dr. Schmidt-Jortzig is a transaction lawyer [at the interface with public law] with a particular focus on regulated markets. He has been advising corporates and financial investors, the public sector as well as family-owned companies and private individuals in M&A, private equity and venture capital transactions, joint ventures as well as public and corporate structuring for over 25 years.
He has particular experience in the areas of public banks, climate/energy, municipal law/public finance law and health care.
Vita:
Born in 1969. Studied law in Bonn, Lausanne and at the Humboldt University of Berlin. Research assistant to a member of the German Bundestag in Bonn, stagière at the United Nations (UN/ECE) in Geneva. Scholarship holder of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. 1st state examination 1996 in Berlin. Master of Laws (LL.M.) 1996 in Stellenbosch (South Africa), 1998 doctorate at the University of Hamburg. Legal clerkship in Berlin, 2nd state examination 1999.
Lawyer since 1999. White & Case in Frankfurt, New York and Hamburg (1999-2007), partner since 2004, founding partner SJPP Schmidt-Jortzig Petersen Penzlin (2007-2025), partner at valbeek since 2025.
Areas of Expertise:
- mergers & acquisitions
- Corporate Law
- Private Equity
- Venture Capital
- Family-owned businesses
- Public Law
Structurings - Regulated Markets
Recommendations:
Handelsblatt and the US specialist publisher Best Lawyers have ranked Edzard Schmidt-Jortzig among Germany's best business lawyers for many years. He has been listed there in the areas of Mergers & Acquisitions (since 2017) and Corporate Law (since 2015).
The JUVE Handbook of Commercial Lawyers has listed Edzard Schmidt-Jortzig as a frequently recommended lawyer for more than 15 years.
Publications:
Schmidt-Jortzig/Rollin: Kapitel 17, Verkauf und Verpachtung des Familienunternehmens, in Wiese (Hrsg.), Unternehmensnachfolge – Steuerliche und rechtliche Gestaltung, Köln: Verlag Dr. Otto Schmidt (2020).
Schmidt-Jortzig: Zur Organhaftung von GmbH-Geschäftsführern, Finanzen Steuern Recht 2016, 9.
Schmidt-Jortzig: Shoot-out on the Plantation – Konfliktlösungsmechanismen in Equity Joint Ventures, Finanzen Steuern Recht 2015, 18.
Schmidt-Jortzig: Review – Jörg Fedtke, Die Rezeption von Verfassungsrecht. Südafrika 1993-1996, VRÜ 2002, 327.
Schmidt-Jortzig: Review – Sören David, Die Verteilung der Gesetzgebungskompetenzen im Südafrikanischen Verfassungsrecht, VRÜ 2001, 393.
Schmidt-Jortzig: Review – Thomas Michael Grupp, Südafrikas neue Verfassung, VRÜ 2000, 256.
Schmidt-Jortzig: Review – Eberhard Stabreit, Der völkerrechtliche Status der Transkei, Ciskei, Bophutatswanas und Vendas während der Zeit ihrer formellen Unabhängigkeit von der Republik Südafrika, VRÜ 1999, 120.
Schmidt-Jortzig: Die Stellung der Traditional Leaders in der Neuen Südafrikanischen Verfassung, Bd. 1 der Reihe Recht und Verfassung in Südafrika, hrsg. v. Ulrich Karpen, Ingo v. Münch u. Hans-Peter Schneider, Baden-Baden: Nomos Verl.-Ges., 1998 (also dissertation in Hamburg).