Insights

The escrow account used for such transactions must be managed by an independent law firm and located in a different country than that of the buyer or seller. Switzerland and Luxembourg are the countries that offer escrow protection—provided the buyer is not resident in either of these countries. This structure serves to guarantee complete neutrality in the payment process and to eliminate any potential conflict of interest between the parties involved.

In international transactions, the funds are neither transferred directly to the seller nor do they remain under the buyer's control until the contractually agreed conditions are met. For this reason, the amount is deposited into an independent escrow account managed exclusively by lawyers acting as neutral third parties throughout the entire transaction.

The escrow agent represents neither the buyer's nor the seller's interests. Their role is solely to safeguard the funds and release them only in accordance with the contractual terms accepted by both parties.

By using an account in a jurisdiction different from that of the buyer and seller, the independence of the settlement process is ensured, and an additional level of transparency, security, and trust is provided for all parties involved in the transaction.

Effective May 1, 2026, amendments to the Court and Notary Fees Act (GNotKG) will come into force. We will summarize the changes for our corporate clients and adjust our fee calculation accordingly.

The reform primarily affects the notarial fee schedules for high-value corporate transactions: shareholder resolutions, share transfers, and amendments to articles of association with a transaction value exceeding EUR 5 million will be subject to a recalibrated fee schedule. For smaller and medium-sized transactions, the fee structure will remain essentially unchanged.

Newly added are explicit fee provisions for the notarization of qualified electronic signatures and for fully digital notarial procedures (online notarization pursuant to Section 16a of the Federal Notarial Code). These were previously billed analogously to the most appropriate fixed fee.

For ongoing engagements involving notarial services, we will contact you individually before May 1, 2026, regarding the specific impact on the next billing period. New engagements starting on or after May 1, 2026, will be calculated according to the new fee schedules from the outset.

The eIDAS Regulation has been updated with regard to qualified electronic signatures. We summarize what companies need to consider when concluding contracts using qualified electronic signatures.

The amendment to the eIDAS Regulation has further strengthened the legal equivalence of qualified electronic signatures (QES) with handwritten signatures—even for cross-border B2B contracts within the EU. This is particularly relevant for supply, cooperation, and framework agreements, which previously required original signatures at multiple locations.

Things to consider before concluding an electronic contract:

• Is the QES provider listed on the official EU Trusted List?
• Do all signatories use a QES? Mixed signature levels create legal uncertainty.
• Is the audit log of the signature process saved and reproducible?
• For contracts requiring notarization (e.g., transfer of shares): the QES does not replace notarization .
• Are internal signing rights and powers of representation formally documented?

Our firm advises corporate clients on integrating QES into their ongoing contract workflow — including the creation of internal signing guidelines and the assessment of which types of contracts are suitable for fully electronic processing.