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Dr Justus Herrlinger

Partner
Extremely to the point, exactly the kind of antitrust lawyers we need
— Client
Hamburg
About

Dr Justus Herrlinger has more than 15 years of experience in advising national and international clients on all aspects of European and German antitrust law.

He is in particular experienced in defending clients in cartel investigations, in advising and representing clients in merger control proceedings, cases of abuse of a dominant position and cartel damages actions. Clients also approach him for reviews of business cooperations or Joint Ventures. In international M&A transactions Justus regularly advises on multi-jurisdictional filing requirements, including Foreign Direct Investment laws.

As far as necessary, Justus is well experienced in representing his clients before the Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt), the European Commission and litigates cases before civil courts.

Areas of FocusAntitrust and CompetitionRegulatory and Government AffairsLitigation, Arbitration and InvestigationsConsumer Goods, Food and RetailFinancial ServicesLife SciencesReal Estate
Professional QualificationsRechtsanwalt admitted with Hanseatische Rechtsanwaltskammer Hamburg

EXPERIENCE

  • Broad range of antitrust litigation including representation in cases of abusive price increases, refusal to supply or discriminatory behavior by dominant companies
  • Successfully advised leading German companies in antitrust claims for damages against international suppliers
  • Advising various large and medium-sized companies on cooperation projects with competitors including sustainability initiatives
  • Advising online platform operators (e.g., fashion, consumer goods) on antitrust issues including information flows 
  • More than 15 years of experience in complex and international merger control proceedings before the EU Commission, the German Federal Cartel Office and international competition authorities
  • Successful defense of numerous national and international companies in antitrust investigations before the EU Commission and the German Federal Cartel Office
     
Languages
  • German
  • English

Awards

  • JUVE Ranking 2025/2026: Frequently recommended for antitrust law; “lives up to its good reputation”, “excellent and experienced”, competitors
  • Legal 500 Germany 2026: Recommended for antitrust law; “Justus Herrlinger – outstanding overview and knowledge of the medical device business.”
  • Handelsblatt in cooperation with Best Lawyers 2025/2026: Recommended for Competition / Antitrust Law.
Education
  • Higher Regional Court of Rostock, Second State Examination, 2003
  • Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Dr. iur, (summa cum laude), 2001
  • Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, First State Examination, 2000

Prior Experience

  • Prior to joining DLA Piper, Justus Herrlinger worked at a leading international law firm in Hamburg, Brussels and New York.

Lecturer

  • Visiting lecturer at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg

Memberships And Affiliations

  • Association of German, Austrian and Swiss lawyers with a special interest in antitrust law
  • Member of the Board of Trustees of the Forschungsinstitut für Wirtschaftsverfassung und Wettbewerb e. V. (FIW)
  • Competition-Litigation-Forum

My latest insights

Publication
Glass building detail in Tokyo

Inside Competition: April 2026

13 April 2026 .8 minute read

Publication

OLG Stuttgart introduces a novel approach to cartel damages estimation in Germany

1 December 2025

News

DLA Piper advises global sports tech leader, Catapult, on IMPECT GmbH acquisition

24 November 2025

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Phone

+49 40 188 88 116
(Work, Hamburg)
+49 172 39 16 761
(Mobile)