Ralph holds a Juris Doctor from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and studied law at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and at the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg.
He speaks German, English and French.
Ralph is Co-Head of the Global M&A practice of Linklaters. He is advisor to a large number of major German DAX and comparable companies, such as Bayer, Beiersdorf, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Börse, E.ON, Fresenius, Fresenius Medical Care, Porsche Automobil Holding, Siemens, thyssenkrupp and Volkswagen, and advises on complex cross-border mergers and acquisitions, public takeovers and matters relating to the German stock corporation law. Furthermore, he advises on the defence against shareholder activism and managing and supervisory boards on strategic issues.
JUVE (German Directory) considers Ralph as one of the leading senior partners in corporate law and M&A transactions (JUVE 2022/2023) and the “DAX lawyer per se”. „[…] Wollburg‘s role is unparalleled in the market. Competitors are impressed by his omnipresence. Over the years, he has thus succeeded in anchoring the firm at the centre of some of the most significant industry developments“ (JUVE 2022/2023, Corporate). Additionally, he is rated as one of the two German “Star Individuals” for Corporate/M&A (Chambers Global, 2023).
Some further work highlights include:
Furthermore, Ralph has advised in nearly all of the major hostile public takeover attempts in Germany, such as Krupp/Thyssen, Mannesmann/Vodafone, Mittal/Arcelor/thyssenkrupp or Beiersdorf/Procter & Gamble.
JUVE (German Directory) considers Ralph as one of the leading senior partners in corporate law and M&A transactions (JUVE 2018/2019) and the “DAX lawyer per se”. „[...] Wollburg‘s almost unrivalled strong relations to boardrooms of German conglomerates represent [...] a large competitive advantage for Linklaters“ (JUVE 2018/2019, M&A). Additionally, he is rated as one of the two German “Star Individuals” for Corporate/M&A (Chambers Global, 2019).
In 1987 Ralph became partner at Bruckhaus Kreifels Winkhaus & Lieberknecht (until 1990), then was partner at Bruckhaus Westrick Stegemann (1991 to 1998), then was partner at Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Löber (1998 to 2000), then was partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (2001 to 2007), before joining Linklaters in Düsseldorf as a partner and Co-Head of Global M&A in 2007.
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