Kathrin Bauwens

Dr. Kathrin Bauwens

Litigation, Arbitration & Investigations Managing Associate, Frankfurt

"I represent our clients before ordinary courts and arbitral tribunals, with a particular focus on product liability defence, post-M&A and commercial disputes and competition litigation. I strive to provide practical, efficient and creative solutions to complex legal challenges."

Overview

Professional experience

Education and qualifications

Published works

Overview

Kathrin advises and represents clients in complex domestic and international disputes, including litigation, arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution. She has extensive experience in product liability disputes, competition litigation, post-M&A and commercial disputes. She has over six years of experience in defending individual consumer compensation claims.

Kathrin is a member of Linklaters’ global ESG team with a special focus on liability risks (product liability, supply chain due diligence, greenwashing etc.) and the firm’s global collective redress and arbitration groups. She co-heads the editorial board of ProductLiabilityLinks, Linklaters’ product liability blog, offering insights, commentary and regular updates on commercial and regulatory developments, current initiatives and relevant decisions in product liability related matters.
Kathrin has significant industry experience in the automotive, healthcare, industrials, technology and consumer goods sectors.

Handelsblatt/Best Lawyers named Kathrin as one of the "Ones to watch"/"Lawyers of the future" for product liability law.

 
Work highlights

Kathrin has advised on a full range of national and international litigation and arbitration matters, examples are:

  • Defending one of the leading manufacturers of medical devices in over 100 lawsuits of patients and health insurers before German courts and coordinating the litigation strategy for both in- and out-of-court claims;
  • Advising various multinational corporations from the automotive sector on ESG-related issues, including supply chain due diligence (in particular on the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act and the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation) and preventing greenwashing;
  • Advising a manufacturer of consumer goods on a silent recall and in sanctioning proceedings;
  • Advising a leading automotive supplier on a settlement in a complex supply chain dispute;
  • Representing a major international industrial service provider in an infrastructure related post-M&A arbitration;
  • Representing an insolvency administrator in a multiparty post-M&A arbitration.
  • Advising and representing a world-leading automotive supplier in cartel damages claims in connection with various cartel investigations in Germany and worldwide.
  • Defending a payment technology company against numerous cartel damage claims.

Professional experience

Kathrin joined Linklaters in 2016 and was appointed Managing Associate in 2019.

Education and qualifications

Kathrin studied law at the Universities of Münster and Barcelona (Universitat de Barcelona) and worked at the Chair of Civil Law, German and International Corporate and Antitrust Law at the University of Düsseldorf. She spent her legal traineeship in Düsseldorf and holds a doctorate in law from the University of Münster.

Published works

Kathrin co-heads the editorial board of ProductLiabilityLinks, where she regularly publishes insights, commentary and updates on commercial and regulatory developments, current initiatives and relevant decisions in product liability related matters. Main topics are in particular: collective redress, issues at the interface of ESG and product liability, liability for emerging technologies and AI and supply chain liability.