Hanno Timner is based in the firm’s Berlin office. For more than 25 years, Hanno has advised leading European, U.S., and Asian corporations on their most challenging privacy and employment matters, frequently representing them in German courts and before regulators; few attorneys have such comprehensive and in-depth experience in both labor law and data protection law.

Hanno advises companies on complex data protection compliance projects, and assists with the implementation of compliance systems, as required under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). He regularly represents clients in investigations by data protection authorities and in data protection litigation. In two recent test cases, Hanno and his team established legal standards for the moderate calculation of fines for data protection violations, thereby securing a greater than 90% reduction in fines for their clients, which had initially been in the eight-digit range. He also has extensive experience responding to data breaches.

Hanno is the head of Morrison Foerster’s Employment and Labor Group in Germany. He is an acknowledged Fachanwalt für Arbeitsrecht (Specialist in Labor and Employment Law) and advises clients on labor law ramifications of corporate restructurings, the acquisition of German firms, and negotiations with employee representatives for the reconciliation of interests and social plans. Additionally, he advises on the employment of management board members, managing directors, and chief executives. He frequently represents clients in complex employment litigation in all German employment courts, including the Federal Labor Court.

Hanno has been ranked as a leading privacy and data security lawyer by Chambers Germany and The Legal 500 Germany and was nominated for “Lawyer of the Year – Labor & Employment” by Best Lawyers. His clients praise him as “an excellent attorney” who provides “practical and legally sound advice on high-value data protection issues,” offers “thoughtful, practical and totally actionable advice that is understandable to both in-house counsel and corporate staff” and whose “work product is consistently of the highest caliber” (The Legal 500 Germany). Other clients noted that Hanno is “extremely reliable and results-oriented” (Chambers Germany).

Hanno served as the managing partner of the firm’s Berlin office from 2013 to 2017. He frequently publishes articles on employment and privacy matters.

Representative Experience

• Comprehensive advice of TDK and EPCOS regarding their joint venture with Qualcomm requiring the transfer of more than 4,500 employees in 13 countries.
• Legal advice to leading producers of semiconductors regarding merger in Germany (including negotiations with works councils regarding operational changes in German businesses).
• Comprehensive employment advice to an international manufacturer of construction material on a joint venture (including negotiations with trade union and works council).
• Legal advice to Gucci Germany, Yves Saint Laurent Germany and Bottega Veneta in all labor law matters and disputes.
• Comprehensive advice to Sky Deutschland with respect to management board contracts.
• Advised Carbone Lorraine (automotive supplier) on the restructuring of the German subsidiary (company pay agreement, social benefit plan, and reconciliation of inherent interests).
• Ongoing advice to a leading internet sales platform on all labor law issues and in all labor law disputes.
• Extensive advice to a leading global satellite broadcaster with respect to internal investigations in Germany, the Netherlands and the USA.
• Drafting of user general terms and conditions, and the privacy policy for the company website of Fox International Channels.
• Advises Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (Berlin public transit company - BVG) on the introduction of a company pension plan.
• Legal consultation of Bertelsmann Group in the implementation of a global compliance system, including a whistleblowing system.
• Advice to Anschutz Entertainment Group on data transfer agreements and the migration of customer data.
• Data protection advice to Primacom on the implementation of IPv6 addresses.
• Provided advice to PubliGroupe SA in relation to a joint venture (Zanox) with Axel Springer.
• Advice to a German firm in the paper industry on the conducting of an internal investigation prior to an investigation by the German Federal Cartel Authority.
• Comprehensive advice to an international paper manufacturer on the introduction of a compliance system in the EMEA.