OUR HISTORY

The firm was founded on 12 April 1858 by Dr Julius Stachow (died 1902) at Wachmannstraße 16 in Bremen. With its 160th anniversary in 2018, this makes it one of the oldest law firms in Germany.

As the partners changed over the decades, the name of the firm also changed several times. Since 1992, it has been renamed Ahlers & Vogel by its last namesake partners, Dr Dieter Ahlers (died 2009) and Dr Hellmut Vogel (died 2015).

Since 1986 our Bremen office has been located at Contrescarpe 21, later the villa at Contrescarpe 18 was added. At number 21 you will find the “Lürman Villa”, built in 1822 in the Wilhelminian style, where Kaiser Wilhelm II once stayed. A closer look at the history of the villa can be found in the article of the magazine “Brillant – Das Magazin in Bremen” in its anniversary edition 2020/21, which Brillant Verlag kindly makes available to us.

In 2006, the Hamburg office, founded in 1993, moved to the traditional Aztekenkontor at Schaarsteinwegsbrücke 2, where the newly installed “Command bridge” with its striking green lamella roof was designed according to our ideas.

In January 2011, another office was added in Leer (East Frisia) which was last based in the “Haus Hamburg” at Hafenstraße overlooking the picturesque Leer harbour. It was closed in April 2023 after the partner based there took up a professorship at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences.

The office in Rostock, which was opened in 1996, has been continued by our former colleagues with an independent law firm since the beginning of 2018.

Initially, the focus of the firm’s activities was on advising Bremen’s merchants – especially in commercial and shipping law. As early as the 19th century, the firm was mandated by the public sector and subsequently provided Bremen’s government lawyer for many decades. Numerous senators and important mayors of Bremen as well as the former Federal President Karl Carstens also emerged from our firm.

In its long history, the firm has always adapted to the democratic changes in politics and business. With approximately 45 lawyers at two locations, we cover all areas of law relevant to companies in a globalised economy. Our national and international practice focuses on corporate law, construction law, and has always included shipping and transport law.

Our notaries in Bremen complement our range of services with all areas of notarial activity.