BLD appoints five new salary partners and four new counsels with the introduction of new career levels. The new career levels will make the professional opportunities for salaried lawyers more transparent and varied. These career levels are also being further supported by the fact that we have enhanced our in-house training opportunities.
On 1 January 2024, BLD will appoint four new salary partners from its own ranks: Dr Florian Höld (46, Property, Marine and Transport department, in Cologne), Anna Kristina Pruß (36, disability and accident insurance, in Cologne), Michael Rauscher (40, health/disability and accident, in Munich) as well as Judith Schöningh, LL.M. (36, Financial Lines, in Cologne). Christiane Osterspey (36, Industrial Liability, Cologne) will also be appointed as a salary partner on 1 June 2024 after returning from parental leave.
Furthermore, BLD will have four new counsels as of 1 January: Julika Kuß (39, Medical Liability, in Cologne), Lars Krohn, LL.M. (50, Marine and Transport, in Hamburg), Katja Labusga, LL.M. (37, Financial Lines, in Cologne) and Alexander Scalidis (39, construction insurance/industrial liability, in Frankfurt am Main).
The new salary partners and counsels are characterised in particular by the fact that they will take on increasing responsibility within the scope of mandates or mandate portfolios as well as for organisational tasks. They have therefore made important contributions to the business and organisational development at BLD.
BLD introduced the status of salary partner as the highest career level for salaried lawyers at the turn of the year. This is also accompanied by the introduction of new career levels. These levels are:
• associate
• senior associate
• managing associate
• counsel
• salary partner.
"The introduction of new career levels at BLD is a result of the law firm's growth in recent years, which was reflected in the opening of new offices in Dortmund and Hamburg in 2023," explains managing partner Dr Joachim Grote (53), adding: The new career levels allow us to support younger colleagues in particular in developing their careers by carefully introducing them to having entrepreneurial responsibility and involvement within the law firm." The new career levels are intended to help make development opportunities at BLD even more transparent. They outline the path to becoming a partner at BLD and they do not all have to be completed. "We are therefore still committed to offering fast-track careers," adds Dr Grote.
"At each stage of development, we discuss with our colleagues how we can support them in honing their skills and abilities that they need for their individual professional development," says Dr Martin Alexander (48, managing partner). To this end, the BLD Academy's programme is also being expanded, offering various programmes to promote the development of BLD employees at both a technical level and in the area of soft skills.
The new salary partners at BLD are:
Dr Florian Höld (46) joined BLD as counsel in 2020 and, as a specialist lawyer for insurance law, handles national and international claims and lawsuits in the field of industrial property insurance, including reinsurance. [DVX31] He also has particular expertise in the areas of complex, natural hazards and cyber damage as well as fraud defence. One of the areas in which Dr Florian Höld has made a name for himself is in the settlement of claims in connection with the flood disaster in the Ahr valley. Before joining BLD, he was a partner in the insurance law department of a national commercial law firm.
Christiane Osterspey (36) has been with BLD since 2015 and counsel since 2023. As a specialist lawyer for insurance law in the field of industrial liability, she focuses primarily on in-court and out-of-court handling of complex national as well as cross-border product liability and travel liability cases and with a particular focus on international private law aspects. She was also part of a team that acted directly on site during the settlement of a bus accident in Madeira in 2019. Together with two colleagues, she heads the ESG advisory team and is co-founder of the women's network BLD Women Connect.
Anna Kristina Pruß (36) has been a lawyer at BLD since 2016 and was appointed counsel in 2023. The highly recognised litigation lawyer specialises in insurance law. Focussing on disability and accident insurance, Anna Kristina Pruß advises clients in all court districts throughout Germany on disability and life insurance policies. She also regularly acts for clients as a valued expert in pre-litigation proceedings when assessing benefits, for example on the topics of review proceedings and breach of duty of disclosure.
Michael Rauscher (40) has worked as a lawyer in the legal department of a large insurance company since 2011, and was appointed counsel three years later (2022) after rejoining BLD in 2019. The specialist lawyer for insurance law and medical law works in the fields of health, occupational disability and travel insurance. As a specialised litigator, Michael Rauscher handles cases from all areas of personal insurance in his department. When the wave of lawsuits relating to premium adjustments in private health insurance began, he took over the management of a team at the Munich office that handles these proceedings.
Judith Schöningh, LL.M. (36) has been working as a lawyer in the Financial Lines department at BLD since 2015 and specialises in insurance law. She specialises in cases in the area of D&O insurance and cyber insurance. She has previously been involved in the Bilfinger compliance proceedings, among other things. Judith Schöningh has extensive experience in claims settlement and handling complex case constellations. As deputy money laundering officer at BLD, she is jointly responsible for all internal compliance issues. She is also a member of the ESG advisory team and co-initiator of the women's network BLD Women Connect.
The new counsels at BLD are:
Julika Kuß (39) has been a lawyer specialising in Medical Liability at the Cologne office since 2014. She is a specialist lawyer for medical law and specialises in the various constellations of medical and hospital liability cases. Our clients value Julika Kuß as a confident litigator who, alongside her profound legal knowledge, has extensive knowledge of medical issues.
Lars Krohn, LL.M. (50) joined BLD in 2022 as a lawyer specialising in Property, Marine and Transport insurance as well as personal insurance and has been working at our Hamburg office since 2023. Prior to this, he worked for over 15 years at various law firms specialising in insurance law in Hamburg; most recently as a partner as of 2017. He is a specialist lawyer for insurance law and has specialised in how cases are conducted in this sector.
Katja Labusga, LL.M. (37) has been working as a lawyer in the in Financial Lines department at the Cologne office since 2013. She specialises in insurance law and advises insurers on complex national and international claims, especially in the areas of D&O and fidelity insurance as well as aviation insurance. Apart from her expertise in insurance and liability law, she also has in-depth knowledge of corporate and private international law.
Alexander Scalidis (39) has been working as a lawyer in the construction liability and industrial liability departments at the Frankfurt am Main office since 2017. He is a specialist lawyer in the field of construction liability. He specialises in architects' liability, general construction liability and product liability and safety. Before joining BLD, he worked for a major law firm in the litigation department and for several years as a judge at the Frankfurt Regional Court.
