Major team splits from JBB to launch new law firm JB Viniol in Berlin

A major restructuring is reshaping the Berlin legal market. Eight of the ten current equity partners of JBB Rechtsanwälte, a well-established IP, IT and media law firm, left the firm at the end of December to establish a new boutique under the name JB Viniol.

According to market sources, JB Viniol will be joined by a ninth equity partner, the press and media lawyer Dr. Marc-Oliver Srocke. He joins from the Hamburg office of Advant Beiten, where he had worked since 2020 after moving from IP boutique Schultz-Süchting as a salaried partner. Srocke and media partner Thorsten Feldmann have a long-standing professional relationship, having both advised the Der Spiegel publishing group for many years - Srocke in press law and Feldmann in online media and data protection matters. Srocke described his departure from Advant Beiten as entirely amicable.

The founding partners of JB Viniol include IP and competition law specialists Oliver Brexl, Dr. Martin Jaschinski, Thomas Nuthmann and Dr. Jeanette Viniol; media law experts Thorsten Feldmann and Dr. Till Jaeger; and IT law specialists Julian Höppner and Dr. Michael Funke. In addition, trademark and distribution law expert Dr. Bernd Weichhaus joined the firm as a salaried partner.

All lawyers and staff previously working with these partners have moved to the new firm, including five associates and one counsel, ensuring immediate operational continuity. All client matters handled by the JB Viniol lawyers have also transferred to the new firm.

Mass litigation specialists remain at JBB

At JBB Rechtsanwälte, Sebastian Biere and Robert Weist remain as equity partners. Biere, a competition law specialist and one of JBB’s founding partners alongside Brexl and Jaschinski, began focusing more than a decade ago on technology-driven process optimisation for mass litigation. This practice has been organised separately from the rest of the firm and relies on a distinct staffing model, with 14 associates supporting two partners.

The practice is particularly active in aviation passenger rights litigation but also handles proceedings linked to the diesel emissions scandal. Under the JBB name, the firm will continue to cover competition law as well as IT and data protection, and plans to admit additional partners in the coming year.

JBB-JB Viniol: A rare split after 26 years

Until now, JBB had been regarded as a notably stable partnership. Since its founding in 1999, only one equity partner had previously left the firm: IT lawyer Dr. Lina Bröcker, who joined Osborne Clarke in September 2022. External lateral hires have also been rare. In 2024, Weichhaus joined as a salaried partner from Lubberger Lehment, while former Hyazinth partner Dr. Timm Theilmann briefly worked as counsel before moving on to Görg as a salaried partner.

In recent years, JBB had instead focused on internal promotions, appointing three new partners since 2023: IP lawyer Dr. Jeanette Viniol, aviation law specialist Robert Weist, and most recently Dr. Michael Funke, who advises on data protection and copyright law.

The split, coming after 26 years of partnership, marks a turning point for both firms. While JB Viniol enters the market as a high-profile boutique with a strong concentration of senior expertise in IP, IT and media law, JBB is set to sharpen its focus on large-scale litigation and selected regulatory practices.

New partners at JB Viniol (from JBB Rechtsanwälte):

• Dr. Zeynep Balazünbül

• Oliver Brexl

• David Copland

• Thorsten Feldmann

• Dr. Michael Funke

• Dr. Wiebke Fröhlich

• Julian Höppner

• Dr. Till Jaeger

• Dr. Martin Jaschinski

• Thomas Nuthmann

• Dr. Jeanette Viniol

• Sebastian Wasner

• Dr. Bernd Weichhaus

• Antonia Witter

Sophie Stevenard