Effective 1 January 2026, well-known real estate attorney Hans Thomas Kessler will be joining BRP RENAUD as a partner in its Frankfurt office. He will be joined by real estate attorney Gelena Minkov and corporate M&A attorney Karl-Heinz Schwindt. 

Hans joins BRP RENAUD from PwC Legal, where in 2023 he headed the Construction and Real Estate Law practice as well as the firm’s Public Sector in Germany group, and most recently led the Real Estate, Infrastructure and Regulation practice. Before that, the 59-year-old spent nearly a decade as Head of Real Estate in Germany at Herbert Smith Freehills.

Real estate attorney Gelena Minkov is also moving from PWC Legal to BRP RENAUD. She previously already worked with Hans at Herbert Smith Freehills and will support BRP RENAUD in expanding its real estate-focused transactions and project advisory capabilities.

Corporate/M&A attorney Karl-Heinz Schwindt is joining BRP RENAUD from his own law firm. From 2004 to 2008, he and Hans worked closely together at Beiten Burkhardt (ADVANT Beiten). At that time, Hans led the firmwide real estate practice group, and the two advised together on numerous transactions. Karl-Heinz later held senior roles in legal and compliance functions at the RWE Group before establishing his own practice. Their joint move to BRP RENAUD now brings the two back together. At BRP RENAUD, Karl-Heinz will complement the practice’s strong corporate/M&A focus and brings extensive experience in joint venture arrangements, as well as energy and infrastructure projects.

“The arrival of Hans and his team sets a clear signal about the strategic growth of our Frankfurt office,” says Thomas Glöckle, Managing Partner at BRP RENAUD. “Hans is exceptionally well connected, takes a clear, solution-oriented approach and brings deep project experience — exactly the right fit for strengthening our expansion in real estate transaction law and advisory capabilities at the intersection of infrastructure and regulation.”

With the addition of this new team, BRP RENAUD further expands its transaction and portfolio-related advisory services for real estate and infrastructure projects, as well as its advisory work bridging the private and public sectors. Thanks in part to partners Dr. Andreas Digel, Ulrich Gentner and Dr. Lars Knickenberg, BRP RENAUD already enjoys an excellent reputation and strong market position in construction and infrastructure — particularly in architecture and engineering law, construction and real estate law, and public procurement law. Another key area of focus for Hans will be building out the practice dedicated to dual-use and defense, including the transformation projects emerging in this field.

Commenting on the move, Hans says: “We are truly excited to be joining BRP RENAUD together — Gelena, Karl-Heinz and I. The firm has outstanding attorneys and an exceptional professional reputation. Its trusting and collaborative culture was another decisive factor for us. We are confident that BRP RENAUD is an ideal firm for us — one that will enable us to advise our clients at the highest level within a modern and collegial law firm structure. We are very much looking forward to this new chapter.”