The roots of the bar at the Federal Court of Justice can be traced back to the equivalent body at the Imperial Court of Justice. This body was established in accordance with the belief (which still holds true today) that the country’s highest civil appeals court, given the broad spectrum of material and large number of cases it has to deal with, can only properly perform its functions – clarifying fundamental points of law, ensuring that the law is applied consistently, and developing the law – if the parties in civil cases brought before the court are represented by a limited number of exceptionally well-qualified attorneys. In the interests of their clients, these attorneys must be able to assess the cases assigned to them objectively and without being unduly influenced by previous proceedings, focus on an examination of the points relevant to an appeal, identify aspects that have not previously been considered or given enough attention – and thus contribute to the quality of the judgments issued by the Civil Panels of the Federal Court of Justice. They must also possess the requisite independence and integrity to refuse to initiate legal proceedings that carry no prospect of success (see also the court’s judgement in BGHZ 170, 137, 141 f.).
Our history goes back to Dr. Hermann Büttner, who founded the firm in 1983 when he was called to the bar of the German Federal Court of Justice. When Dr. Peter Baukelmann joined the firm in 1995, it was renamed BÜTTNER & BAUKELMANN.
After a long and distinguished career at the Federal Court of Justice, Dr. Hermann Büttner retired from the firm in 2013. In the same year, Norbert Tretter was called to the bar of the Federal Court of Justice and was appointed as the successor to Dr. Büttner.