RA Martin Wohlrabe

Managing Director

Telephone: +49 30 20 91 29 70
Email:
Assistance: Franziska Knaak

Martin Wohlrabe is the founder of CONSILIUM. He has been in the media business for more than 20 years - as a communi­cations consultant, lawyer and previously a journalist: He advises companies and individuals across all sectors on crisis communi­cation, trans­formation processes, campaign planning and policy advice. His clients in­clude board members, entre­preneurs, heads of communi­cations and top politicians. Since starting his career as a consultant, Martin Wohlrabe has supp­orted well over 100 clients in over­coming situations critical to their success.

Martin Wohlrabe studied law at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, the Freie Universität and the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. He completed his legal clerkship at the Berlin Court of Appeal. Prior to founding CONSILIUM, he worked in the political and business editorial depart­ment of the BILD news­paper and was an advisor to Wolfgang Schäuble in the German Bundestag.

Excerpt from our consulting and practice focus areas

  • Crisis communication
    In the run-up to a search by the public prosecutor's office on the basis of preliminary investigations into accounting errors in annual financial statements.

    In connection with unforeseen developments on a large construction site, including the development of media psychology-based core statements and planning a credible stakeholder dialogue.
  • Litigation-PR
    As part of a multi-layered patent law offensive against an Asian corporation; support in the dispute through strategic preventive commentary and ensuring confidentiality vis-à-vis the German-speaking media.

    In a family dispute over the inheritance of a service company worth billions, we provided ongoing strategic communications support to the defendant.
  • M&A-Communication
    Among other things, comprehensive support for an investor process in the healthcare sector in the context of restructuring law, involving the transfer of subsidiaries to six different new owners, including a focus on achieving balanced press coverage and building trust to ensure orderly transitions in communications with employees, patients and business partners.
  • Restructuring communication
    In various protective shield and self-administration proceedings as well as regular insolvency proceedings across various industries, including healthcare, pharmaceuticals, fitness franchises and fashion, providing communicative support for procedural steps vis-à-vis internal and external stakeholders.
  • Change-Communication
    In the corporate context of a medium-sized family business, to strategically align communication formats and content in order to address the information needs of a specific group of stakeholders.
  • Implementation of new compliance structures
    At a global top management consultancy, including the development of internal and external communication strategies and risk and opportunity analyses in a regulatory context.
  • Intercultural market entry communication
    For companies from the portfolio of a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund in the DACH market, taking into account political reservations and regional market and target group requirements.

Puclications

  • Litigation-PR – Wie Krisen­kommuni­kation im Gerichts­saal der Öffen­tlichkeit funk­tioniert
    Ed. Martin Wohlrabe, 1st edition, Heidelberg 2020
  • Martin Wohlrabe, Kommunikation in der Krankenhauskrise, in:
    Handbuch Krankenhausrestrukturierung – Außergerichtliche und gerichtliche Sanie­rungs­wege
    Ed. Rainer Eckert, Co-author Martin Wohlrabe, 1st edition, Heidelberg 2025
  • Martin Wohlrabe & Maximilian Schwärecke, Pionierpfade beschreiten – Verbesserungs­potenziale bei der Etablierung eines sektorenübergreifenden Versorgungszentrums, in:
    Handbuch Sektorenübergreifende Ver­sorgungs­einrichtung und Level-1i-Kranken­haus
    Eds. Timm/Beivers/Krämer, 1st edition, Heidelberg 2025

Lectures/Talks

  • "Public perception in legal disputes"
    Lecture at the fall conference 2024 of the Interlectual Property & Media Working Group of the DAV (AGEM) (8 November 2024)
  • "When things go really wrong - crisis communication in the public procurement enviroment"
    Lightning talk as part of the 25th procurement conference (24 September 2024)
  • "Arbitration proceedings and strategic communication in the insurance industry"
    Lecture at "The New Normal: Companies in times of multiple crises" at the spring conference of GSK-Stockmann (18 April 2024)
  • "Companies in crisis - How to win back reputation with using the right communication"
    Lecture at the ARIAS Annual Conference (8 March 2024)
  • "Three theses on crisis communication at the turn of the century"
    Presentation as part of a parliamentary evening of a Franco-German industrial company (22 November 2023)
  • "Hospital communication in special situations: What matters in prosecution investigations, reorganization proceedings & collective bargaining"
    Presentation at the 72nd Annual Conference of the Association of Hospital Directors Germany e.V. (Hesse) (13 September 2023)
  • "The battle for the narrative – corporate crises from an agencies point of view | A coffee with Martin Wohlrabe"
    Talk with Martin Wohlrabe as part of the "Freshfields Skills Group Crisis Communication" (2 June 2023)
  • "When the prosecution is at the door. Duck, turn away or cooperate - what matters for corporate communication"
    DPRG "Crisis Cocktail" - Practice Talk with Martin Wohlrabe (17 April 2023)
  • "Sustainability communication in the area of conflict with greenwashing - communicating values confidently | securing reputation strategically"
    Webinar with Pohlmann & Company in Berlin/Munich (16 February 2023)
  • "Convincing corporate communication in the crisis"
    Lecture with CONSILIUM consultant Marlen Fasold as part of the seminar "Crisis management in challenging times - recognizing imbalances, taking countermeasures & using opportunities" of the Hessische Hospital Society e. V. (14 September 2022)
  • "Competent communication in crises"
    Dialog with Detlef Fleischer (publisher "Existenz") at the 10th Turnaroundkongress 2022 (5 and 6 September 2022)
  • "Reputational risk ESG: What SMEs need to watch out for"
    Video impulse at CMS Hasche Sigle's digital ESG Day III (30 August 2022)
  • "Winning in the court of public opinion: Litigation-PR”
    Keynote speech at Hochschule Hannover (12 May 2022)
  • "Communication in the 'Court of Public Opinion' - How strategic legal communication works"
    Lecture at ROLAND Rechtsschutz - Legal policy council (29 April 2022)
  • "From the insolvency application to the closing date: How restructuring communication succeeds convincingly"
    Lecture at an event of the Institut für Insolvenzrecht e.V. Hannover (25 January 2022)
  • "When reputation is much more than just the name of the company - what matters in crisis communication, especially for family entrepreneurs"
    Talk at "Die Familienunternehmer" in Hamburg (25 January 2022)
  • "Litigation-PR in the context of public relations and digital communication"
    Lecture in the master’s course “Media-Ethics-Religion” at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (13 January 2022)
  • "Bankruptcy proceedings: 7 lessons for employee communication in a crisis"
    Lecture at the Legal Communication Summit (9 November 2021)
  • "Law, Rhetoric and Public Relations"
    Lecture as part of the interdisciplinary study program "Law and Rhetoric" at the Eberhard Karls University Tübingen (29 October 2021)
  • "More persuasive communication in the workplace"
    Discussion round at the JUWiST Annual Conference 2021 (24 September 2021)
  • "In-depth aspects of legal communication - litigation PR"
    Lecture as part of the university course "Professional LL.M. Data Protection and Intellectual Property Law" at Danube University Krems (20 September 2021)
  • "Legal practice in the public eye: How lawyers protect their reputation - even with controversial mandates"
    Lecture at Deutscher Anwaltstag 2021 (8 June 2021)
  • "Companies in crisis - How to win back reputation with the right communication"
    Lecture as part of the seminar series on "Strategic Planning & Management" at the University of Potsdam (16 April 2021)
  • "Law firms under pressure: What matters for reputation protection in times of Cum-Ex & Co"
    Webinar „PI Risk Day“ with Clyde & Co (23 February 2021)
  • "Focus on directors' and officers' liability: crisis communication in compliance cases"
    – Webinar with CMS (21 January 2021)
  • "Companies in Crisis: The Interface of Restructuring and Communication"
    Webinar with Taylor Wessing and Dr. Wieselhuber & Partner GmbH (23 November 2020)
  • "Tatort Tönnies - Communicate correctly in the crisis"
    DUB-Business-Talk with Brigitte Zypries and Jens de Buhr (18 August 2020)
  • "Crisis PR after the Cyber Attack: What matters in times of the DSGVO"
    Presentation at Mainzer Datenschutztage 2020 (21 April 2020)
  • "Protecting the good reputation in the crisis - what matters in strategic legal communications"
    Lecture at the Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen (29 November 2019)
  • “Crisis PR after a cyber-attack: Key points in the GDPR age”
    – Talk at the Legal Communication Summit (12 November 2019)
  • "Protecting the reputation in crisis"
    Bird & Bird (9 October 2019)
  • “Standing the test of the ‘Court of Public Opinion’ with strategic legal communication”
    Lecture at the University of Potsdam for the Master’s Course in Digital Media Law and Management LL.M./MBA (4 June 2019)
  • “How companies get around public prosecutors with media pressure”
    Lecture at the AG Crisis and Issues Management Event by the DPRG (23 November 2018)
  • “Winning in the court of public opinion: Litigation-PR”
    Keynote speech at Hochschule Hannover (23 October 2018)
  • “Presentation of the CONSILIUM study: Influence of the media on judges and public prosecutors”
    Talk at the Commercial Criminal Law Association (WisteV) and the Berlin Defence Lawyers’ Association (Berliner Strafverteidigervereinigung) (26 June 2018)
  • “Litigation PR for manager liability and other cases of damage”
    Financial Lines Days in Munich and Düsseldorf (5 and 6 June 2018)
  • “Law and PR as a holistic strategy for clients”
    Workshop at the Litigation PR Conference in Winterthur (18 April 2018)
  • “Litigation PR: Supporting legal strategies, winning over the public”
    Keynote speech at Osborne Clarke (10 April 2018)
  • “Insolvency and legal communication: Key aspects for working with the media today”
    Presentation at the 40th Reutling Insolvency Forum (13 October 2017)
  • “Strategic legal communication - Miracle cure or a toothless tiger? - Insight into and discussion of public relations work in the context of legal disputes”
    Presentation at the University of Freiburg (13 July 2017)
  • “Media work at large law firms”
    Presentation at KPMG Law (14 October 2016)
  • Keynote speech for the course “Introduction to strategic Legal communication” with Prof Christian Schertz
    at the Humboldt University in Berlin (29 April 2016)

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