Dr. Volker Hartmann
Attorney-at-law
Of Counsel

Expertise
- Advising on industrial technology projects in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous and connected driving; focus on the automotive sector and mechanical engineering
- At the interface of technology and law: setting up and advising on product compliance systems and quality management systems as well as development processes in a safety-critical environment
- Advising on and managing M&A projects and R&D cooperations in the above-mentioned technology fields
- Strategic legal lobbying and advice on legislative procedures on technology issues
- Legal advice to founding teams, investors and start-ups in regulated industries
Career
- Studied law and European law at the University of Wuerzburg
- Doctorate on a topic related to product liability law at the Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt
- (Guest-) lecturer at the University of St. Gallen
- Currently: VP Product Compliance at Holon GmbH (previously in management positions at Audi, Mercedes-Benz and VW Group)
Current projects (extract)
- 360° legal advice on a strategy for the development of a software-defined vehicle platform (SDV)
- “Humanoid Robots” – Product law issues
- Advising on the development and commercialisation of autonomous machines in production and logistics
Publications (selection)
- Software-defined vehicle innovation stalled by EU overregulation, lawyer says, Automotive News Europe, 10.07.2025
- Product Compliance, Produkthaftung und Systems Engineering - Rechtskonforme Entwicklung komplexer Produkte am Beispiel des vernetzten und automatisierten Fahrens (Teil 2) ($) (with Ole Hans and Yannik Seebach), ZfPC - Zeitschrift für Product Compliance, issue 1/2024, beginning on p. 9
- Product Compliance, Produkthaftung und Systems Engineering - Rechtskonforme Entwicklung komplexer Produkte am Beispiel des vernetzten und automatisierten Fahrens (Teil 1) ($),(with Ole Hans and Yannik Seebach), ZfPC - Zeitschrift für Product Compliance, issue 6/2023, beginning on p. 250
- Remanufacturing im Automobilsektor - Fragestellungen des Regulierungs- und Produkthaftungsrechts ($), PHi Haftpflicht international - Recht & Versicherung, issue 6/2023
- Produkthaftung und Produktsicherheit im Kontext des Prototypen-Testings von Fahrzeugen im öffentlichen Straßenverkehr ($) (with Yannick Seebach), PHi Haftpflicht international - Recht & Versicherung, issue 3-4/2023
- Software als Steuerungsintelligenz in intelligenten Produkten - Herausforderungen aus Sicht des Produkthaftungsrechts ($), REthinking:Law, issue 2/2021
- Das Zusammenspiel von Qualität, Product Compliance, Produktsicherheit und Produkthaftung bei software-gesteuerten Systemen (Teil 2) ($), PHi Haftpflicht international - Recht & Versicherung, issue 3/2021
- Das Zusammenspiel von Qualität, Product Compliance, Produktsicherheit und Produkthaftung bei software-gesteuerten Systemen (Teil 1) ($), PHi Haftpflicht international - Recht & Versicherung, issue 2/2021