Sidley Austin is closing its Frankfurt office, its only base in Germany, following a spate of partner exits over the last two years. The news follows a review of the office launched in February and makes Sidley the first firm to fully exit Germany for some time (25 February 2014). Last year Shearman & Sterling […]
Taylor Wessing has elected Hamburg IP partner Andreas Meissner as its new German managing partner, following the sudden decision of Florian Ranft to step down after just one year in the job. Meissner will also take up a place on Taylor Wessing’s international management board. He takes up his new role with immediate effect. The […]
Taylor Wessing has strengthened its private equity offering in Germany with the hire of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom partner Walter Henle. Munich-based Henle has joined Taylor Wessing as the firm’s German private equity head. He will be based in Munich but will work alongside Michael Stein and Christian Kleeberg in Frankfurt. Meanwhile in Frankfurt, […]
Simmons & Simmons has put finding a US merger on the backburner, preferring to focus on investment in Germany and China. Managing partner Mark Dawkins told The Lawyer that, although the firm was not pursuing a US merger, last year’s talks with Mayer Brown made him realise “that we sometimes underestimate how strong our name […]
Simmons & Simmons managing partner Mark Dawkins will not be standing for re-election when his term comes to an end next April. As tipped by The Lawyer last month (1 November), the head of the firm’s international financial markets practice Jeremy Hoyland is understood to have put his name forward to run the firm. The […]
Allen & Overy senior partner David Morley has relocated to Germany for a month as the firm seeks to increase its footprint in Europe’s largest market. Morley said he decided to second himself because he felt it was hard to get to know the firm’s five offices in the country through “piecemeal visits”. In an email to the firm Morley said: […]
Linklaters’ hire of ex-Clifford Chance partner Kolja von Bismarck has transformed the German restructuring market at a stroke. Von Bismarck is probably best known for his high-profile work on the GM restructuring, which he landed entirely on his own, benefiting from the fact that Gleiss Lutz was conflicted out. “Clifford Chance probably wouldn’t have got […]
The fight to be top of the German legal market is in full swing, with some unexpected changes in the past 12 months. Aled Griffiths reports There have been plenty of surprises in the German market this year. Parts of Shearman & Sterling sheared off remarkably quickly, while Linklaters went on the attack – with […]
Bird & Bird is to open in Hamburg, the expansionist firm’s fourth office in Germany. The firm has hired a team of six lawyers specialising in real estate, corporate and restructuring after acquiring Hamburg boutique Recore Business Lawyers. “Our new office in Hamburg strengthens our coverage in the northern European region, establishing a strong link […]
German independent Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek has announced the strongest 2010 revenue rise of any European firm to date, posting an increase of 10 per cent. The firm turned over €87.5m (£74.1m) for the 2010 financial year, compared to €79.5m in 2009. In November Heuking announced it was promoting four lawyers to partner and an […]
German firm Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek has formed an alliance with Brazilian firm Veirano Advogados. As part of the non-exclusive collaboration, Heüking has created a Brazilian desk in Germany and Veirano a German desk in Brazil. Denison Caldeiron, a Brazilian lawyer who worked at Veirano between 2004 and 2007, will man Heuking’s Brazil desk in […]
German firm Schultze & Braun has expanded its footprint in its home country with the launch of a Hamburg office that will deal with restructuring and turnaround work. The new base, which launches today, will be led by partner Frank Tschentscher, who until now has split his time between London and Frankfurt. He will be […]