McDermott Will & Emery has lost a six-lawyer tax team in Germany.

Four partners – Oliver Kachele, Joachim Giehl, Marcus Roth and Claudia Sendlbeck-Schickor – and two associates left the firm at the end of August after just 18 months with McDermott. They joined in spring 2005 from accountancy giant KPMG.

Their departures leave the firm with five tax lawyers in Germany, led by Dirk Pohl.

Kachele and Sendlbeck-Schickor both focus on tax saving funds, with an emphasis on media funds. Roth's practice is largely M&A-related tax work, while Giehl concentrates on structured finance transactions.

It is unclear where the team is heading, but local reports suggest Roth and Sendlbeck-Schickor will make the switch to Deloitte.

A McDermott partner told Legal Week that the reasons behind the departures stemmed from a difference in "strategic approach".

Reported on legalweek.com (7 September).