Linklaters' Cologne office is a step nearer to closing with the departure of two more partners to breakaway firm Oppenhoff & Partner.

Litigation partner Peter Klappich and environmental law specialist Stephan Mueller are the latest to join Oppenhoff, which launched at the beginning of this year.

The arrival of the pair means the new firm now has around 40 lawyers in total, including 21 partners, among them founding partner Michael Oppenhoff and seven former Linklaters managing associates.

Oppenhoff, which is currently operating from the Linklaters' office space, was created following Linklaters' announcement in October that it would be axing its Cologne office to focus on the Duesseldorf market.

At the time Linklaters said a number of partners based at the Cologne office did not share the firm's "strategic vision", with just 10 of the office's 25 partners transferring to the Duesseldorf venture.

Cologne and Duesseldorf are less than 40 miles apart and UK firms have traditionally avoided having a presence in both cities, with many opting to focus on Duesseldorf of late.

Other firms to pull out of Cologne in recent years include Norton Rose, which saw its entire 65-lawyer office defect to CMS Hasche Sigle in early 2005, and Berwin Leighton Paisner ally Beiten Burkhardt.

Oppenhoff co-founding partner Michael Abels told Legal Week: "The firm is now fully operational. The objective now is to deliver premium service to clients on a very personalised basis. Most of the work will be done by partners who want to work directly with clients."

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