High-level Shearman hire hands A&O Germany boost
Allen & Overy (A&O) has bolstered its German corporate practice with the hire of Shearman & Sterling's global co-head of M&A. Hans Rolf Koerfer will join A&O's Duesseldorf arm, which opened in September, after nearly eight years with Shearman. The appointment of a respected corporate lawyer from one of Shearman's leading European offices will be seen as a boost for the magic circle firm's German practice, which has been identified as a key investment priority.
January 10, 2008 at 09:03 AM
2 minute read
Allen & Overy (A&O) has bolstered its German corporate practice with the hire of Shearman & Sterling's global co-head of M&A.
Hans Rolf Koerfer will join A&O's Duesseldorf arm, which opened in September, after nearly eight years with Shearman. The appointment of a respected corporate lawyer from one of Shearman's leading European offices will be seen as a boost for the magic circle firm's German practice, which has been identified as a key investment priority.
Koerfer joins Thomas Austmann, the senior corporate lawyer who joined A&O from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to launch the office last year.
Koerfer's practice covers international and domestic M&A as well as corporate reorganisation work and his client base including insurance companies and other financial institutions. Before joining Shearman he spent nine years as a partner with Oppenhoff & Radler Linklaters & Alliance.
Cornelius Fischer-Zernin, A&O's senior partner in Germany, said: "Koerfer ranks among the leading M&A lawyers in Germany, boasting an excellent reputation among both clients and competitors. His arrival at A&O represents another significant step for our M&A practice."
He added that the hire fitted in with the firm's overall plans to grow both its corporate practice and its German offering.
The appointment underlines a period of high-level recruitment by leading UK law firms in Germany, which has been one of Europe's strongest legal markets over the last 12 months.
A&O and Linklaters have both launched in Duesseldorf in recent months with Linklaters axing its Cologne office to open in the city with two senior corporate partners from Freshfields, Ralph Wollburg and Achim Kirchfeld. Linklaters relocated just 10 of its Cologne partners to Duesseldorf with those that did not move setting up the breakaway practice Oppenhoff & Partner.
The move also comes amid an expansionary period for A&O with the London-based firm in 2007 launching a branch in Abu Dhabi and securing formal alliances in Saudi Arabia and France.
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