Linklaters has reaffirmed its commitment to the German market, stating publicly that it is not intending to make further cuts in the region.

The magic circle law firm – which has reduced its partner count in Germany from 85 to 70 since its 2001 merger with Oppenhoff & Raedler – has lost a stream of partners in recent months.

However, German senior partner Michael Lappe (pictured) told Legal Week that the restructuring is over and that the firm is now ready to build up its practice rather than scale back further.

The commitment follows a wave of recent partner losses, including the departure of tax partner Martin Krause and two associates to Norton Rose and an eight-strong IP team to Olswang in April alone.

These departures, combined with the firm's decision to close its Cologne arm in November last year and its move to scale back in Berlin last April, had led to speculation that one of the firm's other German offices could also face cutbacks. Linklaters currently has offices in Frankfurt, Duesseldorf, Munich and Berlin.

However, Lappe said: "We are now exactly the right size. We are in a position in the market which allows a growth strategy and, from here on, we do not want to be smaller.

"We now focus on a certain type of business. Our strategy is to advise the largest German companies and banks on their most complex matters."

Lappe and firmwide managing partner Simon Davies are mid-way through a review of German partners' pay, which is intended to see local equity partners brought on to the same remuneration scale as those in London.

The only German partners at the top of Linklaters' core lockstep are senior corporate duo Ralph Wollburg and Achim Kirchfeld, who were brought in from magic circle rival Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer last year – and rivals had argued that more partners would need to go to bring the German practice in line with its more profitable London practice.

Lappe confirmed that the firm is on track to complete the review ahead of its 1 May, 2009, deadline but denied that further cuts to the partnership would be needed.

He said: "The ambition to increase overall profitability is always there. But I am not sure we need to be more profitable to bring German partners to the core lockstep. You have to take into account that City rates are not achievable in the German market."