Davis Polk & Wardwell has opted to close its Frankfurt office when resident partner Patrick Kenadjian retires at the end of August, reports The Am Law Daily.

Kenadjian informed the firm earlier this spring that he intended to retire at the end of this year. In the meantime, the office's designated successor, London-based partner Harald Halbhuber, decided to leave the firm for personal reasons, according to managing partner John Ettinger.

The Frankfurt office, which was launched in 1991, has long focused on cross-border securities and M&A work. In January, Kenadjian headed a team advising Oesterreichische Kontrollbank on its offering of $1.25bn (£770m) in global notes.

However, the firm's bread-and-butter work in Germany has been shared with and often led out of the 31-lawyer London office. "It is a practice that, for quite a while, has been shared by London, and many clients of the firm work directly with the London team," said Ettinger, adding that the closure is not expected to change existing client relationships.

Notably, it was the London office rather than Frankfurt that led on a significant Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matter for Siemens. Last December, the engineering company settled the charges for a record $1.34bn (£825m).

Ettinger said the closure also should not affect its relationship with Hengeler Mueller, the German corporate law firm with which it is most closely associated. "We consulted with them regarding our decision," he notes. "We have had a decades-long relationship with them."

On Tuesday, the firm offered positions to the two associates and a counsel who are based at that office.