Taylor Wessing has hired the head of Allen & Overy's (A&O) global communications group Mark Hoenike.

Hoenike, who has been a partner with A&O since 2001 when he joined from White & Case, joined Taylor Wessing's Hamburg office last week (1 August).

His practice focuses on mergers & acquisitions, corporate, outsourcing and commercial and regulatory matters particularly in the telecoms sector. He counts technology heavyweights such as Nokia and Cisco among his clients.

Hoenike said: "In view of my clients, the decision to switch to Taylor Wessing was the right move for me. Taylor Wessing's technology/IP practice is one of the strongest in Germany and consistently expanding."

Separately, Orrick Hoelters & Elsing has also strengthened its German operations with a magic circle partner hire. The US firm has hired Linklaters corporate and restructuring partner Annette Boedeker, who will join the Frankfurt office next week (10 August).

She will continue to focus on advising public companies on corporate governance and compliance matters and corporate litigation.

Orrick, which launched in Germany last year through the merger with German firm Hoelters & Elsing, has offices in Frankfurt, Duesseldorf and Berlin.