DLA Piper has hired a three-lawyer corporate crime team from Clifford Chance (CC) in Germany, including Frankfurt-based partner Juergen Taschke.

Taschke (pictured) will join DLA Piper's Frankfurt office on 1 September along with two associates.

He will be responsible for building up DLA Piper's corporate crime and international investigations team in Germany alongside Hamburg-based litigation partner Carsten Grau, who is currently the only white collar-specialist partner at DLA in Germany.

Taschke's practice deals with criminal law relating to business offences, with a special focus on advising companies on investigation proceedings against staff and on damage caused by employees or business partners. He joined CC in 1992 and was made a partner in 1994.

He said: "DLA Piper is a great firm with an extensive white collar network in the UK and US, which fits perfect with what I am doing. It has an industry-based practice with good corporate connections."

"For me it is a great opportunity to be involved in building up the white collar practice for DLA in Germany. It is an interesting opportunity for which I am very enthusiastic."

The move follows a number of recent exits from CC's German practice, with the most high-profile departure that of insolvency heavyweight Kolja von Bismarck, who joined Linklaters' Frankfurt office in July.

Other departures included Munich-based real estate partner Frank Stellmann, who joined German independent Goerg and Frankfurt-based IT partner Joachim Schrey who joined Noerr Stiefenhofer Lutz, both in June this year.