Allen & Overy (A&O) is set to lose one of its most high-profile German partners.

Duesseldorf M&A partner Hans-Rolf Koerfer, who joined A&O in January last year from US firm Shearman & Sterling, is set to join Linklaters spin-off Oppenhoff & Partner in Cologne.

Koerfer, who was formerly Shearman's global M&A co-head, has made headlines since joining A&O. Earlier this year he took up a position as chairman of the supervisory board at one of his clients, the car parts company Continental, but will stand down from the role later this month after a high-profile management overhaul.

Koerfer's practice covers international and domestic M&A as well as corporate reorganisation work, and his client base includes insurance companies and other financial institutions.

Before spending eight years with Shearman, he spent nine years as a partner with Oppenhoff & Raedler Linklaters & Alliance.

The hire will be seen as a significant boost for Oppenhoff, which spun off from Linklaters after the magic circle firm decided to close its Cologne branch in November 2007 to focus on Duesseldorf.

He will take the number of corporate partners at Oppenhoff to 12, although his start date is yet to be decided. His hire follows that of German A&O partner Reinhard Hermes by Oppenhoff in June this year.