Hammonds is to close its Munich office in the wake of the departure of a five-lawyer team to Eversheds.

The national firm has opted to pull out of Munich from 31 March and instead enter into a referral agreement with local patent law firm Gulde Hengelhaupt Ziebig & Schneider (GHZS).

Munich office head Herbert Kunz and partner Michael Schneider joined Eversheds in November to launch a patent litigation practice – with Eversheds subsequently picking up a further three lawyers.