Allen & Overy (A&O) has hired the head of Linklaters' German intellectual property (IP) practice as a partner for its Duesseldorf office, restocking its ranks in the wake of the departure of a team of IP lawyers to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.

Jens Matthes, who has led Linklaters' German IP practice since 2008, will take on the same role at A&O and will be charged with building up the team, which was this week hit by the departure of an 11-strong group to Quinn Emanuel led by partner Nadine Herrmann and including six lawyers.

Matthes confirmed he would be expanding the practice at associate level as well as looking for a partner specialising in patents work. His departure leaves Linklaters with one partner and five lawyers in its German IP and technology media & telecoms practice.

Dr Neil George Weiand, A&O's senior partner in Germany, said the firm intends to: "build a leading IP and patent litigation team in Germany over the short to medium term, bringing the group to the same level as already exists in other jurisdictions".

The departure of Herrmann's team to launch a Hamburg office for Quinn Emanuel has left A&O with two associates, however they will both leave for Quinn Emanuel once Matthes arrives from Linklaters.

The hires will take Quinn to 20 lawyers across Germany, with the remainder in its Mannheim office, which opened last year with an A&O partner hire. The US disputes practice is also planning a third office in Germany, with an office launch expected in Munich.

Last month, A&O bulked up its Frankfurt office with the hire of three lawyers from Gleiss Lutz, comprising head of public law Olaf Otting and a pair of associates. Specialising in administrative law, his clients include Deutsche Bahn and the European Union Central Bank.