Herbert Smith Freehills launches in Germany with Gleiss hire
Herbert Smith Freehills has launched in Germany with the hire of a partner from former ally Gleiss Lutz. Corporate partner Ralf Thaeter, who has worked at Gleiss Lutz since 1995, will launch the firm's new Frankfurt-based offering, set to open in the second quarter of this year.
February 13, 2013 at 04:59 AM
2 minute read
Herbert Smith Freehills has launched in Germany with the hire of a partner from former ally Gleiss Lutz.
Corporate partner Ralf Thaeter, who has worked at Gleiss Lutz since 1995, will launch the firm's new Frankfurt-based offering, set to open in the second quarter of this year.
Thaeter previously was previously head of corporate and M&A at Gleiss Lutz for four years until 2009. He worked closely with Herbert Smith during its alliance with Gleiss Lutz and Benelux firm Stibbe which broke down in December 2011.
The office will initially focus on M&A, corporate, disputes and finance work, with a view to expand to a full-service offering.
Thaeter's practice covers energy, regulated industries and private equity. His clients have included Denmark group DONG Energy, German company VNG Verbundnetz Gas, leisure travel group TUI Travel, funds manager Capital Groups Companies, energy company Chevron, India's Essar Oil and the German Federal Government.
It was reported early last year that Herbert Smith was planning to open offices in Frankfurt, Duesseldorf and Munich in addition to a base in New York, with Frankfurt marking the first launch in the firm's expansion plans.
The firm was not able to open in the country earlier than January 2013 due to the wind-down terms of the terminated alliance with Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe.
Last year the firm appointed global corporate co-chief Patrick Mitchell and City corporate partner Alan Montgomery to head a committee dealing with the Germany launches. EMEA managing partner Allen Hanen was recently appointed to the committee.
Mitchell said: "Ralf is a pre-eminent lawyer with extensive M&A and corporate experience in his field of work, and given the depths of his existing relationships with Herbert Smith Freehills colleagues we are confident of his fit with our culture and mindset.
"By the end of the second quarter we would hope to have a small team on the ground in Frankfurt, although the priority is securing high calibre candidates. The focus is very much on this launch – there is no definite timetable on other offices just yet."
Herbert Smith launched an office in New York last September with the hire of five partners and 15 additional lawyers from US firm Chadbourne & Parke.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Top Labor Lawyer and Former Germany Managing Partner Leaves A&O Shearman to Found Boutique Firm
3 minute read
Noerr’s Former Polish Office Merges With Big Professional Services Firm Eying German-Speaking Clients
3 minute read
US-Based Smith, Gambrell & Russell Expands to Italy With Cross-Border Transactional Attorneys
3 minute read
Trending Stories
- 1'A Death Sentence for TikTok'?: Litigators and Experts Weigh Impact of Potential Ban on Creators and Data Privacy
- 2Bribery Case Against Former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin Is Dropped
- 3‘Extremely Disturbing’: AI Firms Face Class Action by ‘Taskers’ Exposed to Traumatic Content
- 4State Appeals Court Revives BraunHagey Lawsuit Alleging $4.2M Unlawful Wire to China
- 5Invoking Trump, AG Bonta Reminds Lawyers of Duties to Noncitizens in Plea Dealing
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
