Herbert Smith Freehills has hired Baker & McKenzie dispute resolution partner Mathias Wittinghofer to join its growing Germany practice.

Mathias – who is dual qualified in German and English law – will become part of HSFs' global banking litigation and investigations practice. He is the fourth new partner and the first disputes partner to join the firm's Frankfurt office since it opened in April last year.

Other partners include corporate and M&A lawyers Ralf Thaeter and Nico Abel and real estate specialist Hans Thomas Kessler.

The firm also launched in Berlin last year, with the move coming after legacy Herbert Smith's three-way alliance with Germany's Gleiss Lutz and Benelux firm Stibbe came to an end at the close of 2011.

Wittinghofer has experience in commercial litigation and international arbitration and specialises in banking and finance disputes, as well as post-merger and acquisition disputes. His client base includes banks, private equity firms and other members of the banking and finance industry as well as major corporations.

Thaeter, who is leading HSFs' development in Germany said: "We are very pleased to be adding specialist disputes expertise to our offering in Germany. Mathias is a highly regarded practitioner, whose expertise across the full spectrum of banking and finance disputes brings an important dimension to our existing capability and takes us a step closer to the full-service capability in Frankfurt, which is our ultimate goal."

Meanwhile in London Baker & McKenzie has hired pharmaceutical lawyer Julian Thurston as a consultant in its global pharmaceutical and healthcare industry group. Thurston was previously a consultant and partner at Firm from Morrison & Foerster. He specialises in commercial life sciences transactions with a focus on strategic joint ventures, licensing and collaborations in high growth markets, including China, Latin America and Russia.