Pinsent Masons France managing partner Christoph Maurer has left the international law firm to set up his own boutique firm.

The new outfit, Maurer Law, advises mainly large multinational corporations, medium-sized companies, banks, funds and entrepreneurs. Headquartered in Paris, and with offices in Frankfurt and London, Maurer law will focus on transaction and M&A law, veered especially towards the automotive sector.

Maurer told Legal Week: "There has been a shift in strategy at Pinsent Masons in the last few years since the new senior partner and new managing partner have been elected. This meant more focus was shifted to sectors which I was not involved in, so it felt it was time for me to make the professional move away to set up my own boutique firm focusing on transactions and M&A. It was the right point in my career to try something else."

Maurer is a German-, French- and English-qualified lawyer and specialises in international corporate and commercial law. With 25 years of international transaction experience, Maurer held roles as an associate at Linklaters and Allen & Overy, before stints as a partner at Rodl & Partner and Marccus, before being hired as Pinsent Masons' France managing partner in 2012.

Maurer counts plastics company Plastic Omnium as a major client, advising on a number of deals for the company in recent years. Earlier this year, he advised Germany-headquartered automobile manufacturer Mubea on the acquisition of manufacturer Flamm. 

Maurer said: "The focus of my new firm is transaction work with a focus on M&A, in particular in the automotive sector and advanced manufacturing generally. In continental Europe, especially France and Germany, there is a more traditional and more personal approach to working with clients. It is less institutional. Offering this work from a boutique firm means smaller, less elaborate teams building trusting relationships with the clients."

He added that he hopes to offer labour law and tax services at the new firm at a later stage.

Other Pinsents partners to depart in 2018 include information law head Marc Dautlich who moved to Bristows, and global corporate crime head Barry Vitou who left for Greenberg Traurig, while last year three Pinsents China partners left for Herbert Smith Freehills.