Frankfurt, Germany

Herbert Smith Freehills has transferred its German business into its U.K. limited liability partnership ahead of the U.K.'s departure from the European Union next week.

A spokesperson for HSF said the firm made the switch in December 2019, in order to "ensure the seamless operation of our business when the U.K. leaves the EU".

They added: "We did this because our Germany LLP would, following Brexit, no longer be capable of existing as an English company domiciled in Germany."

The Anglo-Australian firm debuted in Germany in 2013 and currently has outfits in Frankfurt and Dusseldorf. It closed its 10-lawyer Berlin office at the end of 2019.

Other Brexit contingency plans by HSF have included it reregistering its Seoul office to become a branch of the Australian partnership.

The status of German partnerships post-Brexit has been a key concern for various firms in recent months. Eversheds Sutherland has drawn up changes to its LLP status in case of a hard Brexit, while Simmons & Simmons made a similar move in order to mitigate German legal privilege concerns post-Brexit.

Simmons & Simmons created a separate LLP in November last year, with a partner stating the decision was driven by "nervousness" around Germany's limited view of documents that are covered by attorney-client privilege.

Against the backdrop of Brexit, firms have stepped up efforts in reshaping their European strategy, with Dentons most recently launching in Dublin and DLA Piper moving to a larger Dublin office and expanding its paralegal scheme.