Dentons has launched a corporate practice in Düsseldorf with two hires.

Predrag Maksimovic joins the firm as a partner from IKB Deutsche Industriebank, where he was legal counsel for its corporate law and M&A division since 2011. He was previously a lawyer at U.S. firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius from 2007 to 2011.

Meanwhile, Frank Tepper-Sawicki joins Dentons as a partner from PwC's Düsseldorf office, where he was a lawyer specialising in corporate and M&A, private equity and joint ventures for 10 years. He has advised on corporate reorganisations and regulations in the energy sector.

Dentons' Düsseldorf office, which launched in February this year, now has eight partners. The firm's German offices have more than 200 lawyers, including 71 partners, across Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich and Düsseldorf.

Maksimovic is due to join on July 1, and Tepper-Sawicki joined in June.

Dentons recently partnered with a Zimbabwean firm to expand its African footprint, and hired a corporate partner in Italy to launch an American-Italian cross-border practice. It also has been expanding in Australia.