Global law firm Reed Smith has today announced a significant investment in its European platform with the opening of an office in Frankfurt. The opening is in response to growing client demand in the German market and builds on the success of the firm’s Munich office, which celebrates its 10-year anniversary this year.
Officially opening 1 June, the office will be led by current Munich managing partner Dr Stefan Kugler. It will launch with the arrival of seven partners providing market-leading experience in finance, corporate, regulatory, private equity and real estate. The firm anticipates further growth in the near future.
“Frankfurt has been a city of significant interest to us for some time”, commented Dr Kugler. “Having built strong foundations in Munich, our goal is to add to our existing bench strength and also broaden our full- service offering to support the growing needs of our clients with interests in the German market.”
New members of the Reed Smith German team
In the areas of finance and real estate, the firm will be joined by Dirk-Peter Flor and Dr Simon Gottlieb Grieser (both previously at Mayer Brown) and Prof. Dr Martin Meißner (previously at Orrick).
Dr Andreas Jürgens and Dr Volker Kammel both join from Jones Day. Dr Jürgens advises on corporate acquisitions and divestitures, restructurings and corporate finance. Dr Kammel’s practice focuses on restructuring, insolvency, distressed M&A and rescue financing.
Joining the firm from Willkie Farr & Gallagher will be Rolf Hünermann and Dr Octávio de Sousa. Hünermann counsels on a variety of compliance issues and corporate transactions. He was formerly head of the German compliance and enforcement group. Dr de Sousa represents clients on national and international M&A, private equity and finance transactions.
“The vast majority of our top clients in the finance sector have operations in Germany and our relationships with them continue to expand,” said Alexander Thomas, Reed Smith’s global managing partner. “This new presence in Frankfurt is testament to our continued investment in both the finance sector and our transactional practice globally.”
Reed Smith’s growth
“Our great strength in the financial industry and the fact that so many of our clients are based in or significantly present in Frankfurt – a global financial centre – makes this move a natural fit,” said Tamara Box, the firm’s Financial Industry Group chair. “Adding the skills of these talented lawyers to our already deep offering in Munich gives us even greater ability to serve our growing client base in this important market.”
Reed Smith has continued to invest heavily in the expansion of its global platform. In the past three years, the firm has appointed 60 partners (across its transactional, disputes and regulatory practices). 26 of these focus on the financial services sector and reside in London, Paris and Munich, where the team collaborates to provide clients with transactional, disputes and regulatory advice in finance, corporate, private equity and real estate across Europe.
This growth is indicative of the evolving needs of the firm’s clients, who increasingly require support in response to fast changing market conditions, including: navigating global regulatory and compliance issues, restructuring investments and seeking alternative funds for investment capital.
“Our global platform has transformed in recent years and our continued growth in key sectors and markets remains a priority for us,” said Edward Estrada, the firm’s global head of strategy. “Now, with a base in Germany’s financial centre, we’re in an even stronger position to further grow our German business and expand existing synergies with our colleagues and clients across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the United States.”
Source: www.reedsmith.com
