International legal practice Norton Rose LLP today announced the opening of its third German office in Hamburg. The new office has eight partners and a total of 25 lawyers. Klaus von Gierke has been appointed its Managing Partner.
The establishment of an office in Hamburg is an important step towards strengthening Norton Rose Group’s presence in northern Germany and will also reinforce the existing corporate finance, banking, energy, tax, employment and IT/technology teams in Munich and Frankfurt.
Norton Rose LLP has also launched a Hamburg transport practice, which will focus, in particular, on shipping, given Hamburg’s central role in the German shipping industry. Partner Gordon Hall, who has many years experience of complex shipping and rail finance transactions and who is one of the most highly regarded transport finance lawyers in the London market, will relocate to Hamburg to develop the new office’s transport practice.
Alexander von Bergwelt, Managing Partner of Norton Rose LLP in Germany, commented:
“Our global sector strengths and the expertise of our new Hamburg team perfectly match the market. The Hamburg team has been working together very successfully for many years and has established an excellent network with both international corporations and the German Mittelstand and will help us raise the profile of Norton Rose Group in Germany.”
Klaus von Gierke, the Managing Partner of the Hamburg office, commented:
“The new Hamburg team and I are very pleased to be joining Norton Rose Group and to build up the practice’s latest office addition. Our successful work in this market and our strong contacts across the finance, energy, infrastructure, transport and technology sectors will help us to grow the office quickly. We have been impressed by the strong growth of Norton Rose worldwide and in Germany and are looking forward to working together with our new colleagues.”
New partners in Hamburg
Klaus von Gierke – corporate / M&A (Head of Hamburg)
Gordon Hall – shipping
Ulf Liebelt-Westphal – energy
Frank Weberndörfer – employment law
Jens Suhrbier – energy
Uwe Eppler – tax
Ludger Verfürth – investment funds, asset management and banking regulatory
Flemming Moos – IT
Norton Rose LLP has been in the German market for ten years. With the opening of the new Hamburg office, two new partner arrivals in Frankfurt and the partner promotion of Eva-Maria Barbosa in Munich, the German practice has 36 partners and a total of over 140 lawyers.
The importance of Hamburg
As the financial and business centre of northern Germany, Hamburg is an ideal addition to the practice’s existing German locations. Key industries in the city include banking, insurance, energy, infrastructure, transport, media and telecommunications, all of which are in line with Norton Rose Group’s key strengths. The region around Hamburg is a hub for the renewables industry and boasts a number of successful on-shore and off-shore wind energy projects.
