The global law firm Jones Day is pleased to announce the arrival of a team of five corporate lawyers in its new office in Düsseldorf. Ulrich Brauer from Simmons & Simmons, Kerstin Mast from Bird & Bird, Ralf Recknagel from GSK, and associates Norman Kulpa and Zhaoxia Chen, both from Simmons & Simmons, will join Jones Day’s Mergers & Acquisitions Practice in Düsseldorf.
“The arrival of the team around Brauer, Mast, and Recknagel is a first major step for the fast and successful expansion of our new location and our entire German practice,” says Ansgar Rempp, Partner-in-Charge of the Düsseldorf Office and Coordinator of Jones Day’s German transactional practice. “Brauer, Mast, and Recknagel will add substantial depth to our corporate and transactional capabilities in Düsseldorf. We see tremendous opportunities in the region for sophisticated, global corporate counsel and are in contact with other well known transactional lawyers from Düsseldorf whom we expect to join us soon. The rapid expansion of the office’s corporate practice will have a positive impact on our German practice overall.”
Ulrich Brauer led the German corporate and M&A practice of Simmons & Simmons since 2007. With almost 20 years of professional experience, he is recognized as one of the leading M&A lawyers in the Düsseldorf market. For many years, he has been representing national and international clients in complex cross-border transactions and corporate matters. One of his areas of focus is the representation of Japanese and Chinese clients with respect to their in-bound German and European investments. At Simmons & Simmons, he oversaw the successful development of the firm’s China desk. Mr. Brauer brings with him associates Norman Kulpa and Zhaoxia Chen from Simmons & Simmons. Mr. Kulpa’s practice focuses on international transactions and German corporate matters. Ms. Chen focuses on the representation of Chinese clients investing and doing business in Germany.
Kerstin Mast has extensive experience in international M&A and private equity transactions as well as privatizations of public entities. Ms. Mast, who also is admitted as a Solicitor in England and Wales, was a partner at Noerr LLP from 1999 until joining Bird & Bird’s Düsseldorf office in 2011 to build that firm’s transactional practice in Germany. She is recognized as a very experienced cross-border transactional lawyer and has represented many clients from Europe, the United States, China, and India.
Ralf Recknagel was a partner at Noerr LLP from 2003 until May 2010, when he joined GSK’s Düsseldorf office as a partner in their transactional practice. He has 17 years of experience and focuses on M&A and private equity transactions as well as privatizations of public entities. One of his additional areas of focus is advising German and international clients on complex compliance issues.
Jones Day’s German transactional practice has made significant progress recently. In 2010 and 2011, the Firm led some of the largest and most important private equity transactions in Germany and our German M&A and private equity practices are now among the leaders in the overall German market. The addition of the Düsseldorf Office and the continued growth of the German transactional practice will accelerate this progress.
