Jones Day’s Düsseldorf Office, opened in March 2012, continues its rapid growth with the addition of a Banking & Finance team led by Claudia Leyendecker. Ms. Leyendecker and her team join a number of other market-leading lawyers who have moved to Jones Day’s Düsseldorf Office in the past few months, including the transactional team of Dr. Ulrich Brauer, Dr. Kerstin Mast, and Dr. Ralf Recknagel; an employment law team led by Dr. Markus Kappenhagen; and an IP practice led by Kai Rüting. The team led by Ms. Leyendecker includes three additional attorneys with in-depth experience in regulatory and capital investment law: Mathias Raabe and Marc von Ammon, joining the Firm as European Counsel, and Markus Brusch.
Concurrently with the arrival of Ms. Leyendecker and her team, Sandra Kamper, the Partner-in-Charge of the Munich Office and a recognized leading lawyer in transactional and real estate finance, is transferring into Jones Day’s Banking & Finance Practice. Through the addition of Ms. Leyendecker’s team and Ms. Kamper’s transfer, Jones Day more than doubles the number of attorneys in its German Banking & Finance Practice. These moves highlight the strategic value of this practice area as Jones Day continues its rapid implementation of the goal the Firm set early this year of building a strong Banking & Finance Practice in Germany.
Ms. Leyendecker, 44, has been an equity partner at Luther since 2008 and headed that firm’s Banking, Finance & Capital Markets service line, which she significantly expanded during her time there. Prior to her tenure at Luther, Ms. Leyendecker was a banking and finance partner at Beiten Burkhard. She has developed significant experience in complex financing matters as well as in the interaction of investment and regulatory law and has succeeded in establishing a large client base and a powerful team in a relatively short time. Through the addition of Ms. Leyendecker, Jones Day now has seven partners in Düsseldorf and eight lawyers in its Banking & Finance Practice in Germany.
“The addition of Claudia and her team is another important step in the rapid and successful expansion of our new office as well as our strategically important Banking & Finance Practice,” said Ansgar Rempp, Partner-in-Charge of the Düsseldorf Office and head of Jones Day’s transactional practice in Germany. “We are very happy to have found a team with strong acquisition finance capabilities in Claudia and her three colleagues. I am certain that she and Sandra Kamper will grow our practice significantly.”
“We are delighted to welcome Claudia and her team to Jones Day,” said Bob Graves, co-chair of Jones Day’s global Banking & Finance Practice. “Bringing lawyers of this caliber on board strengthens our growing practice and enhances our ability to serve our clients both in Germany and internationally.”
“Jones Day has ambitious plans for the Düsseldorf Office and the expansion of the Banking & Finance Practice across Europe; we are looking forward to participating in the achievement of these goals and believe that we have found an ideal platform for the further expansion of our practice,” said Ms. Leyendecker.
“With the addition of Claudia, our Banking & Finance Practice in Germany is taking a giant step forward; this is the first step in the planned expansion of this area of the Firm in Germany and in Europe,” said Ms. Kamper.
