Bird & Bird is pleased to announce that it has appointed Bernhard Gemmel as a partner within its international Banking and Finance practice group. He will join the Frankfurt office on 1st July 2013. Bernhard was previously a partner at Dentons in Frankfurt; before joining Dentons, Bernhard was a partner at Shearman & Sterling and Beiten Burkhardt.
Bernhard has 17 years’ experience (of which more than 12 years as a partner) advising on domestic and international project finance, real estate finance, export/trade finance as well as acquisition finance/LBO transactions. His industry focus comprises the real estate, energy and public utilities, as well as infrastructure sectors. In addition to being admitted to the bar in Germany, he is also a fully qualified lawyer under French law, and has spent many years advising clients from both countries in connection with their cross-border activities.
Alongside Bernhard’s appointment, the Frankfurt office has also appointed Stanislav Schmidt as Associate. Stanislav worked as an attorney in Russia before being admitted to the bar and working as an attorney in Germany. Together, they will target the outbound business of Russian financial institutions and corporates, an area which the firm is looking to strengthen.
“I am very pleased to welcome Bernhard as a new partner in Frankfurt,” said Dr. Alexander Schröder-Frerkes, Managing Partner of Bird & Bird in Germany and Head of the international Corporate/M&A group. “He is a very experienced transaction expert with an international network, whose expertise in the area of real estate as well as energy and infrastructure perfectly complements our strategy. In addition, together with Stanislav Schmidt, he strengthens our rapidly expanding German Banking and Finance practice group at our Frankfurt location.”
