Baker McKenzie is further expanding its global M&A practice with the addition of Dirk Horcher, who joins as a partner on October 1, 2024 and will be based in the Firm’s Munich office. Dirk joins from Linklaters, where he started in 2006 and has been a partner since 2017.
Dirk specializes in advising clients on M&A transactions, public takeovers, post-merger integrations, as well as corporate reorganizations and corporate successions. His expertise spans a variety of sectors, including energy and infrastructure, automotive, industrials and technology.
“With Dirk, we are gaining another very experienced and highly qualified M&A lawyer with long-standing connections to corporates, investment banks, financial sponsors and family offices. His transactional expertise is well-rounded and will be highly valuable for the further expansion of our Munich office and global M&A practice,” said Berthold Hummel, co-head of the corporate practice in Germany.
“I am very much looking forward to working with my new colleagues in the global M&A team. I am excited to further expand my practice by leveraging Baker McKenzie’s international and local platform, and to contribute to the continued development of the Firm’s leading M&A practice and in particular to the growth of the public takeover offering,” commented Dirk on his appointment.
“Clients turn to Baker McKenzie for our experience managing complex, cross-border transactions. Dirk’s extensive experience and deep sector knowledge will be instrumental in enhancing our capabilities and delivering exceptional service to our clients worldwide,” added Jannan Crozier, Baker McKenzie’s Global Chair of M&A. “His arrival underscores our commitment to attracting top-tier talent to augment our bench strength. We look forward to the innovative perspectives and strategic insights he will bring to our team.”
Dirk is the latest partner to join Baker McKenzie in Germany, where the Firm has been growing its bench since 2021 through additions from other leading law firms. The Firm most recently welcomed M&A partner Daniel Dehghanian in Düsseldorf, while two additional partners joined the Firm’s German offices this year: Dr. Conrad Ruppel in Banking & Finance and Dr. Johannes Baumann in M&A, both in Frankfurt. Dr. Andrea Soprano (counsel), Joachim Ponseck (partner) and Dr. Artur Swierczok (counsel) have strengthened the Restructuring & Insolvency practice in Frankfurt, and Dr. Katharina Stüber joined as a partner in the corporate and M&A practice. Baker McKenzie also previously expanded its Private Equity offering in Munich with the arrival of a team led by Berthold Hummel and the subsequent hire of Dr. Jakub Lorys.
Additionally, the arrival of Dirk further expands Baker McKenzie’s global transactional platform, which, over the past 18 months, has seen the addition of more than 50 partners in key financial centers. In April, the Firm welcomed an elite transactional team of 17 lawyers in Los Angeles, and in September, announced the upcoming addition of a high-caliber M&A team in Singapore. The Firm also welcomed M&A/Private Equity partners Tobias Knapp (New York); Colin Bowes-Carlson (Chicago); Eric Schwartzman (San Francisco); Erika López (Chicago); Hannah Luqmani (London); Theodore Heng (Singapore) and Colleen Lee (Palo Alto).
With more than 2,500 lawyers in 45 jurisdictions, Baker McKenzie is a transactional powerhouse. The Firm excels in complex, cross-border transactions; over 65 percent of our deals are multijurisdictional. Baker McKenzie has been consistently recognized as a top-three firm for cross-border M&A by volume over the past decade.
