Norton Rose has boosted its German practice with the hire of two partners and their teams in Munich and Frankfurt.
The firm has hired M&A specialist Alex von Bergwelt from Munich-based mid-size firm Arcon, where he was a former managing partner.
He brings with him a team of six associates for the firm’s new Munich office, which until now has been staffed by Cologne and Frankfurt based partners.
The second lateral hire is Uwe Hartmann, a tax a specialist, who joins the Frankfurt office from his own tax boutique. He was formerly a lawyer at Oppenhoff & Raedler.
Simon Cox, one of Norton Rose’s two English partners based in Germany, said the hires were a very significant for the firm and that these hires should in turn make it easier to hire further lateral German partners and associates.
“It was very important to get tax capability in Frankfurt,” added Cox, who was sent over to Germany this year with colleague Campbell Steedman to help build a cross-border practice.
The two English corporate partners will be reinforced in Germany by another London partner in September, banking specialist Lucy Wolley Dod.
Although Norton Rose gained a presence in Germany earlier this year through its merger with the Cologne office of Gaedertz, the firm is keen to expand into the key business centres of Frankfurt and Munich.
These latest hires follow the decision in June of banking partner Frank Herring of Oppenhoff & Raedler to move to the firm’s Frankfurt office.
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