Linklaters’ bid to beef up its German finance practice stepped up a gear this week with the City giant hiring a senior in-house lawyer from Commerzbank to lead its domestic securitisation practice.

Kurt Dittrich joins as a partner from the leading German bank, a longstanding client of Linklaters’ German arm, and is joined by associates Jasmin Kolbl-Vogt and Sabine Felix, who move from Clifford Chance and Deutsche Bank’s subsidiary Eurohypo respectively.