London 20 August 2004 LAWFUEL – Best of the Net for legal news, law news, law articles DLA announced today that the partners and other lawyers of the Hamburg office of GÖRG Rechtsanwälte will join DLA. They will officially become part of DLA some time in the autumn. The Hamburg team joined GÖRG in January 2004, having previously been part of the well-known German firm Luther & Partners, which subsequently became Andersen Luther. The team, which includes three partners and seven associates, has been keen to be part of an international firm and decided to join DLA when GÖRG decided to maintain the firm’s status as an independent national firm.
This move follows the announcement DLA made last month about the firm’s plans to open its first German office in Cologne on 1 September 2004. DLA’s German practice will be developed under the leadership of GÖRG’s former managing partner, Dr Ulrich Jüngst who becomes DLA’s Regional Managing Partner for Germany in September.
The Hamburg team includes corporate and M&A Partner, Dr Klaus von Gierke and Labour Law Partners Volker von Alvensleben and Dr Frank Weberndörfer.
Developing an office in Hamburg supports DLA’s objective of building a strong national practice in Germany in a number of regional centres. Through its multi-site operation across Europe and Asia, DLA advises both local and international clients and the Hamburg office is also well suited to this, as the team’s client list is balanced between German and international clients.
Developing a presence in Germany has always been part of DLA’s vision and the firm plans to expand across the country by establishing offices in other key cities in order to enhance the services it is able to offer to German and international clients with interests in the country. DLA is also in discussions with a number of other lawyers in Germany.
Nigel Knowles, Managing Partner, DLA LLP, said: “The Hamburg team is a perfect fit for DLA. They are a strong team of experienced lawyers and their commitment to be part of an international firm, coupled with their knowledge of the German market, will enable us to accelerate our development in the country. Germany is an important jurisdiction for Central and Eastern Europe and Italy, and I am delighted that we have taken the first steps in building a first-class team there.”
Ulrich Jüngst, Regional Managing Partner, DLA in Germany, said: “This is a very exciting step for DLA because of the strategic importance of Germany to an international law firm. The Hamburg team is very experienced and their skills will help to put DLA on the map in Germany. I know the Hamburg team well and I am looking forward to working with them once again and delighted to be in a position to lead this new chapter for DLA in Germany.”
