Linklaters has lost a team of eight intellectual property (IP) lawyers as the magic circle firm continues to reshape its German practice.
Partners Stefan Lutje and Georg von Wallis will join Olswang in Berlin on 1 May as partners in the media, communications and technology (MCT) practice. They will be joined by Viola Bensinger, who will become a partner at the firm, and five associates.
Lutje and von Wallis have both been at Linklaters and legacy German firm Oppenhoff & Raedler for 20 years. Their arrival will be a boost to Olswang’s German arm, which has focused on real estate and projects work since it opened in January last year.
Linklaters senior partner for Germany, Michael Lappe, said: “We regret the departures, but we understand the decision. The type of tax-based film financing in which they are market leaders is no longer as prominent due to changes in German tax legislation and their business is developing outside of the firm’s focus.”
The moves follow a period of restructuring for Linklaters’ German practice, with the firm last April scaling back its Berlin office and later that year announcing that it would be shutting its Cologne office to launch in Duesseldorf. The closure resulted in a large number of local lawyers leaving the firm, which is also in the process of reviewing the remuneration structure for its German equity partners.
A partner at a rival international firm told Legal Week: “The way the firm has become focused on corporate makes it difficult for people who are not specialists in that area. The firm has been undergoing so much change that it is expected to see people coming and going at a rapid pace.”
