Hogan loses German duo; Ashurst adds in Frankfurt

US firm Hogan & Hartson is set to lose two partners from its Munich office, including high-profile private equity partner Uwe Steininger.

Steininger, the former co-head of SJ Berwin in Germany, has yet to announce his next move, while corporate partner Jochen Schaefer is leaving to join local sports law boutique Duvinage & Partner. The two will leave the firm at the end of the month.

Following the move, corporate partner Dirk Besse will relocate to Munich from Hogan's 22-partner Berlin office.

Hogan German managing partner Gernod Meinel said: "[Besse's move] is more of a coincidence, a plan developed for some months. His practice is in the media field and this is part of our strategy to make Munich a second presence for our media-related practice."

He added: "Four or five partners is a good size for the Munich office, at least initially. However, we are receptive and always looking around [for lateral hires]."

Steininger resigned from SJ Berwin - where he also headed the funds practice - in late 2005 and joined Hogan in July 2006 to help lead the German and European expansion of the US firm's private equity and alternative investments practice. His practice focuses on private equity and funds work.

Schaefer, who is a former general counsel of sportswear giant Adidas, has a corporate practice focusing on the sports industry.

Schaefer said: "Law firms have rules and procedures which slow you down. Hogan... has a very organised structure and is very successful but it was not the right umbrella for me. For me, this fits the purpose better."

News of the exits from Hogan comes with rival US firm White & Case braced for the loss of leveraged finance partner Anne Force in Frankfurt. She will join Ashurst's Frankfurt office as a partner in the loan markets group. Force was previously an in-house counsel at German lending giant Deutsche Bank.

She becomes the fourth addition to Ashurst's Frankfurt partnership this year, with the firm hiring Hengeler Mueller corporate lawyer Claudia Junker as a partner in January and promoting new partners Christoph Enderstein and Eva Schoeneich last month in finance and corporate respectively.

Ashurst senior partner Geoffrey Green commented: "Force... has an impressive track record of acting for clients like Allianz Capital Partners, Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, Intermediate Capital Group and RBS, which makes her an excellent fit for our European finance practice."

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