Linklaters set to elect new German head as Lappe stands down

Lappe to return to fee-earning as former German MP departs firm

Linklaters senior partner for Germany Michael Lappe will stand down from the position next year, with the magic circle law firm preparing to appoint a successor.

Lappe's second three-year term in the role, which he initially took up in 2004, will end on 30 April 2010. The high-profile M&A partner said that he had decided not to run for another term, instead planning a return to full-time fee-earning in the German corporate practice.

Linklaters will now kick off the hunt for a new local senior partner in the New Year. This will involve a consultation of the German partnership, followed by a formal vote.

Lappe said: "I have spent six years in the senior partner role and I am not interested in standing again.

"When I took on the role I made it clear that I wanted to stay in client work to the greatest extent possible. After years of extensive work developing the German practice, I am now very keen to concentrate on my client relationships."

The news comes as Linklaters' former German managing partner, Markus Hartung, left the firm last week (15 November) to take up a career in law firm strategy consulting.

Hartung managed the magic circle firm's German operations from 2001 until January 2009, when he returned to full-time practice in the litigation and arbitration department.

Hartung, who led Oppenhoff & Raedler into its 2001 merger with Linklaters, stood unopposed in 2003 for a second term as Linklaters' German head.

Linklaters did not replace Hartung as managing partner as it had already appointed Wolfgang Weiss to a new role of German head of management in 2007.

Click here for more international coverage