Eversheds Sutherland has expanded further in Germany by acquiring Düsseldorf-based firm Grooterhorst & Partners, giving the firm a fourth office in the country.
The office, which will launch today (1 August) with three partners, will initially focus on real estate and insurance with plans to become a full-service practice. The three partners, Johannes Grooterhorst, Marc Christian Schwencke and Ralf-Thomas Wittmann, will be joined by a team of 11 lawyers.
Both Grooterhorst and Schwencke specialise in real estate, with Wittmann focusing on insurance.
Commenting on the opening of the office, co-chief executive Lee Ranson said the firm strategy is further commitment to the expansion of its global platform. Eversheds also launched in Singapore earlier this yearfollowing a merger with local firm Harry Elias Partnership.
‘Our launch in Düsseldorf, an important centre of corporate activity and the industrial heartland of Germany, is a significant milestone in the rollout of that strategy,’ he said.
Eversheds Sutherland has steadily developed its footprint in Germany in recent years, notably merging with its German partner Heisse Kursawe in 2015.
‘Our German practice has recently made significant progress. The opening of the Düsseldorf office adds momentum to these positive developments as we strengthen our position in the German market,’ said the firm’s managing partner in Germany, Matthias Heisse.
The move to open the new office comes just a month after co-chief executives Ranson and Mark Wasserman laid out a draft 2020 strategyfor the future of the firm to around 680 people at the first partner conference since the firm’s tie-up in February.
Ranson and Wasserman laid out plans for the future vision of the firm, with a formal strategy to be implemented in September following further consultations with partners.