Olswang’s German offering has been served a further blow after losing its entire Berlin office, with intellectual property (IP) partner and head of the filing and prosecution team, Herbert Kunz, leaving the firm’s Munich outpost along with one other lawyer and three staff.
The team of five will join US IP and litigation specialist Fish & Richardson with Kunz joining as managing principal of the firm’s Munich office, and team of two other partners. The other staff joining include patent attorney Volker Kuhne, a technology specialist, a paralegal and an assistant.
Kunz joined Olswang in May last year, alongside Kuhne, from Dr Kunz & Kollegen – a boutique IP law firm Kunz founded in 2012. Before this, he worked at Eversheds and legacy firm Hammonds (now Squire Patton Boggs).
A European and German patent attorney, Kunz has a particular focus in mechanics, electronics, software, and medical devices. He is also a qualified European trademark and design lawyer, and has represented clients at the German Patent and Trademark Office, the German Patent Court, and the European Patent Office (EPO). Some of his clients include New Balance, Merz Dental and Astyx.
The news comes after Olswang lost a 50-strong lawyer team in Berlin which joined Greenberg Traurig in July, when it launched its first office in Germany. Some 50 lawyers including 14 partners, and all current staff from Olswang’s office joined Greenberg in the German capital as its launched its 38th international outpost.
At the time of the departure Olswang said it would concentrate its efforts on its Munich outpost with newly appointed chief executive Paul Stevens saying: ‘In Germany, we will continue to grow our Munich office, which is an important part of this offer. Munich has grown from two fee earners to 18 in less than four years and we are very pleased with both its excellent performance and its future prospects.’
jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk