Freshfields among firms in talks to take over the office
The last 12 months have been quite a whirlwind at Olswang. Following the surprise exit of chief executive David Stewart last autumn, the firm had only just appointed intellectual property (IP) partner Paul Stevens as its new chief executive in May, when last month its entire Berlin outpost announced it was splitting off.
The 50 lawyer office, which includes German managing partner Christian Schede, and German head of corporate and M&A Peter Schorling, looks set to exit later this year and is currently in talks with several firms, including Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
The team, which was built up with IP and real estate hires from Linklaters and Freshfields, is looking for a new home that can offer a stronger and more attractive international platform.
Both MoFo and Freshfields are considered front runners in the race to land the team, with a move to either firm made easier as all three are located in the same building, the Kollhoff-Tower on Potsdamer Platz in central Berlin. An ex-partner of a firm competing for the office said: ‘Olswang’s Berlin office has always done well and was financially sound. I understand they’ve taken the initiative to move.’
The move could see up to 19 of the firm’s partners exit, although Olswang said in June that ‘the decoupling of the Berlin office from the wider firm will take place in a carefully controlled manner over the coming months’. Olswang is now looking to focus on its TMT operations and develop its German practice from Munich, which it bolstered also in June with corporate partner Robert Heym, hired from Graf von Westphalen.
The Berlin split stems from discord with the London office after the surprise departure of Stewart last October, following rifts with other partners on strategy, upgrading elements of the firm, office expansions and firm spending. Stewart recently reappeared in Turks and Caicos as a partner at offshore firm Griffiths & Partners.
His leadership had seen the firm attempt to develop its TMT brand into less certain and more challenging territory as it strived to establish itself as a broader corporate adviser with a credible international footprint – a move that many thought the firm failed to pull off.
But while the Berlin office’s departure is tied to discontent with management, other international firms have also been trimming their German operations of late. In April, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe closed its offering in the German capital as well as its outpost in Frankfurt, while Clifford Chance has seen a stream of German partners leaving since the turn of the year.
sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk, jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk