Morrison & Foerster has been considering going into Germany for over a decade. This week it made the announcement that it is finally opening its Berlin office and that it is expanding group brought over from Hogan Lovells.
According to the American Lawyer, “all nine partners in Hogan’s Berlin office, and regulatory lawyer Chrisoph Wagner have agreed to make the move along with 20 associates and counsel and roughly 30 staff who are expected to follow.”Though negotiations are still underway for the smaller details, the plan is assured, and this marks Morrison & Foerster’s 3rd European office opening, and its 17th office open worldwide, according to Law.com.
Firm Chair Larren Nashelsky mentioned that he was approached by a longtime friend and partner who asked if he’d “consider hiring the group.” Nashelsky realized that this could be the right opportunity. He comments, “this is a practice-driven, industry focused, geographic fit for us.” He goes on to say that establishing a presence in Germany’s capital will allow the firm to “expand its work for the technology companies that make up the core of the firm’s client base.” He finalizes by saying that a lot of the technology deals in Germany were out of reach insofar as they didn’t have a German presence. Once they attained the new office along with the right experienced group, they are in a better position to serve clients in a growing IP business where they can add value and continue to grow.
Hogan Lovells commented that the leaving group’s office had brought in “less than ten percent of the firm’s revenue in Germany,” and that Hogan has 74 partners across Munich, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, and Hamburg. They comment that overall, their German offices are performing very well. CEO of Hogan Lovells, David Harris said in a statement, the “move was planned earlier and agreed to” and that “this is a very cohesive group; the entire office moved [as] we would expect.”
Morrison & Foerster LLP is a full service law firm with more than 1,000 lawyers in 16 offices. Their practice areas include corporate transactions, financial services and regulation, life sciences law, and IP litigation. Hogan Lovells is an international law firm co-headquartered in London and Washington D.C. Hogan is a global legal practice that helps corporations, financial institutions and government entities across the spectrum of critical business and legal issues with over 2500 lawyers in over 40 offices in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia.