Bakers opens funds-focused Luxembourg office
Baker & McKenzie today opens its 68th office, launching a base in Luxembourg as it looks to capitalise on the expected boom in investment fund activity in the country.
John Conroy
The new office will be staffed by all 15 lawyers from Luxembourg firm Findling Collin Fessmann (FCF), which will cease to operate, along with five tax advisers from Ernst & Young. The office will focus on corporate, M&A, banking, funds and cross-border tax structuring. The firm predicts EU regulation such as the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive will make the country a key centre for managing investment funds.
FCF was set up last year by partners Jean-Francois Findling, Raphaël Collin and Laurent Fessmann after they left Luxembourg firm Noble & Scheideker. The office will be led by Findling alongside Ernst & Young’s André Pesch, who will also lead the team of tax advisers.
Baker & McKenzie global chairman John Conroy said: “The establishment of the office is an important step for our firm’s efforts to strengthen our service offerings for clients. Many of our clients in the corporate and financial services sectors have entities or funds registered in Luxembourg.”
European chairman Koen Vanhaerents added: “The firm already has what’s acknowledged to be one of the leading positions in the region and we have an excellent platform to put our decades of experience to work for clients looking to grow and enhance the profitability of their business.”
Luxembourg will be the first office Baker & McKenzie has opened in Europe since it launched in Vienna in 2003, and its newest office in the EMEA region since Abu Dhabi in 2009.
