Bird & Bird has raided Gassner Stockmann & Kollegen in Germany, hiring banking and finance partner Bertold Frisch for its Frankfurt operation.

The firm opened its Frankfurt office in August last year, with the aim of breaking into the lucrative financial services sector. Bird & Bird will look to Frisch, who specializes in real estate and acquisition finance, to boost its presence in the German financial capital.

Alexander Schröder-Frerkes, Vice Chairman of Bird & Bird’s German offices said: “His appointment will really help drive forward the growth of finance work in Germany.”

Frisch joined Gassner Stockmann & Kollegen as a partner in 2005 from Allen & Overy. He started his career in house at Deutsche Bank and moved to work at Landesbank Schleswig-Holstein.