CC's ins and outs shake it all about

So what exactly is going on at Clifford Chance's Frankfurt office? Last month the firm was dealt a heavy blow when two of its most highly rated German corporate partners, Mario Schmidt and Georg Linde, decided to leave the firm to join Willkie Farr & Gallagher in Frankfurt.

Then we hear that Linde has decided to stay at the firm (www.thelawyer.com, 5 January) while Schmidt has stuck to his word and is off to the US firm.

Yet Clifford Chance's sigh of relief may be short-lived. Just as Linde says he is staying, it is announced that Stephan Gitterman, former Clifford Chance counsel, is to leave the firm to join Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw.

Sources within Clifford Chance suggest that the firm's Frankfurt offering is not quite stable at the moment, so watch this space for more movement.