Dewey scoops senior partners from Linklaters, Nörr for Frankfurt

Dewey Ballantine has boosted its Frankfurt office with the high-profile hires of former Linklaters Oppenhoff & Rädler senior partner Rudolf Cölle along with Nörr Stiefenhofer Lutz partner Bernd Fahrholz

According to German website Juve, the partners will join Dewey later this year. They join a 20-strong office with six partners. The hires follow last year’s recruitment of Shearman & Sterling tax star Hanno Berger in April 2004.

Colle stepped down as senior partner at Linklaters last year following three years in the post in order to return to client work. He was a partner at legacy firm Oppenhoff & Rädler and was a driving force behind its merger with Linklaters.

Fahrholz only joined Nörr at the end of last year, but according to Juve sources, he is set to join Dewey in October 2005. Until 2003 he was the chief executive of Dresdner Bank, having joined the legal department in 1977.

The hires of Cölle and Fahrholz mark a significant step forward for Dewey’s Frankfurt office, which opened in 2002.