DLA Piper sets 150-lawyer target for Germany offices
DLA Piper sets 150-lawyer target for Germany offices" />
DLA Piper is embarking on an ambitious growth strategy in Germany, drawing up plans to boost its number of lawyers in the region by 50 per cent.
The firm currently has 100 lawyers in Germany, but regional managing partner Ulrich Juengst has plans to hit 150 through multiple hires from Anglo-Saxon rivals.
DLA Piper is on the hunt for banking and real estate partners in Frankfurt and Munich.
"We need at least 150 lawyers to be competitive. I spend all my days in interviews at the moment for partners in Frankfurt and Munich," said Juengst. "I talk to so many people at Freshfields [Bruckhaus Deringer] and Linklaters."
DLA Piper has already hired Professor Erich Samson as of counsel from the prestigious Bucerius Law School to kick-start the firm's white-collar crime practice in Hamburg.
To support its growth, DLA Piper is also considering the launch of a fifth German office within a few years, following its Munich opening this month.
Juengst said: "I think in the long term we'll also have some presence in Berlin. From an economic view, it's a bit depressed, but that might be different in 10 years.
Juengst added that the Berlin opening could be within as little as two years.
