Hammonds shelves Munich base following Eversheds raid

The firm will close its office on 31 March, relocating its remaining lawyers to Berlin and the UK.

As reported by The Lawyer last year Hammonds will enter into a three-year referral relationship with the Munich office of patent law firm Gulde Hengelhaupt Ziebig & Schneider (GHZS) for all patent prosecution and patent litigation matters (20 October 2009).

All other work will be transferred to the firm’s Berlin office.

The closure of the office comes after Hammonds lost Munich office head Herbert Kunz and partner Michael Schneider to Eversheds in October, followed by litigation and licensing partner Hosea Haag and two associates in November (30 November 2009).

Of the eight lawyers remaining in Hammonds’ Munich office, four have so far agreed to stay with the firm.

Philipp Süss, Hammonds’ sole remaining partner in Munich, will relocate to Berlin along with some associates. Other associates are expected to move to London, while some will leave the firm entirely.

Hammonds managing partner Peter Crossley said: “It’s a matter of regret that we have had to close the Munich office, but we believe the alliance with GHZS will broaden the range of services we can offer clients in this field.”