Herbert Smith's German ally shuts in Central Europe

Herbert Smith ally Gleiss Lutz has pulled out of the Czech Republic and Poland, with Austrian firm Schoenherr taking over its offices.

Schoenherr will take over Gleiss Lutz's Prague and Warsaw offices in the new year while simultaneously launching its own office in Bratislava.

Gleiss Lutz opened its Prague and Warsaw offices in 1992 and 1998 respectively. Four of its partners, two in each office, will join Schoenherr as part of the transfer deal.

In Prague partners Martin Nedelka and Martin Kubánek will move over to the Austrian firm, while in Warsaw partners Pawel Siekierzynski and Przemyslaw Pietrzak will join Schoenherr along with counsel Torsten Bogen.

Rainer Loges, managing partner of Gleiss Lutz, said: "To be successful as a law firm, you regularly have to review your strategy.

"We opened our offices in Prague and Warsaw initially to help our clients enter these markets. Today, our clients' demands have changed and we believe that our clients' needs will be better served by aligning our Eastern European offices with a firm whose strategic focus is on CEE [Central and Eastern Europe]."

For more on Central Europe, read this week's Central Europe special report.