Linklaters hires spur lockstep reform
The Lawyer has learned that German hopes are that the review will be concluded within the next 18 months.
The change in policy was triggered two weeks ago by Linklaters’ cull of as many as 11 Cologne partners and the hire of the two senior Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer laterals Ralph Wollburg and Achim Kirchfeld on an off-lockstep top-of-equity deal.
Wollburg and Kirchfeld are the first two German partners who are “in parity with their equivalents on the London remuneration structure,” said Linklaters’ managing partner-elect Simon Davies.
Davies added: "It has long been the firm's intention to bring the two structures together and we will see this changing over time."
Sources in Germany have confirmed that there is no definite timetable for finalising the review but that it is hoped that within 18 months the German partners could fall in line with the full English lockstep and plateau.
Notwithstanding the firm’s recent corporate and M&A strategic re-alignment in Germany, The Lawyer was told that the change will be not discriminate between partners of different departments.
A plateau partnership at Linklaters is worth around £1.618m. The two rainmaker lateral hires Wollburg and Kirchfeld were on a plateau level at Freshfields of £1.1m. They will be starting a new office for Linklaters in Düsseldorf and are expected to take around 13 of the Cologne offices partners with them. Eleven of the Cologne partners are unlikely to join though discussions are ongoing.
Readers' comments (2)
German lawyer | 12-Oct-2007 12:08 pm
Linklaters
Linklaters have just used Wollburg and Kirchfeld as an excuse to realign the German practice. Those two would not have moved to Cologne, so Cologne has moved to them!
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Anonymous | 12-Oct-2007 2:12 pm
Cologne Office of Linklaters
Cologne had been the main office for Oppenhoff & Rädler which was founded as Boden Oppenhoff & Partner exactly 100 years ago in Cologne. Linklaters did not like Cologne from the first day because it was in a somewhat offbeat location and its partners had the head office approach.
Now, Linklaters is losing some older partners and those who appear to have never fit into Linklaters at all, but the main losers might be the middle field with the so-called managing associates.
In any event this is a betrayal at all German partners in Cologne who voted for the merger with Linklaters some years ago. The completely new offices in Cologne, which opened about two years ago, are going to need to be closed down with many employees sacked. What a birthday gift to the Cologne office!
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