Pinsents ends Dusseldorf alliance as EY Law links grow

Dusseldorf firm Hoffmann Liebs Fritsch & Partner has announced it will sever its alliance with Pinsent Masons before the year-end.

The alliance, formed in May 2002 by legacy Pinsent Curtis Biddle, is set to be terminated prior to the new year, after Hoffmann decided its relationship with Pinsent Masons was of no benefit.

The move came after Pinsent Masons formed a best friends relationship with former EY Law member Luther Menold in May, in a bid to strengthen its links with Germany. The firm is finalising details of its alliance with a number of former EY Law firms throughout Europe.

In a statement issued by Hoffmann, the firm announced it had increased its international alliances and no longer required an exclusive relationship with Pinsent Masons.

“Due to the international connections of Hoffmann Liebs Fritsch & Partner that have increased during the past five years through career changers and the extension of our consultancy business the cooperation in the form of an exclusive alliance is no longer beneficial.”

Pinsent Masons international operations partner Tony Bunch said the firm wasn’t surprised by the announcement.

“As they say, the relationship was formed by Biddle and it was purely a directional change,” he said. “Certainly we do have an alliance with Luther Menold and perhaps that had something to do with the decision, but it doesn’t come as a surprise at all.”