Weil hikes German capability with Munich base

Weil Gotshal & Manges has continued its European expansion with the launch of a Munich office. The firm, which already has an office in Frankfurt, will open
its Munich branch at the beginning of next month.

Tax partner Tobias Geerling will be relocated to Munich, while managing partner for Germany Gerhard Schmidt will divide his time equally between Munich and Frankfurt. The office will offer private equity, public and private M&A, distressed M&A and litigation advice.

Weil has spoken to a number of potential partner laterals since last year, but has been unsuccessful. Schmidt said: “None of the partners we spoke to could bring business because their clients were very institutionalised. We decided to get a number of very senior associates instead.”

The office will open with 13 associates recruited from Shearman & Sterling and two Munich firms. This will give it a high leverage ratio, but the intention is to make up some of the senior associates.

Weil already does a significant amount of work for Munich-based clients
out of its Frankfurt office. According to Schmidt, in 2003, 25 per cent of the German practice’s work was for Munich clients, one of the biggest of which is
Saban Capital Group, which bought ProSiebenSat1 Media last year.