White & Case is set to close its Munich office, with its 11-lawyer team being given the option to relocate to Frankfurt.

The firm’s Munich office is currently home to partners Markus Langen and Tobias Freiherr von Tucher, with Langen also acting from White & Case’s Frankfurt base. 

 

It is understood the office is closing due to its small size, with its two partners, five local partners and four associates all being offered the opportunity to relocate to Frankfurt. 

As well as Frankfurt, the firm also has German offices in Berlin, Hamburg and Düsseldorf, with a firm spokesperson saying “we have decided to focus on consolidating and strengthening our offering in these four locations”.

White & Case launched in Munich 10 years ago after it poached a five lawyer team, including von Tucher, from Haarmann Hemmelrath. 

In Europe this year, the firm has seen four partner exits from its Warsaw office, just six months after its 50-strong Budapest office joined Dentons. 

However, it also hired two Clifford Chance partners in Düsseldorf following multiple exits from the magic circle firm in Germany. 

Clifford Chance, Latham & Watkins and Ashurst have all seen German partner departures in recent months, with Latham recently losing its third Munich partner in fourth months and Goodwin Procter hiring four Ashurst partners for its Frankfurt launch.

Other firms to have pulled out of German cities recently include Olswang, which “decoupled” its Berlin office earlier this year. The team moved to Greenberg Traurig, which opened in Germany as a result of the hires.

Meanwhile Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe is shutting down in Berlin and Frankfurt, Sidley Austin closed Frankfurt last year and Shearman & Sterling pulled out of Düsseldorf and Munich in 2013.