Ashurst has hired a three-lawyer team from Baker McKenzie’s banking and finance group in Germany.
The team is being led by German banking and finance head Martin Kaiser, who has worked at Baker McKenzie for 13 years.
He will be taking two associates with him – Sahra Demirbilek and Stephan Lehnen. Demirbilek joined Bakers in 2014, while Lehnen has been with the firm throughout his career.
Kaiser advises banks and corporations on various aspects of banking and finance law, including Société Générale, HSBC, Citi Group, Volkswagen Bank and Mizuho.
He specialises in securitisation work, particularly the securitisation of automobile loans and trade receivables.
Ashurst’s German practice has been hit by a number of departures in the last two years, including four partner exits to Goodwin Procter in November 2015. The group worked on real estate, finance and private equity deals in Frankfurt.
Earlier this year, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher recruited Munich finance partner Sebastian Schoon, who had been a partner at Ashurst since 2011.
Ashurst has two offices in Germany – Frankfurt and Munich. The Frankfurt office consists of 14 partners, while Ashurst’s comparatively newer Munich base houses five.
Earlier this week, Bakers lost another team in Continental Europe to Dentons. The latter firm recruited a four partner group, comprised of two partners, to launch a tax practice in the Netherlands.
