Growth in Germany: DLA Piper expands significantly at counsel level

Following the appointment of four new partners as of 1 May 2024, DLA Piper has promoted a total of 12 lawyers to counsel with effect from 1 July 2024, supporting the firm’s ambitious growth strategy in Germany.

The newly promoted counsels include Juliane Poss (Frankfurt) and Sophie von Mandelsloh (Hamburg) from the Corporate practice group, Eike Bodo Matthes (Frankfurt) and Dr Holger Kastler (Munich) from the Intellectual Property & Technology practice group, Christian Köhli, Christina Welpot (both Munich), Dr Markus Kaul and Dr Nadine Pieper (both Cologne) from the Litigation & Regulatory practice group, Dr Catharina Voß, Markus Kotowski and Philipp Moser (all Munich) from the Real Estate practice group and Dr Katharina Marx (Frankfurt) from the Tax practice group.

In the Corporate group, Juliane Poss advises domestic and international companies and banks on initial public offerings, bond issuances as well as on stock corporation law and corporate reorganisations. Sophie von Mandelsloh advises clients on complex international M&A transactions. She also has extensive experience in advising on cross-border joint ventures and entries into new markets.

As a new counsel in the IP practice, Eike Bodo Matthes advises on IP, trade secrets and unfair competition law specialising in complex IP disputes as well as technology and know-how licensing matters. Dr Holger Kastler specialises in IT law, in particular cybersecurity, as well as contractual and strategic advice on technical IP rights and focuses on companies in the IT and technology sector, increasingly in the field of space tech.

In Litigation & Regulatory, our four new counsels represent clients in complex national and international legal disputes and arbitration proceedings. Christian Köhli focuses on disputes in the fields of commercial and corporate law, D&O liability and antitrust. Christina Welpot focuses on commercial and corporate law, represents clients particularly in mass proceedings and develops Legal Tech solutions for these proceedings. Dr Markus Kaul focuses his practice on disputes in the automotive and IT sectors as well as in the area of liability law for professionals (lawyers, notaries, tax consultants, auditors) and also acts as an arbitrator. Dr Nadine Pieper advises insurance companies on all issues of liability and insurance law with a focus on cyber, D&O and W&I insurance.

The Real Estate team in Munich is expanding with Dr Catharina Voß as counsel, who is specialised in real estate asset management and real estate litigation. Markus Kotowski is a real estate lawyer with a focus on the hospitality sector. In particular, Markus advises on the leasing, acquisition, development, franchising, management and financing of hotels, representing owners, operators and brands. Philipp Moser advises on real estate transactions and development while having his sweet spot and focus on the asset class data centers and all related legal matters.

As part of the Tax practice, Dr Katharina Marx advises on all matters of domestic and international tax law, in particular in relation to all aspects with regard to investment funds and asset management structures as well as tax aspects regarding the structuring of real estate investments.

“We congratulate our colleagues on their promotions and are proud to strengthen the German practice by promoting such a large group of talented lawyers from within our own ranks,” said Dr Kai Bodenstedt and Dr Martin Haller, Co-Managing Partners of DLA Piper in Germany.

Combination of organic growth and lateral hires

The internal growth was boosted in particular by the addition of eight external counsels in the past financial year, including most recently Christina Valdini, Dr Marcus Lerch (both Litigation, Hamburg) and, as of 1 July 2024, Nicole Saurin (Litigation, Munich). Further new hires in the financial year included Dr Philipp Kynast (Corporate/M&A, Dusseldorf), Jörn Manhart (Employment/Pensions, Dusseldorf), Tobias Daubert (Finance, Frankfurt), Dr Ute Brunner-Reumann (senior counsel, Finance/Regulatory, Frankfurt) and Dr Christine Merkel (Litigation, Frankfurt).

“In addition to our organic growth, we are continuously strengthening our team, particularly at counsel level, through outstanding lateral hires, further expanding specific practice areas,” added Dr Kai Bodenstedt and Dr Martin Haller.