Law Firm Freshfields Adds More Bases in Germany to Service Big Scale & More News Here

The bases add to the agency’s debut in Münster final 12 months, and intention to understand efficiencies in Germany’s rising mass litigations market by finding nearer to regional courts, in accordance to individuals on the agency. Though the agency has but to put a determine on new hires, it expects extra headcount to quantity in ”the three digits”.

“We are trying to redefine what an office means to us,” mentioned Hans-Patrick Schroeder, a disputes, litigation and arbitration accomplice at Freshfields. “We still see the office as a communal place where people meet and exchange ideas, but we’re extending the tether.”

While it isn’t widespread for Big Law practices to set up areas exterior main centres corresponding to Berlin or Frankfurt, the arrival of versatile working preparations has opened up new recruitment avenues and totally different types of working.

“There are areas where some people want to live, without relocating to big cities, while at the same time, competition from Big Law is practically non-existent in these towns,” Schroeder mentioned. 

Schroeder was one of many companions to have guided Volkswagen by the courtroom proceedings that spun out of the ‘Dieselgate’ emissions-cheating scandal that unravelled in 2015.

The areas will differ to the standard workplace, as they won’t immediately serve shoppers, however will as a substitute service the agency’s rising mass litigation unit. The areas have been chosen for his or her proximity to regional courts that at the moment are dealing with mass litigation. 

“With mass claims, the real bottleneck is physically attending court,” Schroeder mentioned. “If you can position a team in a location that does not require hours on the road, you gain efficiencies.” 

Mass litigation is a steadily rising space in Germany, with a number of corporations forming mass litigation models in the previous 12 months, together with Fieldfisher in Berlin and Deloitte Legal (becoming a member of forces with German boutique agency Frommer Legal) in Munich. 

Schroeder emphasised it’s nonetheless early, so precisely how these new areas will take form will take time, however he believes the system will present an essential conduit between working from dwelling and “legacy offices”.

“You still have instill culture,” he mentioned. “People want to get to know each other.”

‘Mass claims’ have gotten extra distinguished in Europe, and contain a looser set of authorized designations than, for instance, class actions, which entail extra inflexible circumstances when it comes to courtroom proceedings.

In February, KPMG Law mentioned it was rolling out “recruiting hubs” in smaller workplaces throughout Germany, together with Nuremberg, Bielefeld and Freiburg, citing the shortage of different main legislation corporations in the areas.