Cologne
Until recently, Cologne's legal market was seen as firmly established. At the beginning of 2008, however, this was dealt a blow when Linklaters decided to close its traditional Cologne office and relocate to Düsseldorf. A group made up of predominantly older partners decided to remain together and re-form Oppenhoff & Partner with around 40 lawyers and thus rebuild the office's main tradition around seven years after the international merger with Linklaters. For months these events were the topic of much discussion and numerous Cologne firms were already considering prominent lateral hires. Even though the partners stayed together in the end, firms such as Mayer Brown and Avocado Rechtsanwälte were able to turn this phase of uncertainty to their advantage and add a few lawyers to their ranks. Many of those in the market believe the new competitor with the well-established name has good prospects. "Oppenhoff has a team of highly qualified lawyers, long-standing client relationships and the infrastructure of a much larger firm", says a Cologne lawyer. However, most people see the firm's age structure as being one of the most pressing issues in the years to come. The events also gave rise to a debate about Cologne as a location. "The city is not an ideal basis for an international firm", says one lawyer who recently moved to Düsseldorf. Although an extremely successful quartet of international firms are represented in Cologne in the shape of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, DLA Piper and Mayer Brown and although these report a considerably more relaxed situation in terms of the search for new talent, Düsseldorf currently has a strong impact. Established Cologne firms, such as Axer Partnerschaft and Leinen & Derichs followed other strategic goals with their plans to expand to Berlin. Close contacts to governmental associations and public authorities are high on the agenda at both firms.