Morgan Lewis opens second Germany office

Morgan Lewis is set to expand its German presence by opening an office in Munich.

The office will comprise 20 lawyers and advisers joining from Shearman & Sterling’s Munich office.

Three partners will head the launch: Florian Ziegler, leveraged finance partner; Jann Jetter, leader of the tax advisory practice; and Florian Harder, head of Shearman Sterling’s German offices and M&A/PE partner.

Ziegler will split his time between Morgan Lewis’s Munich office and the already established Frankfurt office. He specialises in Germany-based and cross-border leveraged finance transactions, including acquisition financing and corporate loans, the issuance of high yield notes and structured finance products. He represents traditional non-US banks and non-bank direct lenders, as well as private equity funds as borrowers in acquisition finance. Ziegler is also a civil notary.

Jetter manages a team of tax lawyers and advisers, with experience regarding tax-oriented structuring of private equity funds and private equity transactions, and post-deal reorganisations and integrations. He also coordinates management participation programmes for strategic corporates, in addition to advising on ongoing group tax law matters, such as binding rulings, tax audits and appeal proceedings.

Harder will assume the role of managing partner in the Munich office. He specialises in complex M&A transactions in both German and cross-border deals, with experience in venture capital transactions, joint ventures, corporate restructurings and representing management and supervisory boards on corporate law matters.

The launch of the Munich office builds upon Morgan Lewis’s 34-year presence in Frankfurt, with currently more than 20 lawyers based there, who advise on complex cross-border transactions and financings, private equity, tax, UK and EU antitrust matters, banking, labour and employment, and dispute resolution, among other areas.

Chair of the firm, Jami McKeon, commented: “We have diligently eyed this market for some time to find the right high-calibre team that builds on our existing practice while adding to our strong culture of collaboration. We anticipate that the entire office, including the business professional team, will join us – enabling our new Munich office to operate at full speed on day one.”