Germany’s changing markets have led to international law firm Clifford Chance closing its Berlin office.
Hans-Josef Schneider, the managing partner of the German offices, said that the firm had made the decision because maintaining an office in Berlin no longer “fitted into the firm’s overall strategy”.
He said: “The Berlin market has changed in a way that it was no longer in accord with our concept. The decision was made in Germany, but in close contact and co-operation with the international management.”
Among the office’s 31 lawyers and nine partners affected by the decision are real estate partners Elke Holthausen-Dux, Jan Lindner-Figura, and Sabine and Wolfgang Usinger.
The firm has three divisions, with four partners in each of the property and corporate sectors, and one partner practising in tax law.
The planned closure is scheduled for April or May 2005.