Top firms broaden European horizons

CROSS-BORDER: Allen & Overy, Pinsent Curtis, and SJ Berwin in strategic moves

A busy week of European wheeler-dealing has seen Allen & Overy boost its presence in Belgium, Pinsent Curtis move into Sweden, and SJ Berwin set up shop in Munich.

City firm Allen & Overy announced that it will swallow up 21 Belgian partners from Loeff Claeys Verbeke in January, giving it more than 300 Benelux lawyers.

As first revealed in the Gazette, a large chunk of the employment group has been hived off in the process (see [2000] Gazette, 14 September, 6).

They are leaving to set up a boutique domestic employment firm called Claeys & Engles.

Loeff Belgium's chairman, Louis Verbeke, said: 'We are establishing a leading Benelux practice, working again with many of our former Loeff colleagues from the Netherlands and Luxembourg who joined Allen & Overy at the beginning of this year.'

Benelux giant Loeff split into three parts this year when its Amsterdam and Luxembourg offices merged with Allen & Overy, its former ally, while the Rotterdam office merged with a domestic firm.

Meanwhile, Pinsents has entered into a strategic alliance with top ten Swedish firm Magnusson Wahlin.

The two have agreed an exclusive referral relationship along with a series of measures to align their IT, client service and training infrastructure.

A programme of secondments is also being created.

However, while not ruled out, a merger is not currently on the agenda.

Magnusson Wahlin, a 60-lawyer firm with three Swedish offices, recently merged with 20-lawyer Polish practice Lepkowski Tokaj Boszko, giving Pinsent Curtis access to the Baltic market.

'The alliance enables us to leverage our expertise in several key markets to the benefit of our existing clients,' said Pinsent's senior partner, Julian Tonks.

Pinsent's 'Chosen Markets' strategy, unveiled earlier this year, identified Germany and Scandanavia as the key markets to enhance its international practice.

SJ Berwin swooped on Baker & McKenzie in Germany to set up its Munich office.

Key members of Baker & McKenzie's leading German private equity team are to set up a 'Silicon Valley' style operation named SJ Berwin Knopf Tulloch Steininger.

Dr Uwe Steininger, who will head SJ Berwin's Munich team, has quit as the US firm's head of German venture capital to lead the start-up with another partner.

SJ Berwin's Berlin office, SJ Berwin Knopf Tulloch - which specialises in private equity work - has been boosted with the addition of Baker & McKenzie partner Dr Frank Vogel.

SJ Berwin also has a Frankfurt office.

Anne Mizzi