Clifford Chance (CC) has boosted its European disputes bench with the hire of a 15-strong class actions team in Frankfurt from White & Case.
The team, led by partner Alexandra Diehl, has joined CC in Frankfurt. The move follows other recent partner hires to the disputes practice in Australia, Spain, Italy and the US, including in New York, where the firm hired commercial and securities litigation specialist Peter Isajiw earlier this year from King & Spalding.
Diehl, who previously practised at CC before joining White & Case in 2018, is recognised for her leadership in collective redress, advising on consumer and mass-tort claims. She also brings experience in arbitration, specifically investment arbitration, advising sovereign states.
Stefan Sax, CC’s managing partner, Germany, said: “Germany is rapidly becoming Europe’s epicentre for collective redress. This major team move deepens our bench and enhances our ability to support clients facing high-stakes, cross-border disputes.”
The senior members of the team joining Clifford Chance include Priscilla Tatschner and Lisa Becker, both of whom were local partners at White & Case, and Lucas Marlow, who was an associate at the firm. They will strengthen CC’s sector experience in regulated industries, especially healthcare and life sciences, as well as automotive and technology.
The group swells CC’s Frankfurt ranks to around 200 professionals. The firm also has offices in Düsseldorf and Munich, which together house around 140 lawyers, consultants and executives. Meanwhile, White & Case’s four German offices in Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Berlin and Hamburg have around 250 lawyers between them.
Matthew Newick, CC’s global head of litigation and dispute resolution, said the team’s hire “reflects our commitment to delivering world-class service in class actions and complex litigation. Their arrival, alongside recent appointments such as Brad Woodhouse, Maria Guinot, Francesca Gesualdi and Peter Isajiw, positions us to deliver seamless, high-quality advice across jurisdictions”.
Woodhouse joined the firm in Sydney in July as head of class actions for Australia from local heavyweight Corrs Chambers Westgarth. Meanwhile, Guinot, a commercial litigation specialist, came aboard in Madrid from Deloitte Legal in June, the same month Gesualdi joined in Milan from Cleary to boost the firm’s international arbitration and litigation offering, including in class actions.
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