CMS was the first in a suite of law firms including Pinsent Masons and Stephenson Harwood understood to have been considering expanding into Iran once the market opened up for foreign business. CMS’ newest office, headed by its German practice CMS Hasche Sigle, opened on 1 February in Tehran’s Navak Tower, where the German Chamber of Foreign Trade is also headquartered. Leading the new Tehran team will be German-Iranian energy partner Shaghayegh Smousavi and corporate partner Jürgen Frodermann, who has extensive experience advising German-Iranian clients from CMS Hasche Sigle’s base in Germany. Both partners have relocated from Dusseldorf. With the office now open for business, multinationals and larger SMEs, including Iranian companies, will make up the bulk of the client base for the new Tehran team. ‘It’s [another] milestone for our firm in the development of innovative and cross-border legal services,’ commented CMS Hasche Sigle managing partner Hubertus Kolster. Sources: The Lawyer; Legal Week