Leading European competition and technology regulation law firm Geradin Partners has announced its expansion into Germany with the opening of new offices in Berlin and Cologne, set to launch in September 2025.

The move marks a milestone in the firm’s growth, bringing its total headcount to more than 50 legal and advisory staff, including 15 partners across seven EU and UK business centres.

The German expansion will be led by two prominent antitrust partners – Thomas Höppner, who has joined from Hausfeld, and Thomas Funke, who has moved over from Osborne Clarke.

Both have joined Geradin Partners along with their teams, bringing extensive experience in antitrust litigation and digital regulation.

“Germany is the largest economy in the EU and a key forum for public competition law enforcement, tech regulation and private antitrust litigation,” said founding partner Damien Geradin.

“Berlin is not only Germany’s capital but an epicentre of digital and media innovation, while Cologne is home to some of Germany’s largest companies and is close to the Federal Cartel Office and competition courts.”

Funke, formerly international co-head of competition at Osborne Clarke, brings more than two decades of experience in high-stakes cartel damages actions and regulatory investigations, and leaves the firm after 16 years as a partner.

“Geradin Partners has become the go-to European firm for complex antitrust and tech regulation cases,” Funke said. “Its rise to a powerhouse for competition litigation, and the results delivered, are a testament to its expertise and innovative approach.”

Funke also praised his new colleagues, adding he looked forward to working with Höppner, “whose cutting-edge work in significant tech cases I have always admired greatly”.

He said clients would also benefit from the experience of other founding team members, such as Ghazale Mandegarian-Fricke, calling her “a stellar competition expert”.

Höppner, who has left Hausfeld after 10 years, is known for his work in digital regulation and platform litigation. He has represented clients in landmark cases involving Alphabet, Apple, Amazon and Meta, and noted that his new firm was a “driving force” in such litigation.

He added: “Germany is an increasingly important jurisdiction when enforcing the competition rules and the DMA, including for damages.”

Höppner’s experience combines his time at Hausfeld with stints at legacy Olswang and Hogan Lovells, as well as senior academic antitrust appointments.

Höppner also emphasised the strength of the incoming team, including counsel Philipp Westerhoff and Johannes Wick, who he called “two next-generation competition litigation stars who have advised clients in multiple complicated investigations and private enforcement actions”. 

His former firm announced the arrival in London last week of Belinda Hollway from Scott + Scott, in a significant expansion of its London collective actions practice.

Geradin Partners has seen steady international expansion throughout 2025. In January, it hired leading Brussels antitrust lawyer Trevor Soames as a partner from Quinn Emanuel, while Jennifer Reeves joined the London office as a partner in May from Macfarlanes, where she served as a senior associate.

Mikko Alkio and Christian Wik were also recruited to lead the firm’s Helsinki office, which opened in late 2024 and has expanded this year. Last month the duo added Tuomas Pöysti, the former Finnish Chancellor of Justice, as a senior counsel to lead the firm’s investigations practice alongside the former Mayor of Helsinki, Jan Vapaavuori, who joined in April.

News of the firm’s German launch comes as some international firms scale down their operations in the country. Goodwin Procter confirmed earlier this month it will pull out of Frankfurt and cut its German real estate team, while Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is set to exit the city later this year.

However, other firms have been building their German presence recently, including Kirkland & Ellis, which opened an office in Frankfurt last year. Wilkie Farr & Gallagher also set up shop in Munich in 2024 to boost its private equity and insurance transactions coverage in the country.