Covington & Burling Absorbs German Firm for Frankfurt Launch

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Bear and bull statues stand outside the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, on Monday, April 24, 2017. (Photo: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg)[/caption] Covington & Burling said Wednesday that it will open an office in Frankfurt, Germany, next week, as it continues its European expansion outside the United Kingdom in the aftermath of Brexit. The new office will include six partners joining from Frankfurt-based Heymann & Partner Rechtsanwälte, ending its run as an independent German firm. Those lawyers will work alongside two Covington partners from the firm's New York and Belgium offices. "Covington will be a fantastic platform to further develop our technology and transaction practices," said Thomas Heymann, founder of Heymann & Partner, in a statement. "This will be a great fit." After 12 years practicing together at their own German firm, Heymann said he and his partners believe their clients will benefit from Covington's reach in the United States, Asia and United Kingdom. In addition to Heymann, whose practice focuses on M&A, the Frankfurt-based lawyers in Covington's new office are Henning Bloss, Jörn Hirschmann, Lars Lensdorf, Moritz Hüsch and Walter Born. They will be joined by Adem Koyuncu from Brussels and Philipp Tamussino from New York. The Covington outpost will primarily tackle corporate issues, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, finance, restructurings, outsourcing and other technology transactions. The European expansion comes as Washington-based Covington and other firms grapple with Brexit's impact on global business. Covington added a base in Dublin, Ireland, last year, tapping Beauchamps of counsel Maree Gallagher to staff its Irish team. Frankfurt appears to be a logical outpost for Covington, as the city remains one of the most important financial hubs outside the United Kingdom in Europe and remains an attractive destination for many of the largest global firms. "There is a strong, untapped opportunity for Covington with German clients because of our firm’s exceptional strengths in high-risk U.S., EU and Chinese regulation and enforcement issues," said Louise Nash, a London partner and member of the firm's management committee, in a statement. Covington's international expansion into the United Arab Emirates and South Africa helped the firm grow its gross revenues by more than $100 million last year, according to ALM data.