Pinsent Masons has bolstered its bench in Germany with the hire of a trio of partners from Dentons.

Public sector and EU law partners Andreas Haak and Dr Lars Hettich have joined the firm in Dusseldorf alongside corporate partner Dr Michael Krömker. The trio is joined by EU and state aid legal director Dr Barbara Thiemann and a team of associates. 

“We are excited to welcome our new team as the firm continues to build out its strategic focus in Germany and across Europe,” said Pinsents’ head of Germany, Thomas Peschke. “With an excellent track record on both domestic and multinational mandates, our new partners and legal director will be an asset to our firm in supporting our multinational client base as we double down on developing our German practice.” 

Haak has joined after nearly five years at Dentons, where he was Dusseldorf office managing partner and co-head of the firm’s public sector group. He specialises in EU law, public procurement and state aid law alongside trade compliance matters as well as advising on privatisation and public-private partnership transactions. At Pinsents he will take on responsibility for strategic business development and, with Dr Anke Empting, will lead the public law team within the German competition, EU and trade practice. 

Meantime Hettich specialises in public commercial law, state aid and public funding, advising predominantly public sector bodies on the implementation of complex domestic and multinational procurement projects. He joined Haak’s team at Dentons in 2021, having previously worked at German firm Advant Beiten. 

Krömker’s corporate practice covers matters including cross-border M&A, joint ventures and corporate reorganisation, with a focus on the energy and infrastructure sector. He began his career at Linklaters and before joining Dentons in 2020 was a partner at Luther. 

Pinsents kick-started its presence in Germany back in 2012 when it opened in Munich and since 2016 has also set up shop in Frankfurt and Dusseldorf. The hires from Dentons replenish the firm’s ranks in Germany, where it has recently seen several partner departures including that of Munich office founding partner Dr Nina Leonard, who joined Addleshaw Goddard last month alongside fellow corporate M&A partner Christian Lang. 

Pinsents’ said its three German offices now have 31 partners and more than 70 legal directors and associates advising clients across its core sectors of energy, infrastructure, financial services, real estate and technology, science and industry.

Pinsents’ managing partner, Laura Cameron, said: “As a multinational business developing our pan-European capabilities it is vital to maintain a strong cross-border presence that enables us to collaborate with clients on strategic projects. 

“Our Dusseldorf office plays an important role in our European network and we’re confident that Michael, Andreas, Lars and Barbara will enable us to further strengthen our German presence.”

A spokesperson for Dentons confirmed the departures, adding that Germany employment and labour practice co-head Sascha Grosjean had taken over as managing partner of its Dusseldorf office at the start of October. Grosjean co-founded the office in 2019; since then it has grown to house 45 lawyers including 13 partners. 

Dentons saw its own team departure in Germany last month when M&A partners Dr Thomas Dörmer and Dr Tim Heitling joined Hogan Lovells’ corporate and finance practice in Berlin alongside a pair of counsel and associates.