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Munich, 27 April 2023 – Global law firm Reed Smith has announced the appointment of Dr. Nikolaus von Jacobs as partner and Christian von Sydow as senior counsel in the firm’s Munich office. They will both join on 2 May from McDermott Will & Emery (MWE).
Von Jacobs has been leading the German private equity activities of MWE, advising funds and strategic players on private equity, venture capital, and private and public M&A across a variety of industries, including technology, healthcare and life sciences. He has significant experience advising German clients on outbound transactions and international clients on capital deployments in Germany.
Prior to MWE, von Jacobs headed up Ashurst’s German private equity practice, he was an associate at Freshfields and in 2002 was seconded to Merrill Lynch in London where he focused on investment banking and European capital markets.
Also a partner in the Munich office of MWE following 10 years at Beiten Burkhardt, Christian von Sydow’s practice focuses on strategic and financial investors in the areas of corporate law, M&A, private equity, restructuring, and corporate conflict resolution. He regularly acts as an arbitrator in cases of impaired M&A transactions and on estate planning matters. Von Sydow has supported clients through initial public offerings, spin-offs, increases in capital, and mergers, as well as advising clients during joint venture negotiations.
Delphine Currie, Reed Smith partner and co-chair of the firm’s EME corporate practice, said: “M&A and private equity in particular are areas of strategic focus for Reed Smith and we’re extremely pleased to be joined by Nik and Christian, who are both widely recognised and successful lawyers in these fields.”
Daja Apetz-Dreier, managing partner of the firm’s Munich office, said: “We are delighted to welcome two extremely talented lawyers with decades of experience between them. Nik and Christian’s expertise representing clients across a wide variety of sectors reflects the firm’s global strategy of aligning our offering to key industries, including transportation, life sciences, entertainment and media, financial services, and energy and natural resources.”
Expansion of Reed Smith’s presence in Germany, in line with its industry group focus, remains a key commitment for the business. The firm has been established in Munich for over 15 years and launched of its Frankfurt office in 2015.
“Reed Smith has a fantastic reputation, but what really stood out to me was the culture and the people, as well as the international platform and full service offering that will help me to grow my practice and respond to the needs of clients,” commented von Jacobs.
“I am excited to be joining Reed Smith, a firm with a renowned global platform, strong collegiate culture, and high quality client base,” said von Sydow.
ENDS
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a dynamic international law firm dedicated to helping clients move their businesses forward. With an inclusive culture and innovative mindset, we deliver smarter, more creative legal services that drive better outcomes for our clients. Our deep industry knowledge, long-standing relationships and collaborative structure make us the go-to partner for complex disputes, transactions and regulatory matters.
Our team of 3,000 people (including more than 1,700 lawyers) operate across 31 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia to drive progress for our clients, for ourselves and for our communities.