Clifford Chance adds 15-lawyer class actions team in Frankfurt
Clifford Chance has expanded its European disputes capabilities with the addition of a 15-lawyer class actions team in Frankfurt from White & Case. The team is led by partner Alexandra Diehl (PICTURED). Alongside Diehl, senior lawyers Priscilla Tatschner and Lisa Becker, formerly local partners at White & Case, and Lucas Marlow, previously an associate, have also joined Clifford Chance. Their arrival adds further depth in regulated sectors including healthcare, life sciences, automotive, and technology.
The move marks one of the largest team hires in Germany’s disputes market this year and underscores Clifford Chance’s ambitions to reinforce its collective redress and complex litigation practice across Europe. The addition of the team brings Clifford Chance’s Frankfurt headcount to around 200 professionals. The firm also operates offices in Düsseldorf and Munich, together employing roughly 140 lawyers, consultants, and business professionals.
Diehl, a noted expert in mass claims and arbitration, previously worked at Clifford Chance before moving to White & Case in 2018. Her return brings deep experience in consumer and mass-tort litigation as well as investment arbitration, particularly advising sovereign states.
“Germany is rapidly becoming Europe’s epicentre for collective redress,” said Stefan Sax, managing partner for Clifford Chance Germany. Matthew Newick, global head of litigation and dispute resolution, described the team’s arrival as part of a wider strategic build-out which “reflects our commitment to delivering world-class service in class actions and complex litigation”.
The Frankfurt expansion follows a series of senior disputes hires globally. In July, Brad Woodhouse joined in Sydney as head of class actions for Australia from Corrs Chambers Westgarth. Earlier in the summer, Maria Guinot arrived in Madrid from Deloitte Legal, while Francesca Gesualdi joined in Milan from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton to strengthen the firm’s arbitration and litigation capabilities. In New York, Peter Isajiw, formerly of King & Spalding, came aboard earlier this year as a commercial and securities litigation specialist.
