Shearman’s German Offices Shrink as Co-Chair’s Star Power Increases
Shearman & Sterling’s German operation has been on something of a roller-coaster ride.
Shearman had enviable success after launching its first German office in Düsseldorf 18 years ago, the American Lawyer reports. The firm prospered handling mergers and acquisitions, growing to 120 lawyers and opening new offices in Mannheim, Frankfurt and Munich.
But the firm has gotten smaller, shrinking to 90 lawyers as of this March and losing its Mannheim office in a split last year. “Shearman now looks more like a high-end corporate boutique,” the publication says.
The article focuses on 64-year-old Georg Thoma, who co-chairs the German practice and is its biggest rainmaker for mergers and acquisitions work. He bills about 3,000 hours a year and is responsible for around 5 percent of Shearman’s global revenues, two former partners told the publication. Some critics say other partners don’t get a chance to shine with Thoma’s domination of the M&A practice.
“Has the firm built a sustainable practice or a big stage for a single star?” the article asks. “Thoma is so crucial to the firm’s business—and remains so active—that he was one of the reasons Shearman amended its retirement policy in 2007 to allow exceptional partners to stay on beyond the usual retirement age of 65.”
