Change of leadership at CMS Hasche Sigle

Berlin – Leading German law firm CMS Hasche Sigle elected partner Dr Hubertus Kolster as its new Managing Partner at the annual partner meeting on 13 November 2010. Dr Kolster will succeed the present incumbent Cornelius Brandi on 1 July 2011, who is stepping down at the end of his fourth term to become Senior Partner after a total of 12 years in his current role. Brandi will replace long-serving Senior Partner Joachim Gres, while remaining Chairman of the Executive Committee of the international CMS organisation. Dr Hubertus Kolster is a partner in the firm’s Corporate practice.

Born in 1962, Dr Kolster has been a lawyer in the Frankfurt office since 1993 and has gained international experience through secondments to law firms in London and New York. His key specialist areas are corporate and business law and M&A transactions. He has advised German and international strategic clients on corporate acquisitions and disposals with great success. In addition, Kolster has been Managing Partner of the Frankfurt office since 2009.

Cornelius Brandi has been the driving force behind the expansion of CMS Hasche Sigle. Since 1999, when he became Managing Partner, the number of lawyers at the firm has more than doubled to around 600 and fees have tripled to over 200 million euro, making CMS Hasche Sigle one of the fastest-growing firms in the German law market. Its international expansion and steady growth in profitability are a direct result of Brandi’s focused, forward-looking management approach. His time at the helm has seen a series of successful mergers and the establishment of offices in Moscow and Shanghai. Brandi’s astute stewardship in conjunction with the management boards of the other European CMS law firms was also instrumental in relocating the international headquarters of the CMS organisation from Brussels to Frankfurt. He has been Chairman of the CMS Executive Committee since 2008 and will continue in that role.

The leadership change will take place in mid-2011, when Cornelius Brandi completes his final term as Managing Partner on 30 June and becomes Senior Partner of CMS Hasche Sigle. He will take over from Joachim Gres, who has held the post since 2001 and will be stepping down after 10 years. The focus of Gres’s work has been the continued expansion of CMS Hasche Sigle as a firm with a wide range of practice areas and offices in international regions with exciting growth prospects. His other main objective has been to create a coherent partner body with outstanding professional credentials that operates as an effective, cohesive unit.

The firm’s instructions, billings and profits have risen steadily over the years. CMS Hasche Sigle has also enjoyed significant growth in the past two years, despite the challenging economic climate, and is thus ideally positioned in the market. This unbroken trend is also a tribute to the work of Cornelius Brandi. Today’s election of Dr Hubertus Kolster signals a commitment to continuity and to retaining the strategy of a presence in key business locations. CMS Hasche Sigle provides international full-service advice across borders and disciplines. The unanimous aim that emerged from the partner meeting is continuity, a strategic objective also strongly endorsed by clients.

“CMS Hasche Sigle is among the top ranked commercial law firms, and we intend to further extend our strong market position,” says new Managing Partner Dr Kolster, outlining his medium-term strategy. “Our presence in all key German business locations, the closeness to our clients together with the highly-qualified expertise of our teams and the strength of the international CMS organisation are all major competitive advantages we aim to reinforce and strengthen.” Dr Kolster also declared his intention of addressing the increasing shortage of junior lawyers and focusing on the opportunities offered by the resurgent economy.