Baker McKenzie is expanding its global M&A practice with the addition of Dirk Horcher, who joins as a partner on October 1, 2024, and will be based in the firm’s Munich office. Horcher joins from Linklaters, where he started in 2006 and has been a partner since 2017.
Horcher specializes in advising clients on M&A transactions, public takeovers, post-merger integrations, and corporate reorganizations and corporate successions. His expertise spans a variety of sectors, including energy and infrastructure, automotive, industrials and technology.
Horcher is the latest partner to join Baker McKenzie in Germany, where the firm has been growing its bench since 2021 through additions from other leading law firms. The firm had most recently welcomed M&A partner Daniel Dehghanian in Düsseldorf, while two additional partners joined the firm’s German offices this year: Dr. Conrad Ruppel in Banking & Finance and Dr. Johannes Baumann in M&A, both in Frankfurt. Dr. Andrea Soprano (counsel), Joachim Ponseck (partner) and Dr. Artur Swierczok (counsel) strengthened the Restructuring & Insolvency practice in Frankfurt, and Dr. Katharina Stüber joined as a partner in the corporate and M&A practice. Baker McKenzie also expanded its Private Equity offering in Munich with the arrival of a team led by Berthold Hummel and the subsequent hire of Dr. Jakub Lorys.
The arrival of Horcher further expands Baker McKenzie’s global transactional platform, which, over the past 18 months, has seen the addition of more than 50 partners in key financial centers. In April, the firm also welcomed an elite transactional team of 17 lawyers in Los Angeles and, in September, announced the upcoming addition of a high-caliber M&A team in Singapore. The firm also welcomed M&A/Private Equity partners Tobias Knapp (New York); Colin Bowes-Carlson (Chicago); Eric Schwartzman (San Francisco); Erika López (Chicago); Hannah Luqmani (London); Theodore Heng (Singapore) and Colleen Lee (Palo Alto).
Baker McKenzie is a transactional powerhouse with over 2,500 lawyers in 45 jurisdictions. The firm also excels in complex, cross-border transactions; over 65% of the firm’s deals are multijurisdictional. Baker McKenzie has been consistently recognized as a top three firm for cross-border M&A by volume over the past decade.
KEY QUOTES:
“With Dirk, we are gaining another very experienced and highly qualified M&A lawyer with long-standing connections to corporates, investment banks, financial sponsors and family offices. His transactional expertise is well-rounded and will be highly valuable for the further expansion of our Munich office and global M&A practice.”
-Berthold Hummel, co-head of the corporate practice in Germany
“I am very much looking forward to working with my new colleagues in the global M&A team. I am excited to further expand my practice by leveraging Baker McKenzie’s international and local platform, and to contribute to the continued development of the Firm’s leading M&A practice and in particular to the growth of the public takeover offering.”
-Dirk Horcher
“Clients turn to Baker McKenzie for our experience managing complex, cross-border transactions. Dirk’s extensive experience and deep sector knowledge will be instrumental in enhancing our capabilities and delivering exceptional service to our clients worldwide. His arrival underscores our commitment to attracting top-tier talent to augment our bench strength. We look forward to the innovative perspectives and strategic insights he will bring to our team.”
-Jannan Crozier, Baker McKenzie’s Global Chair of M&A
