US law firm Morgan Lewis has strengthened its German presence with the addition of three partners – two from Reed Smith and one from Milbank – who will be joining its Munich and Frankfurt offices.

Two of the new additions – Alexander Klett and Christoph Mikyska – are intellectual property lawyers and are moving from Reed Smith to Morgan Lewis’s Munich office. The third, private equity partner Sebastian Dexheimer, is moving over from Milbank and will be based in the Frankfurt office.

The hires are the latest in a series of partner appointments by Morgan Lewis in Germany in recent months. The Munich office welcomed Daja Apetz-Dreier in April – also from Reed Smith – and employment partner Philipp Schäuble, who arrived in February from McDermott Will & Emery. Corporate partners Hans ‘Peter’ Leube and Marianne Nawroth joined the Frankfurt office in December from Bird & Bird.

Klett, who spent more than 16 years at Reed Smith, focuses primarily on non-technical IP litigation, regularly representing clients in major proceedings before the German and European authorities and courts. In addition, he advises clients on an ongoing basis in the areas of trademarks, designs, copyright and unfair competition.

Mikyska’s six-year tenure at Reed Smith saw him represent clients on all matters relating to trademark, design and copyright law as well as unfair competition law. A particular focus of his work is IP litigation. He has represented German and international clients in trademark and design-related disputes before the German IP office, EU Intellectual Property Office, domestic courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union. 

Sebastian Dexheimer advises private equity investors and corporate clients on German and cross-border transactions across industries and was at Milbank for nearly eight years.

Klett took up his position on 29 July and will be joined at a later date by Mikyska while Dexheimer will join Morgan Lewis on 1 August.

Morgan Lewis chair Jami McKeon identified Germany as a key market for its clients, adding: “We maintain our commitment to providing top-tier talent, skills and advanced resources that will be a true value add.”

Joachim Heine, Frankfurt office managing partner, said the trio would “add even more breadth to our European bench, enhancing our capability to support complex inbound engagements for clients doing business in Germany and outbound work for German businesses engaged in cross-border business matters”.

Florian Harder, managing partners of the firm’s Munich office, added: “We have been in growth mode, especially in the past 18 months since we established our second office in Munich. With a strategic approach, we’ve expanded our services into key market sectors where we are seeing a surge in demand and activity, namely technology, life sciences, real estate, healthcare and media.”

Morgan Lewis lists 38 lawyers in Germany having substantially boosted its presence in March last year when it opened in Munich after hiring a 20-strong team from legacy New York firm Shearman & Sterling, now part of A&O Shearman.