Global law firm Clifford Chance is further expanding its global Restructuring & Insolvency law practice with the hire of another leading and highly experienced partner in Germany: Kolja von Bismarck will join the partnership with effect from 1 October 2024. He is the third prominent new addition to the German practice group led by Managing Partner Stefan Sax this year. Alongside colleagues Andreas Steiger and Patrick Schulz, who joined Clifford Chance on 1 June, Kolja von Bismarck and his well-established team will take on both German and cross-border restructuring mandates from Munich.
"Attracting three eminent restructuring partners in times when restructuring is in high demand underlines the strategic development and Clifford Chance's elite standing for restructuring and insolvency in the market", said Stefan Sax, who leads Clifford Chance's Restructuring & Insolvency Group in Germany.
"Kolja von Bismarck was already with Clifford Chance from 1994 to 2009. Now he is returning to Clifford Chance as one of the most senior and respected figures in the German restructuring market. Together with Andreas Steiger and Patrick Schulz, who have been working with him for years, he will further deepen the German bench as well as our international restructuring capabilities. This is an extremely exciting development both for us and for our clients", added Philip Hertz, who leads the Global Restructuring & Insolvency Group of Clifford Chance.
The enhanced team will continue to build out their focus on cross-border creditor and company side work, including expanding our relationships with key financial sponsors. "These hires further solidify our reputation as one of the leading firms for this type of work in the market", comments Oliver Kronat, who leads the German Global Financial Markets practice at Clifford Chance. "In addition, we now have more opportunities in the cross-border private equity and financing space, outside the previous core activities of our restructuring practice."
These latest appointments to Clifford Chance's global Restructuring & Insolvency team follow the hiring of US partners Brian Lohan and Maja Zerjal Fink in New York in March.
Kolja von Bismarck has extensive experience advising borrowers, secured and unsecured creditors, distressed investors, private equity funds and alternative credit providers on the restructuring of financially distressed companies, particularly in a cross-border context. He is regularly ranked as one of the leading German lawyers in his area of practice, most recently as "Restructuring Lawyer of the Year" at The Legal 500 Germany Awards 2024.
In addition to Stefan Sax, Kolja von Bismarck, Andreas Steiger and Patrick Schulz as partners, the core Restructuring & Insolvency team boasts three counsels and five associates across Clifford Chance's German offices.