Dusseldorf/Frankfurt—Global law firm Dentons has expanded its presence in banking and capital markets law with the recruitment of two new partners: Oliver Dreher will head the German Debt Capital Markets (DCM) team from Frankfurt, while Dr. Axel Schlieter will anchor the Banking and Finance practice in the newly opened Dusseldorf office. 

"Oliver Dreher and Axel Schlieter are well-known lawyers in DCM and core finance, respectively. We are now able to cover the entire range of banking and capital markets law and our Banking and Finance team is now represented in Dusseldorf, another key region in Germany," explains Dr. Arne Klüwer, Head of the German Banking and Finance practice.

Oliver Dreher will move to Dentons from CMS where he led the Debt Capital Markets team since 2013, as a partner. He advises German and international banks and other clients on bond transactions, bonded loans, registered bonds, derivatives, and clearing of financial instruments. Dreher also focuses on MTN, commercial paper and structured issuance programs. He teaches at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management and regularly speaks at conferences and seminars on capital market topics.

Axel Schlieter has many years of experience in advising banks, institutional investors, funds and sponsors on a wide range of debt instruments. He focuses on project and acquisition financing transactions, particularly in the real estate and infrastructure sectors. This complements the transaction- and tax-driven real estate advice offered by partners David Zafra Carollo and Dr. Dominik Thomer in Dusseldorf and the Real Estate group across Germany.

Schlieter also advises clients on structured corporate loans and hybrid financing structures consisting of bank loans, promissory note loans, registered and bearer bonds. For example, he recently assisted an international infrastructure fund in the acquisition and financing through registered bonds of an offshore wind farm in the North Sea. Before joining Dentons, he worked as a counsel at Clifford Chance.

Andreas Ziegenhagen, Dentons’ Germany Managing Partner, said: “We have made great strides in our strategy to grow our Banking and Finance and Capital Markets practices in Germany. Including our recent newcomers, we have recruited seven partners and five counsel for these teams since 2017. This strategy is already paying off enormously for our clients.”

With the most recent additions, Dentons’ Banking and Finance and Capital Markets practices in Germany now count 25 professionals. The team advises on all aspects of securities law, equity and debt financings including complex securitizations as well as alternative financing instruments such as crowd lending and crowd investment. It also focuses on blockchain technology, Security Token Offerings and overall cryptocurrency compliance issues. Clients also benefit from financial regulatory advice.

Robert Michels, Dentons’ Frankfurt Managing Partner, commented: “Our Banking and Finance and Capital Markets practices are among the pillars of our Frankfurt office and reflect the importance of Frankfurt as a financial center.”

Andreas Haak, Dentons’ Dusseldorf Managing Partner, added: “The fact that we are now able to offer debt financing advice in Dusseldorf is a further important step on our successful path towards building a local full-service office.” 

Dentons currently has more than 220 lawyers across its four offices in Germany, and more than 10,000 lawyers in over 175 locations worldwide.

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