Dentons’ investment into key Western European markets continues to gain momentum with the recruitment of Pascal Schmitz in France building on the recent hire of Carlo Merisio in Italy.
Global law firm Dentons has further boosted its Europe Real Estate practice with the addition of partner Pascal Schmitz and his associates, Peter Schäfer and Alexandre d’Avout d’Auerstaedt in Paris. The team joins from King & Spalding, where Schmitz led the Real Estate and Private Equity team in France. Prior to that he was a partner for 10 years at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Pascal Schmitz has more than 20 years of professional experience representing German, French, European and US investment funds on transactions in France and the region. Throughout his career, he has advised on all aspects of commercial real estate and real estate finance, including corporate and investment property acquisitions and disposals, acquisition financing, and joint ventures, as well as real estate funds structuring (including OPCI). In addition, Schmitz also has extensive experience in all areas of property management, such as commercial leases, development agreements and construction law.
“Dentons continues to attract top practitioners across Europe. We are pleased to bring in Pascal, a seasoned lawyer and a true real estate heavyweight recognized by both Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500,” said Paweł Dębowski, Chairman of the Europe Real Estate group.
“I am delighted to join forces with Dentons as part of its top-tier Real Estate team. I will now be able to serve my clients in the 20 most important European markets which Dentons covers and tap in to the experience of my 1300 fellow real estate practioners to provide my clients with cutting-edge solutions,” Pascal Schmitz noted.
With the recruitment of Schmitz and his team, Dentons’ Real Estate group in Paris has grown to 20 lawyers delivering full-service real estate investment, development, tax and financing advice to clients across all segments and asset classes. Dentons is the only global law firm with more than five Real Estate partners in Paris to serve it clients. They each have complimentary capability covering real estate tax, real estate development, real estate asset management, finance, and joint ventures.
“With the positive investment outlook in France and the growing number of international players active in the real estate market, the addition of Pascal to our team comes at the perfect moment, as we work to further strengthen Dentons’ position in the French market,” said Marc Fornacciari, France Managing Partner at Dentons.
“This move reflects our long-term strategy to invest in key Western European markets, of which Paris is a top priority. Pascal will help us deliver even more value to our clients in investing in France and across Europe,” said Evan Z. Lazar, Co-Chairman of Dentons’ Global Real Estate Group and Chairman of the Europe Board. “His recruitment complements the recent hire of rising star Carlo Merisio in Italy, another strategic growth market for Dentons.”
In late January, partner Carlo Merisio joined the Real Estate group in Milan with his team from Allen & Overy. Merisio assists Italian and international clients on domestic and multi-jurisdictional acquisitions and disposals covering all asset classes and deal structures including asset deals, share deals, sale and lease-back, as well as joint ventures. He also advises on investment and divestment transactions that involve the establishment of real estate funds or similar structures.