Bird & Bird strengthens Munich corporate bench with Carsten Böhm hire

Böhm joins from McDermott Will & Schulte, where he had been a partner in the transactions practice since 2010. Over the past decade and a half, he has advised on a wide range of domestic and cross-border M&A and private equity deals, with a particular focus on the technology and automotive industries - two sectors that remain central to the German deal market despite ongoing economic uncertainty.

His practice is notably active in succession-driven transactions, an area where legal structuring must often be combined with careful stakeholder management. In these mandates, Böhm frequently acts as an intermediary between family-owned businesses and financial investors or multinational corporates, helping align not only legal but also cultural and strategic expectations.

He advises clients across the full lifecycle of a transaction, from deal preparation and structuring through to negotiations, acquisition financing, management participation arrangements and post-merger integration. Beyond pure transactional work, he is also regularly involved in corporate reorganisations and governance matters.

The move is consistent with Bird & Bird’s broader positioning in Germany, where the firm has been seeking to deepen its corporate and private equity offering to complement its established reputation in technology, regulatory and IP matters.

For Stefanie Orttmann, Head of the firm’s German corporate practice, Böhm’s arrival addresses both sector depth and senior capacity:
“Carsten brings a rare combination of long-standing transactional experience and deep industry knowledge in technology and automotive. This strengthens our ability to support clients on complex cross-border matters as well as on strategically sensitive domestic transactions.”

Managing partner Uwe Lüken framed the hire within the firm’s growth trajectory, highlighting the importance of scaling the corporate team in line with client demand linked to digitalisation and regulation-heavy industries. According to him, Bird & Bird’s sector-focused model is increasingly resonating with partners seeking an international platform with a clear market positioning.

For Böhm, the move represents an opportunity to operate within a firm whose sector focus mirrors the evolution of his own practice. He pointed in particular to Bird & Bird’s international footprint and its growing emphasis on AI and technology-related mandates as key factors behind his decision to join.

With this lateral hire, Bird & Bird continues to compete with both global firms and strong domestic players for senior transactional talent in Munich - one of Germany’s most active corporate and private equity markets.