Fried Frank announced today that Dr. Michael Schlitt has joined the Firm's Frankfurt office from Allen & Overy LLP, where he was head of the German Equity Capital Markets Practice.   He has joined the Firm with a five-lawyer team.

Michael Schlitt is one of Frankfurt's leading capital markets lawyers and has broad experience in international equity capital market transactions, particularly IPOs, rights issues, convertible and exchangeable bonds and block trade transactions.  With extensive experience advising investment banks, he has also recently worked on substantial transactions for Wacker and Versatel.   He has published numerous articles on issues relating to equity capital markets, stock corporation and takeover law.  He is also a lecturer of capital markets law at the University of Cologne.

"We are delighted to have someone of Michael's caliber join the Firm as Fried Frank continues to grow, building on its strong US platform," said Valerie Ford Jacob, Fried Frank's Chairperson.

"Michael strengthens our growing presence in Germany, enabling us to support our clients more effectively in their continuing demand for substantive international reach," added Fried Frank's Managing Partner Justin Spendlove.

Michael Schlitt's Frankfurt-based team includes European Counsel Susanne Schafer LL.M and associates Thorsten Becker, Nicola La Corte, Michael Gottmann and Christian Ries.

Over the past three years Fried Frank has expanded its European practice, opening its Frankfurt office in 2004 under the leadership of partners Jürgen van Kann and Sven Schulte-Hillen.  The firm has won some significant mandates in that period, recently advising AEA Investors LLC in the acquisition of Pactiv Corporation's European protective and flexible packaging business, NTL (now Virgin Media) on its acquisition of Virgin Mobile and Silver Point on the acquisition of CF Gomma Barre Thomas, which was part of the largest restructuring plan in France.