The Munich lawyer and Nörr Stiefenhofer Lutz partner Michael Molitoris has been elected chairman of Lex Mundi, the world's leading network of independent law firms. The network links 160 member offices in over 100 countries with approx. 21,000 lawyers. Nörr Stiefenhofer Lutz is the sole member for Germany. Molitoris intends in his year of office to continue the expansion of the network and to strengthen the  26 Practice Groups which range from company law/M&A through conflict resolution to labour law and intellectual property.

The law firms which belong to Lex Mundi remain independent but cooperate closely. "Each member is still free to work with law firms outside the network" said Molitoris. The interests of the client in finding the best specialist for the task are paramount.

It is a condition for membership of Lex Mundi that a law firm is among the leading law firms in its jurisdiction and offers full service over all major legal areas. The quality of the service and the reputation of the law firm on its market is assessed in strict Membership Reviews. There are also binding service standards which ensure that the Lex Mundi offices deal with multi-national projects as quickly and efficiently as a law firm operating internationally.

"What we can offer our clients is centrally directed access to leading well connected and influential law firms throughout the world – not only in western Europe or North America but in apparently less accessible countries such as Indonesia, Argentina or Egypt", said Molitoris. His prognosis for the further development of Lex Mundi: "The network of strong independent full service law firms will prove to be beneficial even in times of a global finance crisis."

Lex Mundi also offers benefits for the next generation of lawyers in the member law firms. In the Lex Mundi Institute, M&A specialists learn, for example, how to manage international transactions involving several law firms. The members also delegate associates to partner offices in the important economic and financial centres of the world.