Move of the week
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is to strengthen its antitrust, competition and trade practice in China with the relocation of London partner Alex Potter to Beijing. Potter, who specialises in EU and UK competition law, will be based in the Chinese capital for a year from January 2008. At the same time, Beijing-based senior associate Michael Han has been promoted to counsel level in the antitrust practice.
People moves
– Allen & Overy (A&O) has hired Marta Sendrowicz as head of competition in Poland. Sendrowicz was previously a senior associate in Baker & McKenzie‘s Warsaw office and will join A&O’s Warsaw office as a senior associate.
– Kirsten Toft has joined IP boutique Virtuoso Legal as an associate in IP. She joins from Spruson & Ferguson in Sydney.
– Stone King has appointed Roger Inman as a senior associate in its charities and education team. Inman was previously chief executive of the Independent Panel for Special Education Advice.
– Lincoln-based Wilkin Chapman Solicitors has hired two trainee solicitors. Michael Squirrel joins its Lincoln office and Daniel Banton joins in Grimsby.
– Mishcon de Reya has hired Katherine Fidler as an assistant in the private client group. She was previously a tax associate at Allen & Overy.
– Mishcons has also hired two professional support lawyers (PSL). Miles Geffin joins the family group. He was previously a partner at CKFT Solicitors before a career break during which he was deputy editor of the Solicitors Journal. Tina Archer joins the corporate team from Linklaters, where she was also a PSL.
– US firm Covington & Burling has hired Richard Holden as an associate in the European corporate group based in London. Holden joins from McDermott Will & Emery.
– Simmons & Simmons has promoted Shanghai-based Matthew Durham to consultant level. Durham was previously a senior corporate associate, having qualified with Simmons in 1998.
– Northamptonshire firm DFA Law has appointed John Keeble as partner and head of its corporate and commercial team. He previously headed Kimbells Solicitors corporate team.
– Foley Hoag has taken on Barrett Thornhill as a health policy specialist in the Washington government strategies practice from the Biotechnology Industry Organization, where he was director of federal government relations.
– Wedlake Bell has hired associate Edward Banister from the Pension Protection Fund. Banister will work in the pensions department.
– Veale Wasbrough has appointed Naseem Nabi as an associate in its education team. Nabi previously worked for Bath firm Stone King for six years.
– Manchester firm Turner Parkinson has hired bankruptcy specialist David Higgins as a partner and newly qualified assistant Laura Baker. Higgins joins from Cobbetts, while Baker joins the insolvency practice, having qualified at Brooke North in Leeds.
– East Midlands firm Nelsons has appointed Richard Davis as partner. He joins from Browne Jacobson where he was a partner in the corporate and commercial pensions team.
– Alsters Kelley Solicitors has taken on Louise Hunt as an associate and head of the clinical negligence department. She was previously at Bond Pearce in Bristol.
– Richard Fisher has joined Bond Pearce’s litigation team as an associate. He joins from Fishburns.
– Worcestershire-based firm Harrison Clark Solicitors has appointed Claire Thompson as an associate to its employment team. Thompson joins from Browne Jacobson.
– Professional indemnity firm Robin Simon has hired associate Patric Rouendaal from DLA Piper into its Birmingham office.
– Stones Solicitors has appointed Steve Waters as an associate in its commercial property team in Exeter. Waters was previously at Gill Akaster in Plymouth.
– Lancashire-based corporate firm Taylors Solicitors has recruited two senior lawyers into its commercial property team. Neil Powell joins as a partner from being an in house lawyer in Leeds and Tony Johns joins as a consultant from Goodman Harvey.
– DWF has hired three assistants into its real estate team in Liverpool. Christopher Morris joins from the Manchester office of Eversheds, Nadia Mustafa is relocating to Liverpool from the London office of Maclay Murray & Spens, while Lisa Williams arrives from Southampton firm Warner Goodman.
– Cumberland Ellis has appointed Conrad Adam as partner in its private client group. Adam was previously at Dawsons Solicitors.
– German firm Graf von Westphalen has hired former Jones Day commercial counsel Eric Messenzehl as a partner in its Frankfurt office.
– SJ Berwin has recruited two senior associates for its London employment and pensions group. Carl Richards joins from Fox Williams, while Claire Brattey joins from Burness.
