Moves: 14 January 2013

Move of the week

Taylor Wessing has appointed a new partner in its Middle East office. Tahir Ahmed joins the corporate finance practice after spending the past eight years in the region, most recently with Dewey & LeBoeuf in Dubai. His practice includes M&A, private equity, fund formations, joint ventures, ECM, DCM, sukuk, private placements and financial regulatory matters.

UK

London

Boutique firm Olephant Solicitors has added two new recruits to its London team. Commercial litigator Anna Lister joins as an assistant solicitor from DAC Beachcroft and Alison Antill joins as a paralegal from Carey Olsen in Guernsey.

Manches has hired corporate partner Jonathan Snade to its London office from Pinsent Masons, where he was a senior associate.

Fredrik Henriksson has joined McGuireWoods as a London-based partner in its M&A and cross-border transactions

department. He moves from EF Education First Group, where he was chief general counsel.

Simmons & Simmons has appointed Andrew Petry as a projects partner. The energy and infrastructure lawyer was a partner at Addleshaw Goddard.

McDermott Will & Emery has hired two corporate lawyers - Stuart Mathews and Rupert Weber - as partners in its London office. Both join from offshore firm Maitland.

City firm Lewis Silkin has hired commercial and technology specialist James Gill as a partner in its media, brands and technology team. He moves from SJ Berwin, where he was a partner.

Bevan Brittan has appointed Peter Steel as a partner in its regulatory team. He joins from Capsticks, where he was a partner, and will work alongside Iain Miller on SRA work.

Midlands

Shoosmiths has appointed private client solicitor Gurvinder Kaur, who specialises in education, public law and community care. She previously ran the Birmingham office of Maxwell Gillott.

Shakespeares has hired Chris Kent as its head of HR operations. He was previously head of HR operations at Wragge & Co.

North

Irwin Mitchell has appointed Andrew Merrick as its chief financial officer. He joins from his former role as group finance director at airline and logistics group Dart Group and will sit on the firm’s executive board.

The Leeds office of Cobbetts has appointed Jayne Firth as the first associate in the firm’s pensions team. Firth joins from Pinsent Masons, where she worked as a senior solicitor in the pensions department.

Ward Hadaway has added Ian Walsh to the specialist property team in its Manchester office as an associate from Cottrill Stone Lawless Solicitors in Manchester, where he was a partner. Christopher Causer has also joined as a consultant in the commercial team from K&L Gates and commercial disputes specialist Stephen Inglis has joined as a partner from Clarion Solicitors.

Tom Holbrook has joined Kennedys’ Sheffield office as a partner from Greenwoods in Manchester. Also joining from Greenwoods is solicitor Angela Merad. Holbrook specialises in defending personal injury claims.

Scotland

TLT has appointed Stephen McGowan as partner and head of licensing in Scotland. He will be based at the firm’s Glasgow office and joins from Lindsays, where he was director of licensing and gambling.

Burness Paull & Williamsons has strengthened its oil and gas team with the appointment of new partner Robin Clarkson. He was previously head of legal at energy company Sterling Resources.

Europe

Alexandre Tron has joined Reed Smith as a partner in the firm’s Paris office, taking with him into the finance group senior associate Olivier Borenstejn. Both move from Jeantet Associés.

A team of senior lawyers from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s Milan office has left the firm to join former colleagues at Italian boutique Orsingher.Corporate partners Mario Ortu and Nicola Barra Caracciolo, together with senior associate Paolo Canal and consultant Stephen McCleery all joined Orsingher as partners on 1 January to establish the firm’s corporate practice. Orsingher was set up by former Freshfields IP partner Matteo Orsingher in 2007.

US

Vincent Cino has been elected as chairman of Jackson Lewis, succeeding Patrick Vaccaro.

Corporate attorney Judy Deng has joined Reed Smith’s Silicon Valley office, where she will focus on cross-border US-China transactions and corporate financings of companies with international operations. She was an attorney at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.

Asia Pacific

Corrs Chambers Westgarth has hired one partner and promoted another in its Perth office. Simon Billing joins the workplace relations team from DLA Piper and Tighe Whelan was promoted in the corporate advisory practice. Leaving the firm is energy partner Michael Harrison, who has joined Minter Ellison in Sydney.

Hong Kong and Cayman Island-based Travers Thorp Alberga has hired former Walkers partner Nicole Pineda, who will be in charge of the firm’s newly formed Latin American group.

DLA Piper has hired partner Carolyn Dong from King & Wood Mallesons. Energy partner Dong, who was based in King & Wood Mallesons’ Beijing office, will relocate to Hong Kong to take up her new role.

In-house

First Reserve Corporation has promoted Rob Gallagher to associate general counsel. He joined in 2008 and was previously an associate in the corporate and investment funds practice at King & Spalding.