Moves: 16 January 2012
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has turned to US rival Weil Gotshal & Manges for a London restructuring hire, scooping partner Dominic McCahill. McCahill, who advises on insolvencies and restructurings, joins London practice head Chris Mallon in Skadden’s corporate restructuring team as the practice’s second City partner.
Dominic McCahill
Move of the week
He also becomes one of 13 partners in the London corporate team, excluding capital markets lawyers. He was part of a large Weil team advising broker MF Global on its UK administration in the autumn of 2011.
UK
London
Nabarro real estate partner Neil Biswas has left the firm to join Norton Rose as a partner.
Olswang has added to its real estate team with a partner hire from Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP). Graham Lloyd-Brunt,who has been a partner at BLP for seven years, has joined Olswang’s real estate team, led by partner Gary Watson.
Ropes & Gray has boosted its London corporate real estate practice with the hire of former Clifford Chance partner Iain Morpeth.
Stephenson Harwood has upped its real estate practice with the hire of Nabarro partner James Trundle.
Shearman & Sterling has hired Jonathan Cary as a senior associate in its London-based litigation and arbitration team.He joins from Herbert Smith, where he was also a senior associate.
Edwin Coe has taken on Christopher Wright as a partner in its private client team. He was formerly with Rooks Rider, where he was a partner for over 30 years.
Maclay Murray & Spens has made two lateral partner hires and two internal promotions. Wayne O’Neil has joined the firm’s London corporate team from Rosenblatt, where he was a partner. Douglas Blyth rejoins the firm’s Glasgow commercial dispute resolution team from Gateley, where he was a partner. Commercial property lawyer Alex Coulter and litigation solicitor advocate Euan Palmer have been promoted in London.
Kemp Little has taken on Glafkos Tombolis as a partner in its corporate practice. He joins from Charles Russell, where he was a partner.
South East
Manches has promoted two lawyers to partner in its Thames Valley office. Fashion industry expert Rachael Parman has been made up in IP and Ruth James has been made up in family.
Tom Gilman has joined Withy King as a partner and head of the private client team in Oxford. He joins from Manches’ Oxford office, where he was a partner.
South West
Chris Crane, formerly head of company and commercial at Darwin Gray in Cardiff, has joined Bristol firm Temple Bright.
North East
DWF has bulked up its burgeoning Newcastle practice with a banking partner from Dickinson Dees. Deborah Kirtley, who was head of banking at Dickinson Dees, will be tasked with growing DWF’s banking and finance practice in the Nort East.
Midlands
Irwin Mitchell has added solicitor Dee Kundi to its Birmingham commercial litigation team. She joins from an in-house role at HSBC.
Europe
French independent Racine has hired name partner Frédéric Broud from Paris firm Toison Villey Broud. He joins Racine along with four associates.
King & Spalding has hired international arbitration lawyer Jan Schäfer as a partner in its Frankfurt office. Schäfer joins from Allen & Overy, where he was a counsel.
US
King & Spalding has named director of strategic projects Derek Hardesty as its chief operating officer. He replaces Patrick C Glisson, who has retired.
IP litigator Grace Pan has joined Kaye Scholer’s New York office as partner. Registered as a gaikokuho jimu bengoshi in Japan, Pan joins from Frommer Lawrence & Haug, where she was also a partner.
Morgan Lewis has hired Steven Reed, the former vice-president and deputy general counsel at Cephalon, as a partner in its Philadelphia litigation practice.
Jill Pietrini has joined Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton as a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles and Century City IP practice. She joins from Manatt in Los Angeles, where she chaired the firm’s IP and IP litigation practice group.
Asia
KhattarWong has announced that Long Hsueh Ching has rejoined the firm as a partner in the corporate and securities department. She joins from Singapore firm RHT Law, where she was also a partner.
Africa
Dewey & LeBoeuf has significantly expanded its presence in South Africa with the hire of eight partners from local rival Werksmans. The lawyers, known as directors at their former firm, include Morné van der Merwe and Wildu du Plessis, respectively the head of Werksmans’ mining and resources practice and its banking and finance/capital markets group. Three of the eight - van der Merwe, du Plessis and banking partner Chris Moraitis - are joining as full equity partners. The other five joining Dewey are Astrid Berman, Esmé Ferreira, Amelia Heeger, Muhammed Sader and Mike van Rensburg.
Offshore
Harneys is relocating funds partner Jonathan Culshaw to its Hong Kong office. Previously based in the Caribbean,Culshaw is expected to become managing partner in Hong Kong later this year.
The bar
Lincoln’s Inn set Hardwicke has added international arbitration specialist William Frain-Bell to its roster. Frain-Bell joins from Outer Temple, where he built a practice focused on alternative dispute resolution in the Middle East.
Common law set 9 Gough Square has appointed Fiona Robb as CEO. She joins from Boult Wade Tennant, where she was chief operating officer.
7 Bedford Row has been joined by professional and clinical negligence barrister Tim Meakin. He joins from 3 Serjeants Inn.
