The first week of October brought with it several continental appointments at Simmons & Simmons, Dentons and Bird & Bird, while Clyde & Co and Trowers & Hamlins expanded in London.
Simmons announced two lateral hires in Milan from White & Case in capital markets lawyers Paola Leocani and Nicholas Lasagna. This comes just a year after Simmons closed its Rome office, relocating staff to Milan.
A top-tier capital markets lawyer in Italy, Leocani’s practice focuses on debt and securitized derivatives and joined White & Case in June 2013 from Allen & Overy. Lasagna joined White & Case in 2011 from Latham & Watkins and he is also admitted to practice law in England & Wales.
Simmons’ international financial markets head Jonathan Hammond said: ‘Their arrival emphasises our continued commitment to developing our international capital markets offering and brings the number of partners who have joined our international financial markets practice so far this year to 10.’
Dentons has also strengthened its ranks in Europe by hiring a team of three lawyers from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in Munich. Thomas Strassner, alongside counsel Christopher Mayston and associate Michael Rebholz joined Dentons as of 1 October in the newly-opened Munich office.
Joining the firm as partner, Strassner specialises in company restructuring, private equity, venture capital, financing and M&A transactions and related litigation and dispute resolution. Mayston specialises in banking and finance, and advised Capita Group as part of the merger of TUI AG and TUI Travel merger.
Meanwhile, Clydes fortified its real estate practice in London by appointing planning lawyers Brian Greenwood and Stephen Webb. Greenwood is a planning, infrastructure and environmental lawyer and joins Clydes from Winckworth Sherwood. His environmental expertise includes the constructions of the Millenium Dome and the regeneration of the Spitalfields Market.
Webb joins from King & Wood Mallesons with over 25 years’ experience, and his recent work includes the redevelopment of the Filton Airfield Bristol.
Trowers & Hamlins also expanded its banking and finance team in London this week, by recruiting Richard Hathaway from Osborne Clarke. Hathaway has over 12 years of legal experience in corporate banking, real estate finance and acquisition and leveraged finance.
And finally, Bird & Bird added IP attorneys Felix Landry and Felix Harbsmeier to its Hamburg office. Both Landry and Harbsmeier specialise in electronics, physics and engineering and have been at Uexküll & Stolberg since 2001 and 2004 respectively.
Co-head of Germany Michael Alt said: ‘We will be expanding our Hamburg office in the patent sector even further, and we are delighted to have achieved this first step with such an experienced team.’
georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk
