Homebase has hired its first legal head, as Clyde & Co, Dentons and Pinsent Masons all make international appointments.
Simone Tudor becomes Homebase’s first dedicated head of legal after joining from retail group AS Watson. Homebase is currently in the process of becoming Bunnings UK & Ireland, with the new company completing its first panel review in November 2016. Herbert Smith Freehills and Dentons were among the firms that made the cut for the company’s inaugural roster.
Clyde & Co has added to its four-partner Dubai shipping practice with the addition of corporate and finance partner Ian Chung. Chung has worked in the Middle East since 2008 where he specialises in corporate and finance work in the international trade, maritime and oilfield services sectors. He joins from Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) in Dubai where he was a partner.
In Europe, both Dentons and Pinsents have improved their German offerings. Pinsents has made a trio of appointments, hiring Alexander Bayer, Peter Koch and Jörg Khöber to bolster its Munich office.
All three of the new recruits join from Gowling WLG, with Bayer arriving as an intellectual property (IP) partner specialising in fintech. Koch joins as a legal director, with a background in cross border patent litigation. Khöber joins as a senior associate.
Pinsents partner and head of German operations, Rainer Kreifels, commented: ‘Our depth of sector expertise has been a major driver of our success and bringing Alexander, Peter and Jörg onto the team continues to strengthen our presence in the market.’
Dentons has strengthened its German team with the appointments of Stefan Dittmer and Amy Kläsener as partners. Dittmer, formerly of Baker & McKenzie and DLA Piper, joins Dentons’ IP and technology practice in Berlin with experience in competition law, licensing law and press law.
Kläsener, who joins from Shearman & Sterling, reinforces Dentons’ international arbitration practice in Frankfurt. Kläsener has expertise in cross-border arbitrations, in addition to a specialism in engineering and construction.
tom.baker@legalease.co.uk