Burges Salmon’s head of corporate takes the National Express’ top legal role

National Express has appointed Burges Salmon’s head of corporate and financial institutions Sandra Forbes as group general counsel and company secretary, becoming the second partner at the Bristol firm to leave for a major transport role in the last few months. Continue reading “Burges Salmon’s head of corporate takes the National Express’ top legal role”

Stewarts Law moves to rebuild fledgling employment practice with senior Dentons hire after early setback

Litigation boutique Stewarts Law has moved to rebuild its employment capability with the hire of longstanding Dentons employment partner Richard Nicolle, who joined the firm last week. Continue reading “Stewarts Law moves to rebuild fledgling employment practice with senior Dentons hire after early setback”

Asia moves: Hires for BLP, Milbank and Rajah & Tann as Harneys launches in Singapore

Ever active, the legal market in Asia has seen a number of high profile hires and losses over the past week, including Norton Rose Fulbright asset finance partner Nigel Ward’s move to Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCloy’s hire in Singapore of Stephenson Harwood’s global head of aviation Paul Ng, and offshore firm Harneys Westwood & Riegels expansion into Singapore. Continue reading “Asia moves: Hires for BLP, Milbank and Rajah & Tann as Harneys launches in Singapore”

In-house moves: QBE Insurance Group appoints new group general counsel

Rated as one of the world’s top 20 insurance and reinsurance companies, ASX-listed business underwriters QBE Insurance Group have appointed the group general counsel (GC) and company secretary of Australian supermarket Woolworths, Peter Horton, to join in the same role. Continue reading “In-house moves: QBE Insurance Group appoints new group general counsel”

In-house: US government agency adds to its senior lawyer ranks with AOL and Google hires

The former deputy general counsel at both AOL and Google are set to become colleagues, having separately joined the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as the government agency turns to lawyers with hi-tech backgrounds to fill its top ranks.

Continue reading “In-house: US government agency adds to its senior lawyer ranks with AOL and Google hires”

Hires in London for MoFo and O’Melveny as Paul Hastings brings in Pfizer’s assistant GC

US firms have announced a number of senior hires in the last few days as Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) and O’Melveny & Myers turn to their rivals for partner appointments in London, while Paul Hastings’ New York office brings in Pfizer’s head of government investigations as partner.

At MoFo, former head of Reed Smith’s acquisition and leveraged finance practice in London, Philip Slater, is to join the top 30 Global100 firm’s financial transactions group as partner. Continue reading “Hires in London for MoFo and O’Melveny as Paul Hastings brings in Pfizer’s assistant GC”

In-house: MasterCard appoints new GC; UBS regulatory chief exits for Gibson Dunn; and HSBC hires Cleary partner

The start of the year has seen much lateral movement both in-house and out, with MasterCard naming Tim Murphy as general counsel and chief franchise officer as incumbent Noah Hanft retires from the company. Meanwhile, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher announced the hire of the former Americas general counsel and global head of investigations at UBS, Mark Shelton, as a partner in its New York office, while HSBC has confirmed that Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton partner Shawn Chen officially joined the bank this week to jointly oversee its litigation and regulatory enforcement department with co-general counsel Guy Nielson.

Continue reading “In-house: MasterCard appoints new GC; UBS regulatory chief exits for Gibson Dunn; and HSBC hires Cleary partner”

Seoul searching: Stephenson Harwood hires DLA Piper’s South Korea head Michael Kim

With five of its nine overseas offices in South and East Asia, it is perhaps unsurprising that Stephenson Harwood has become the latest UK firm to make plans to open in the burgeoning Seoul market, with the hire of DLA Piper’s local office head and litigation partner Michael Kim.

Kim brings with him a developed reputation in South Korea and experience in shipping, ship finance, shipbuilding and offshore and general commercial litigation and arbitration matters.

However, the top 35 UK firm today (7 February) announced that it has yet to apply for a license to set up in Seoul and Kim will be based in London initially, in the anticipation of relocating to its latest Asian outpost when permission is granted. Continue reading “Seoul searching: Stephenson Harwood hires DLA Piper’s South Korea head Michael Kim”