Uganda’s minister of finance, planning and economic development Hon Matia Kasaija has appointed Agnes Tibayeyita Isharaza the new National Social Security Fund (NSSF) corporation cecretary and head of legal. The appointment is effective April 01, 2019, for a period of five years. Her appointment was on recommendation by the NSSF Board of Directors. She replaces Richard Wejuli Wabwire, who was appointed a high court judge in February last year. Ms Isharaza is a seasoned lawyer with over 16 years’ experience, having served in various senior positions. Prior to her appointment, she was the chief legal officer and company secretary of DFCU Bank, one of the leading financial institutions in Uganda. In 2017, Ms Isharaza was listed on the General Counsel Africa Power List by Legal 500.

Thérèse Blanchet has been appointed director general of the European Council legal service. She will act as the legal counsel of the European Council and the Council, starting her new assignment on 1 July 2019. Ms Blanchet, a French national, has been working in the general secretariat of the Council since 1995. She is currently Director in the legal service responsible for justice and home affairs issues.The legal service assists the European Council, the Council and its preparatory bodies in ensuring the legality and the drafting quality of acts. Ms Blanchet will replace Hubert Legal, director general of the legal service since 2011, who will be retiring.

Baker McKenzie has hired two corporate in-house hires. Transactional lawyer Scott L D’Angelo, a former McDonald’s Corporation general counsel, West Division, and most recently top in-house lawyer and chief compliance officer at Fortune Brands Home & Security, joined as counsel in Chicago. In New York, former General Electric veteran and senior tax counsel, Lawrence Zlatkin joined the firm’s tax practice as counsel. Mr Zlatkin spent nearly 25 years at GE, where he was responsible for the company’s tax profile and strategy across multiple global platforms, and led their tax organization in Europe, India, East Asia, and Australia/New Zealand. In 2017, Lawrence joined Dhruva Advisors USA, where he served as an executive director focusing on international tax aspects of cross-border investment and trade, with an emphasis on India-US tax issues.
solutions as tax laws continue to rapidly evolve."

Meanwhile, Weil, Gotshal & Manges has hired Brian Parness, associate general counsel at Goldman Sachs in New York. Mr Parness oversaw the daily execution of strategic transactions on behalf of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. He also advised different operating business units within Goldman Sachs Asset Management on investing activities and fund formation. Michael Aiello, chairman of the firm’s corporate department, said in a statement that as well  as experience with asset management transactions Mr Parness ‘brings a sophisticated knowledge of the market.’

Bombardier, maker of innovative planes and trains headquartered in Montreal, Canada, has announced the appointment of Steeve Robitaille as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, effective May 1, 2019. Mr Robitaille will succeed Daniel Desjardins who will continue to serve as a special advisor to Alain Bellemare, president and chief executive officer, and as chairman of Bombardier Transportation's board of directors. Mr Robitaille has over 25 years of high-level legal and transaction experience, and served as chief legal officer, executive vice president, merger and acquisitions for WSP since 2017. He is also acting as corporate secretary.

The Actors' Equity Association has announced that Lynn Rhinehart has been named special counsel, effective immediately. For nearly a decade, Ms Rhinehart served as general counsel for the AFL-CIO, becoming the first woman to serve in that capacity and joined the AFL-CIO Legal Department in 1996. She has represented the AFL-CIO before congress, courts and federal agencies and is a leading national expert in union-side labor law. Ms Rhinehart currently serves on the advisory board of Harvard Law School's Clean Slate Project, which is dedicated to making recommendations to reform labor law, and on the board of the National Employment Law Project. She is also a senior fellow at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, DC, with a focus on unions and collective bargaining.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which protects the pension benefits of nearly 37 million Americans in private-sector pension plans, has appointed Daniel Liebman deputy general counsel for the program law & policy department. Mr Liebman, previously the assistant general counsel for legal policy, joined PBGC in 2010 as a regulatory attorney. He has also served as acting assistant general counsel for Regulatory Affairs. In his new role, he will lead five units that provide legal advice and counsel on legislative, regulatory and policy matters, as well as on the Multiemployer Program and benefits administration. Mr Liebman replaces Israel Goldowitz, who recently retired from PBGC.

GCP Applied Technologies, a global provider of construction products technologies, has named James E Thompson as vice president, general counsel and secretary, effective April 8, 2019. Mr Thompson brings over 30 years of legal leadership experience to GCP. He will lead the company’s global legal team and oversee all aspects of legal strategy, corporate governance, compliance, commercial transactions, intellectual property, and government relations. He is currently senior vice president, general counsel and chief ethics and compliance officer at Avon Products, the global beauty products company.

Renovia, a provider of innovative sensor technologies combined with a digital health platform for women’s health needs, has announced the immediate appointment of  Jim O’Connor as general counsel & senior vice president, strategic development. He joined Renovia as general counsel in February 2018 and since then has led the company’s legal, compliance, quality and regulatory functions. In his new role, Mr. O’Connor’s responsibilities will expand to include corporate business development, manufacturing, program management and overseeing Renovia’s finance team. He will also assist in identifying and implementing programs to improve organizational efficiency and execution. Prior to joining Renovia, Mr. O’Connor worked for 12 years at Fortune 10 company United Technologies Corp (UTC).

Title Alliance Ltd, a RESPA-compliant ESOP joint ventured title insurance agency, has announced Maria Deligiorgis is their new general counsel and compliance officer. Ms Deligiorgis has spent her entire career in the real estate and title insurance industries working with small and large companies. She is responsible for all of the company's legal and business elements in all operations.