US

US-based international law firm K&L Gates LLP has appointed James P. Duffy IV as a partner in the international arbitration practice based the firm’s New York office. Joining from DLA Piper, Mr Duffy advises on international arbitration on a global scale and is widely experienced in the development of global resolution strategies for clients.

Loeb & Loeb LLP add to its Corporate Department with the hire of Michael Grandis as partner in the New York office. Mr Grandis, a former partner at Ingram Yuzek Gainen Carroll & Bertolotti LLP, has almost 15 years of experience, particularly in public and private mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, private equity financings and corporate governance counselling. Specialising in coporate transactional work, Mr Grandis also serves in a general counsel role for a number of middle market companies, and is admitted to the bars in New York and New Jersey.

Singapore

Joint law venture Baker&McKenzie.Wong &Leow has a new Singapore managing principal, ALB reports. Andy Leck, an experienced IP specialist who has been with Baker & McKenzie in Singapore for 16 years, will replace Edmund Leow, who is moving to Singapore’s Supreme Court to be a judicial commissioner. Mr Leck’s is not the only new appointment for the venture -  partner Eugene Lim from Baker & McKenzie’s Hong Kong/China Tax Practice Group has been appointed head of Baker & McKenzie.Wong & Leow’s Tax and Wealth Management practice.

Sidley Austin has hired an experienced project finance and infrastructure lawyer from Australian law firm Gilbert + Tobin. Nicholas Grambas becomes a partner in Sidley Austin’s Project Finance and Infrastructure practice in the Singapore office, bringing with him over 25 years of experience working across Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East as both an investment banker and a lawyer. 

UK

Former Weil Gotshal & Manges litigation partner Matthew Shankland has been appointed partner in the global dispute resolution group of Sidley Austin LLP, bringing to the London office a wealth of corporate and commercial dispute experience.  Mr Shankland has been heavily involved in high profile English cases regarding structured finance and derivative transactions. He has experience in alternative dispute resolution and litigation and arbitration concerned with cross-border bankruptcies and insolvency. 

K&L Gates’ London office also gets a boost as the firm hires former Pinsent Masons LLP partner Mike Stewart as partner for its energy, infrastructure and resources practice. Mr Stewart specialises in disputes arising from major energy and infrastructure projects and has advised owners and contractors around the globe. He is the second partner to join the practice in a month as K&L’s London office rapidly grows its energy practice. 

London law firm Charles Russell LLP’s Senior Counsel in the Technology & Communications group, Stephanie Liston, has been hired as an independent external member of BT’s Equality of Access Board (EAB) – a committee of the BT Group plc Board which is part of the Undertakings offered by BT to the Office of Communications (Ofcom). Ms Liston, a US and UK qualified lawyer who has been senior partner in a number of law firms, will replace Sir Bryan Carsberg in effect from August 1st. Amongst her extensive experience in telecoms, she was Non-Executive Director of Ofcom Between 2005 to 2008.

Australia

The Sydney and Melbourne offices of Freehills Patent Attorneys have hired a partner each to boost the firm’s physics and engineering practice areas and strengthen intellectual property counselling, Lawyers Weekly reports. Carl Harrap, formerly at Herbert Smith Freehills and a specialist in electrical and electronic engineering, will join the Sydney team, and Thor North, a physics specialist, joins the firm in Melbourne. Between them the pair has expertise in areas covering computing, communications, electronics, software, signal processing, consumer devices and products, ophthalmic devices and electronic commerce amongst others.