Europe

London law firm Withers has snapped up investment management specialist Matthew Feargrieve to establish a pan-European investment funds practice.
Mr Feargrieve is an expert in advising fund managers, investors and private clients on fund structuring and investment in public and private investment products.  He advises clients throughout Europe, in particular Switzerland and the UK and will be based in the firm’s Zurich office.

French law firm Redlink has strengthened is corporate and tax offerings with the arrival of Emmanuelle Porte and Jean Sébastien Dumont as partners from Nixon Peabody.
According to the firm, the hires are in line with Redlink’s commitment to providing integrated solutions particularly to medium businesses and international groups.
Ms Porte advises French and American companies on mergers & acquisitions, restructuring and venture capital transactions. She also created the life sciences department at Nixon Peabody’s office in Paris.
Mr Dumont advises clients from the media, new technologies and real estate sectors on tax optimisation issues, as well as company managers on asset management and business transfer issues.

Missouri law firm Bryan Cave has boosted its German presence with the hire of three local lawyers. Annekatren Werthmann-Feldhues, Stefan Skulesch and Martin Lüderitz join the firm’s German offices in Hamburg and Frankfurt.
Commenting on the new recruits, Michael Leue, managing partner of Bryan Cave’s German offices, said: ‘With these three new additions to our team we continue our strategy of sustained growth. We broaden and deepen our services in the areas of M & A/ corporate, national and international tax law and labour and employment law. Specific industry experience has been added to the areas of renewable energy, health and private equity.’

Wilhelm Haarmann has been elected a partner in the German office of magic circle firm Linklaters.
Mr Haarmann - a founding partner of the law firm Haarmann – deals with tax mandates and mainly advises on tax mandates and corporate transactions in the fields of M&A, private equity and venture capital.
From 2005 until 2009 he was a member of the board of the German Private Equity and Venture Capital Association and he was a member of the World Economic Forum for 15 years.

Meanwhile, magic circle rival Clifford Chance has appointed corporate partner Jaime Velázquez as its new managing partner in Spain following a vote by its Spanish partners.
Mr Velázquez was elected for a four-year term effective from 1 May, reports Top Legal. He succeeds Ignacio Ojanguren who served as managing partner at the firm’s Barcelona and Madrid offices for 12 years.
Mr Velázquez has been a partner at Clifford Chance since 2005, when he joined from Allen & Overy.

UK

Anglo-Australian law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has confirmed the recruitment to its partnership of Rod Fletcher, one of the UK's leading business crime and investigations specialists.
Mr Smith will join Herbert Smith Freehills' disputes practice in London in April 2013 and lead its top-ranked corporate crime and investigations team, in conjunction with partner Graham More.

US

David Krischer has been named as the new US managing partner of magic circle firm Allen & Overy.
Legal Week reports that Mr Krischer - who was appointed late last week with immediate effect - will split his time between London, New York and Washington DC for an initial period while continuing to lead the firm's global capital markets practice.
Mr Krischer follows Kevin O'Shea, who will step up to the US senior partner role. The US managing partner oversees day-to-day operations and recruitment at the firm, while the senior partner focuses on clients and external affairs.

Australasia

Australian law firm Moray & Agnew has appointed a new partner in its Sydney office.
Australasian Legal Business reports that Shayne Thompson, formerly an insurance partner at Middletons (now K&L Gates), has joined the firm and brings with him over 20 years of experience in advising clients in the insurance industry.
Mr Thompson has previously acted for major local and international insurers, including a number of American insurers and the London insurance market.

Offshore

Top offshore law firm Bedell Cristin has hired leading Guernsey corporate and finance lawyer David Moore.
Mr Moore is a highly regarded practitioner in corporate, finance, insurance, offshore funds, trusts and regulatory matters. He is frequently referred to in the legal directories as one of Guernsey’s leading corporate lawyers.
The firm has also recruited Peter Bertram, one of Jersey’s foremost property lawyers.
Mr Bertram has practised for more than 30 years and has acted for many major property developers and lenders on a number of high profile property developments.

Please send all announcements and news releases to jamesbarnes@globallegalpost.com