UK

London law firm Bird & Bird has beefed up its international franchising offering with the appointment of Mark Abell.
Global franchising specialist Mark Abell joins the firm from Field Fisher Waterhouse as a partner in the newly created position of head of franchising, licensing and multi-channel strategies.
Earlier this year, Bird & Bird appointed Victoria Hobbs and Graeme Payne in the same area of practice to complement its growing international capability in this field.

The London office of Herbert Smith Freehills has recruited Henrietta de Salis as a consultant in its financial services regulation (FSR) team.  
Ms de Salis will work alongside partner Clive Cunningham and others in our combined FSR (contentious and non-contentious) team, providing banks, asset managers, insurers and other financial institutions with non-contentious regulatory advice.
Ms de Salis joins from magic circle law firm Linklaters, where she was a consultant in its FSR team. Previously, she held senior roles in-house at Dresdner Kleinwort and Swiss Re.

Russia

Ohio-founded law firm Squire Sanders has boosted its market leading private equity practice in Russia with the appointment of Anton Rogoza as partner
Mr Rogoza joins the firm’s corporate and corporate finance group in Moscow from Goltsblat BLP.
Mr Rogoza is a specialist in private equity with wide experience of M&A and corporate restructuring projects across several industries. He advises Russian and international companies on their cross-border transactions, joint ventures and portfolio investments in Russia.

Hong Kong

US law firm White & Case has confirmed that Julian Chung has joined the firm as a partner in its Hong Kong office.
Mr Chung has spent 26 years advising on public M&A and equity capital markets transactions, with work covering both state and privately owned companies in China and other parts of Asia, as well as the listings of international companies in Hong Kong. He also brings experience in the mining and commodities sectors.
The addition of Mr Chung to White & Case in Hong Kong follows the transfer of English-qualified Corporate and M&A partner Anthony Vasey from the firm’s London office, and the arrival of mining expert John Tivey from Freehills, both in 2012.  

Belgium

Magic circle law firm Linklaters has appointed Henk Vanhulle as managing partner of its Belgian offices.
He succeeds François De Bauw who finishes his five year stint in the role. Mr De Bauw will now focus full time on his client work.
Mr Vanhulle has been a partner since 1995. Prior to this new role he was Linklaters’ global tax practice head. His practice is ranked first tier in the main international guides to the legal profession. He will continue to practise and lead the Belgian tax practice.