Asia
The head of legal at the China Ocean Shipping Co (COSCO) has joined London firm Ince & Co. Guo Xu joins the firm’s Beijing office as counsel and, according to Asian Legal Business, says he is delighted to be part of Ince’s ‘commitment to China’.
The Sydney office of Norton Rose has lost a banking and finance partner to Simmons & Simmons which is on the hunt for partners for the soon-to-be launched Singapore office. Dan Marjanovic will be based in the firm’s Hong Kong office but will move to Singapore when Simmons & Simmons is granted a license to open an office. According to Legal Week, the firm will relocate a number of other partners to the Singapore office.
UK
Litigation firm Hage Aaronson has snapped up a team of tax litigators from US firm Dorsey & Whitney, according to reports in The Lawyer. The firm which has also just rented over 7000 square feet of office space in London’s midtown, will welcome Simon Whitehead and Paul Farmer to its new premises alongside two other lawyers, Robert Waterson and Philippe Freund.
Highly regarded digital law firm Laurence Kaye Solicitors has been acquired by UK firm Shoosmiths. Laurence Kaye, the eponymous founder whose clients include News International and Harry Potter books, will join Shoosmiths which is moving to expand its digital side.
A Skadden partner, Karyl Nairn, was appointed Queen’s Counsel, the only solicitor to make the grade. Ms Nairn is the London-based co-head of international arbitration for Skadden in Europe and is the only solicitor advocate of the 84 appointed this year. She is also only one of three women solicitor advocated ever to be appointed. She is also a vice president of the ICC International Court of Arbitration. Last year she won a victory on behalf of Roman Abramovich in his six billion dollar dispute with Boris Berezovsky, the largest case ever in the English Commercial Court and the largest private dispute in history.
Oceania
A government minister has retired from the front bench and joined Minter Ellison, reports Lawyers Weekly. Patrick Conlon, former minister for planning, transport and infrastructure in the Government of South Australia will remain an MP but will work for the firm subject to the Ministerial Code of Conduct.
A former investment banker is set to join firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth, The American Lawyer reports. Jonathan Farrer joins Corrs’ Melbourne office in the corporate advisory group. He previously worked at Macquarie Group and at Allens Arthur Robinson before joining boutique investment bank Greenhill. Corrs is also beefing up its Brisbane office with energy and resources expert James Minchinton who previously of counsel at Clayton Utz.
Europe
White & Case has swiped three capital markets lawyers from the Paris office of Linklaters. Philippe Herbelin, Cenzi Gargaro and Severin Robillard exit the firm with consultant Gilles Endreo and assistant Thomas Le Vert. The five join White & Case as partners, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile Linklaters’ mergers and acquisitions partner Daniel Dufner is joining White & Case’s New York office.
Offshore
Irish financial services law firm Dillon Eustace is adding to its recently established Cayman Islands office by relocating Derbhil O'Riordan who arrives from the firm’s Dublin office. She will continue to work for its hedge funds practice, servicing both Irish and Cayman funds. The firm is the first onshore regulated law firm to establish a fully-serviced practice in the Cayman Islands. It opened its doors in the Cayman Islands due to ‘increased client demand for services in the offshore jurisdiction particularly as it evolves in to a more transparent market,’ a statement from the firm said.
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