All the latest partner hires and other appointments within Continental European firms and offices.
Baltics
Cobalt has elected Akvilė Bosaitė as the ninth partner in its Lithuanian office. Bosaitė, who has just returned from maternity leave, heads the firm’s local banking and finance team.
Benelux
Covington & Burling has appointed Kevin Coates as a partner in Brussels. Coates previously served as head of one of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition’s cartels units between 2012 and 2016.
Kennedy Van der Laan has hired two new lawyers. Daniëlle van den Dungen has joined the personal injury team from Lexence, while Floortje van Buchem has rejoined the firm’s banking & finance team from NautaDutilh.
France
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer looks set to lose four partners in its Paris office to US firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. The quartet leaving for Orrick’s French arm, Orrick Rambaud Martel, includes Paris employment head Emmanuel Benard, who joined the firm in 2004 from Bélier & Associés. Finance partner duo Hervé Touraine and Emmanuel Ringeval are also due to leave for Orrick, alongside corporate partner Patrick Tardivy.
Goodwin Procter is to open its first office in Paris after hiring a four-partner team from King & Wood Mallesons (KWM). KWM Paris managing partner and corporate co-head Christophe Digoy will join the US firm for its French launch, as well as three other members of his corporate team. Partners Maxence Bloch, Jérôme Jouhanneaud and Thomas Maitrejean are all set to build up Goodwin Procter’s Paris office after completing their notice periods and fellow KWM partners Pierre-Louis Sévegrand and William Robert are also expected to join Goodwin Procter in due course.
Norton Rose Fulbright has announced that partner Christophe Asselineau has joined the firm in Paris from Shearman & Sterling where he was head of the Africa group. Asselineau has over 25 years of experience in advising clients on projects in the infrastructure, mining and commodities and energy sectors across Africa and in the energy sector in Europe.
Squire Patton Boggs has appointed Veronique Collin as a partner in the firm’s financial services practice in Paris. Collin was formerly a partner at DLA Piper for almost 10 years.
De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés has recruited Reed Smith partner Anker Sorensen and Latournerie Wolfrom Avocats partner Julien de Michele to develop a restructuring department. Both focus on domestic and cross-border restructuring, particularly in the industrial and financial sectors.
Bignon Lebray Avocats has hired Neil Robertson as a partner to help with the firm’s international development. Robertson specializes in corporate law. He joins the firm from CBR & Associés, having previously worked for Ashurst and now-defunct Coudert Frères.
Freshfields has promoted Ludovic Geneston to the position of counsel in the firm’s tax team. Geneston joined the firm in 2007.
Bryan Cave has announced that Rémy Blain has been appointed as Paris managing partner, effective 1 April. Blain is a corporate specialist.
Germany
Kirkland & Ellis has made a major corporate team hire in Germany from Hengeler Mueller. Munich-based M&A partner Achim Herfs has taken counsel Anna Schwander and senior associate Benjamin Leyendecker-Langer to Kirkland, with all three joining as partners.
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has made a disputes team hire in Germany, taking two partners and seven lawyers from litigation boutique Acker Görling & Schmalz. The hire doubles the size of HSF’s disputes team in Germany and significantly adds to its corporate crime and investigation practice.
Andreas Steck has been elected senior partner of Linklaters’ German operation. Succeeding Carl-Peter Feick, who completes the maximum two terms in the role, Steck’s appointment is effective from 1 May 2016 and will see him become a member of the firm’s executive committee.
Osborne Clarke has strengthened its IP practice with partner Matthias Kloth. Kloth will join the Hamburg office at the beginning of May from White & Case, where he has been a local partner since 2008.
Mayer Brown has announced the hire of Martin Heuber as a partner in Frankfurt. Martin will enhance the firm’s debt financing capabilities. He joins from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where he was a principal associate. Meanwhile Holger Schelling from DZ Bank joins the German financial services regulatory & enforcement practice as a counsel.
A team of lawyers has launched life sciences and healthcare boutique Novacos in Düsseldorf. The team consists of former Clifford Chance senior associates Maria Heil and Christian Hübner, former Linde in-houser Marc Oeben, and Alexander Natz, who previously ran his own firm.
Luther has promoted Carina Rogerio to its partnership with effect from 26 February 2016. Rogerio joined Luther in 2011 and is head of the firm’s French desk in Singapore.
Iberia
Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira has appointed eight new equity partners and five counsels in its general partners meeting held in Madrid on April 7 and 8. The new partners are spread across the finance, corporate and commercial, real estate, tax and criminal practices and include lawyers made up in London, Lisbon, Girona, Barcelona and Madrid.
Italy
R&P Legal has reinforced its international capabilities with the arrival of partner Daniela Murer who will join the firm’s corporate and M&A team from Eversheds, where she was a partner.
Nordics
Borenius has appointed Casper Herler as its new managing partner. He replaces Jari Vikiö who has been appointed as senior partner alongside Jyrki Tähtinen, who will continue to act as senior partner and chairman of the board.
Turkey
Moroğlu Arseven has announced that Gökçe İzgi and Ezgi Baklacı have been promoted from counsel to partner. Both are IP specialists.