Kirkland & Ellis has hired four associates – from Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Norton Rose Fulbright and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe – for its London restructuring practice.

The new recruits are Milbank financial restructuring senior associate and former Linklaters lawyer Matthew Czyzyk, Freshfields associate Alexandra Caddy, Norton Rose associate Peter Madden and Orrick associate Jack Mead.

Kirkland London restructuring partner Kon Asimacopoulos said: "Matthew has built a reputation as one of the leading special situations and restructuring lawyers in Europe. The addition of Matt alongside Jack, Alex and Peter to our European restructuring practice, will allow us to further enhance our offering to clients with interests in distressed situations."

The hires come after Kirkland recruited Freshfields partner Sean Lacey to the restructuring team last year. More recently, Kirkland also hired Freshfields private equity star David Higgins as London co-head. Higgins is due to arrive at the firm later this year.

Memery Crystal has launched a wealth structuring department with the hire of partner Hed Amitai from McGuireWoods. Amitai spent five years at the US firm, specialising in asset structuring for capital tax planning and wealth preservation. He acts for a variety of international clients with interests in the UK, as well as individuals relocating to the UK or investing money in the UK.

Dentons has boosted its Paris office with an intellectual property, technology and life sciences team from Dechert. Partner Marianne Schaffner (pictured above) and her team, consisting of an associate and a counsel, have joined the firm's office in the French capital. At Dechert, Schaffner headed the US firm's IP practice in Paris and co-led its life sciences group.

Herbert Smith Freehills and Hogan Lovells have both rejigged their practice management, in finance and real estate respectively. At HSF, Jeremy Walden has been appointed its new head of real estate for UK & EMEA, replacing Don Rowlands who had held the role for six years. He will return to fee-earning work at the firm.

Meanwhile, Hogan Lovells global head of finance Sharon Lewis will be replaced in the role by current banking head Matthew Cottis next month. Lewis is set to lead Hogan Lovells' financial institutions sector group, taking over from partner Rachel Kent, who has stepped down to concentrate on Brexit-related work at the firm. Cottis will be replaced as banking head by partner Penny Angell.

Covington & Burling has boosted its project finance offering with the hire of a partner and associate from US rival Baker Botts in London. Partner Robin Mizrahi has joined Covington as a partner and Laure Berthelot has joined as special counsel. She was a senior associate at Baker Botts. The duo's hire follows Covington's extended push into project finance work with the hire of several lawyers from Chadbourne & Parke last year to launch offices in Dubai and Johannesburg.

US firm Perkins Coie has hired Bryan Cave former private funds co-head Kemery Sipes in Denver, as the firm finalises its merger with Berwin Leighton Paisner. She joined Bryan Cave as counsel in 2013 after more than a half a dozen years in-house at publicly traded investment firm Janus Capital Group Inc. Sipes has said her move has little to do with the combination: "The strengths of the Perkins Coie platform are really more on the domestic side than the international side. I wasn't running away from a merger by any means."

Addleshaw Goddard has expanded its Leeds office with the hire of financial services partner Andrew Fordham from Squire Patton Boggs. His practice covers acquisition finance, real estate finance and general corporate banking, both in the UK and overseas. His addition follows several hires by Addleshaws, including an eight-lawyer construction team from DWF in Manchester earlier this year.

Squire Patton Boggs has hired DWF Leeds litigation head Jason Blakey, who advises on a wide range of large commercial disputes and pensions litigation. He previously trained at the US firm and spent eight years there. SPB Leeds managing partner John Alderton said: "Jason is an experienced, highly capable litigator, well known and respected in Yorkshire and beyond. His arrival will add strength to our team and enhance our offering to clients, both locally and internationally."

Simmons & Simmons has boosted its French dispute resolution offering with the hire of  partner Guillaume-Denis Faure from Winston & Strawn in Paris. His experience includes  working with funds, companies, shareholders and management teams, and he has a particular focus on the financial, life science and media industries. He joins Simmons after three years at Winston & Strawn. Prior to that, he was a partner at Bird & Bird in the French capital.

Gateley has hired employment partner Gareth Wadley to its London office. Wadley joins the firm from Eversheds Sutherland, where he helped set up the firm's London immigration practice and had been a partner for six years. At Gateley, he will help develop the firm's global mobility offering. Gateley London head Paul Hayward said: "Gareth's areas of expertise will be a great addition to our employment practice and his experience in immigration law will add great value to our global mobility services."

Sidley Austin has launched a London life sciences practice with the hire of partner Maria Isabel Manley. She joins the US firm from Bristows, where she led its life sciences regulatory practice and has particular experience on issues arising during the lifecycle of medicinal products, including advertising, product liability and competition.

Dentons has boosted its French real estate practice with the addition of partner Pascal Schmitz and two associates in Paris. The team joins from King & Spalding, where Schmitz led the US firm's French real estate and private equity practice. Before joining King & Spalding, Schmitz was a partner for 10 years at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. His practice includes corporate and investment property acquisitions and disposals, acquisition financing, and joint ventures, as well as real estate funds structuring.

DAC Beachcroft has appointed Duncan Fisher as partner in its residential development team. Real estate partner Fisher, who joins from Womble Bond Dickinson, will be based in the firm's Newcastle office and has a focus on advising landowners, developers and regional and national housebuilders. He joined Womble Bond in 1997 and has been a partner for 15 years. DAC Beachcroft head of real estate Robert Lee said: "Duncan will be a great asset to our team and strengthen what we can offer to housebuilders nationally, particularly in the north and Scotland."