Bird & Bird has launched a Central and Eastern European desk, with the hire of technology, media and telecoms (TMT) partner Stephen Kines in London. The firm hopes to relocate Kines and open an office in Prague later this year, although the details are yet to be finalised. Kines joined from Prague-based TMT firm Kines, which he co-founded in 2004 when he left Linklaters with a six-lawyer team.