Barbara Bishop, previously senior New York legal director at Bear Stearns, has been appointed as general counsel at financial services firm Pali Holdings. Bishop spent 23 years with Bear Stearns, which was bought by JP Morgan earlier this year, and was senior managing director in legal and compliance on her departure. She will be based at Pali's headquarters in New York, reporting to chairman and chief executive Brad Reifler and chief operating officer Joseph Schenk.