US law firm bolsters City oil & gas and regulatory practices with hires from Shearman and Bryan Cave

K&L Gates has strengthened its project finance and regulatory practices with the hire of two partners in its London office.

Project finance partner Matthew Kidwell joins K&L Gates from fellow US law firm Shearman & Sterling, where he was a partner in the energy team. He advises international oil and gas companies on all aspects of the energy chain including oil and gas exploration, production, refining, pipelines and transportation, regulation and power generation and transmission.

The US law firm has also taken on former Bryan Cave counsel Chris Germain, who joins as a partner. He advises on regulatory, compliance and risk management matters and, prior to joining Bryan Cave, spent several years in-house.

Firmwide managing partner Peter Kalis (pictured) commented: "In 2010, our London office added six highly-regarded lateral partners. Matthew and Chris are the most recent, and they add considerably to the internationalisation of our London-based practice in their respective fields. With additional strong laterals in the pipeline and the underlying strength of our London business, we remain very optimistic heading into 2011."

Last year, McDermott Will & Emery antitrust chief Scott Megregian joined K&L Gates' London office in January, followed by finance partner Stephen Moller from Simmons & Simmons, who joined the firm shortly after.

In March, Carl Liederman and Keith Snedden joined the firm's corporate practice from US firm Arnold & Porter and Barlow Lyde & Gilbert respectively.