Finisterre Capital has established its own in-house legal function and appointed its first-ever general counsel with the recruitment of Altima Partners' head of legal Ursula Newman.

Newman joined Finisterre Capital earlier this month (12 January) as GC after the fund manager decided that it required an in-house legal function due to the company's growth and increasing regulatory demands.

Newman said: "I am here to provide Finisterre with the legal coverage that they need going forward."

Newman's remit will include assessing whether she needs to build up the in-house legal function as well as appointing external advisers for the hedge fund. Law firms Finisterre currently works with include Herbert Smith for corporate, Davis Arnold Cooper for employment and Simmons & Simmons for funds work.

Newman was admitted as a solicitor in 1991 and started her career at Macfarlanes before moving to DLA Piper. She later moved in-house to Deutsche Bank before joining HSBC, where she worked as an investment banker.

In 2006 Newman joined Altima, a spin-off of Deutsche, as a lawyer and head of legal. Her replacement at the company is as yet unconfirmed.

Finisterre, which was founded in 2002, is an emerging markets specialist fund in a variety of asset classes, including sovereign debt, foreign exchange and corporate credit.