Edwards Wildman has appointed intellectual property lawyer Nicholas Bolter as its new London managing partner following the promotion of Laurence Harris to firmwide deputy managing partner.

Bolter (pictured), who joined legacy Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge in 2009 from now-defunct Howrey, has a particular focus on trademarks and designs. He will maintain his practice after taking up his new leadership role.

Harris, who held the position of London managing partner since 2008 when Edwards Angell merged with legacy Kendall Freeman, has joined a new firmwide leadership team including chairman Alan Levin, managing partner Bob Shuftan and COO Judy Hurley.

Bolter commented: "I'm looking forward to maintaining the momentum Laurence and my colleagues have established with the growth of our office. We will continue to look for opportunities to expand our reach in our core areas, such as litigation, IP, insurance and reinsurance and corporate services. We will also be open to expanding into other areas."

The appointment comes after the firm strengthened its private equity practice with the hire of CMS Cameron McKenna international head of private equity Ted Cominos.

Cominos, who will join the firm in the coming weeks, will split his time between London and Chicago. Before joining Camerons, Cominos was an in-house lawyer at Ethemos Capital, which he joined form Linklaters in 2007.