The Transfer Window is a weekly round-up of recent legal moves in the UK and abroad. Please send all announcements to [email protected].

Shearman & Sterling has appointed Arnold & Porter white collar partner Claudius Sokenu to its litigation group, in a boost to the firm's anticorruption and securities enforcement practices.

Sokenu, (pictured) who will split his time between London, New York and Washington DC, is a former senior counsel in the Securities Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Enforcement. In private practice, he has represented clients in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations, and compliance matters before the SEC, the US Department of Justice and the UK Serious Fraud Office.

"He possesses an ideal skill set-developed through his work in government and in private practice and his many years of experience counselling leading multinationals worldwide," said Shearman senior partner Creighton Condon.

Eversheds has recruited former Sidley Austin London intellectual property and life sciences head Brett Rowland for the UK firm's London base.

Rowland, who is also a former partner at Hogan Lovells, is dual-qualified in England and Australia. His practice covers both contentious and non-contentious work, which a particular focus on pharma and biotech.

CMS Cameron McKenna has reappointed banking partner Martin Brown to its London team, a year after he left the firm to join Ashurst's restructuring practice.

Brown was made up to partner in CMS' London banking and international finance team in 2008. He specialises in corporate restructuring and insolvency proceedings, and his clients include banks, hedge funds, insolvency practitioners and directors.

Allen & Overy (A&O) has hired real estate partner Jochen Scheel from Paul Hastings for its Frankfurt practice.

Scheel, who joined Paul Hastings in 2008 from Frankfurt boutique Smeets Haas Wolff, has advised Middle East, US, UK and German investors on the sale, purchase and development of commercial, retail and residential portfolios. His start date is not yet confirmed.

The London office of Duane Morris has hired Proskauer Rose corporate partner Jennifer Wheater, bringing City partner headcount at the US firm firm to 11.

Wheater – who is qualified in both New York and England and Wales – advises on a range of corporate matters, with a practice focus on tax issues in private equity and cross-border transactions.

Oil and natural gas service company Weatherford International has appointed Alejandro Cestero as co-general counsel. Cestero, who previously worked as vice president and general counsel of Lufkin Industries, and before that, as general counsel and chief compliance officer of Seahawk Drilling.

The London office of Reed Smith has hired Lawrence Graham partner Eoin O'Shea to its global regulatory disputes practice.

O'Shea, a top-rated lawyer in the field of corporate crime and investigations, has advised numerous multinational companies on investigations, including in the energy and natural resources, defence and financial services sectors.

Morgan Lewis has expanded its Moscow office with the hire of an eight-lawyer business and finance team from French firm Gide Loyrette Nouel, including two partners.

Grigory Marinichev – the former finance and restructuring head of Gide in Moscow – and project finance partner Konstantin Kochetkov are joining the US firm alongside six associates.

Marinichev's practice focuses on structured finance and secured lending as well as debt restructuring and insolvency matters, while Kochetkov advises clients on project finance transactions, as well as on issues relating to pre-export finance, export finance, restructuring, equity financing, and private equity transactions.

Stephenson Harwood has hired asset finance partner Lisa Marks from Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP). Marks joined BLP in 2005 from Denton Wilde Sapte, where she had worked for 19 years.

She has held roles on mandates including advising The Royal Bank of Scotland in connection with the bank's ownership and leasing of Voyager trains and representing Deutsche Bank in relation the construction of two data centres.

Bird & Bird has boosted its Frankfurt banking team with the hire of Dentons finance partner Bernhard Gemmel. Gemmel spent two years working at the Frankfurt office of Dentons and legacy Salans, which he joined from Beiten Burkhardt. He specialises in project, real estate, trade and acquisition finance.

Field Fisher Waterhouse has sealed the hire of longserving Taylor Wessing corporate partner David Kent. Kent, who headed up Taylor Wessing's UK inward investment team, had worked at his former firm for 36 years and was made up to partner in 1984.

During his time at the firm he co-founded both the Cambridge office in 2002 and the firm's Tech City arm in 2011. He also initiated the discussions with legacy firm Wessing, which led to the formation of Taylor Wessing. He will join Field Fisher this September.

CMS Cameron McKenna has recruited RPC's head of reinsurance Simon Kilgour for its City insurance and reinsurance practice. Kilgour, who was made up to partner level at RPC in 1996, has led disputes and arbitrations particularly in London, the USA and Bermuda.

A&O has hired Visa Europe executive vice president and general counsel Vanessa Turner to bulk up its antitrust practice.

Before Turner joined Visa in 2010, she was a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's Brussels office until 2008, when she was appointed to the European Commission as a member of the competition cabinet. She also took up a role as special advisor for EU affairs at the US Federal Trade Commission in 2010.

Turner is the only private sector competition lawyer to have worked for a European Competition Commissioner. She has worked on a range of antitrust and merger cases, including the Microsoft browser case and other leading IT cases, airline mergers, cartels and international cooperation.

Simmons & Simmons has boosted its Paris team with the hire of Hogan Lovells of counsel Ombline Ancelin as a partner. Ancelin, who joined Hogan Lovells in 2001, will join Simmons' competition practice.

Ancelin has particular experience in lifesciences, TMT, energy and infrastructure. Her hire marks the second appointment to the Paris office so far this year after the firm recruited corporate partner Noro-Lanto Ravisy in January.

Dechert's Paris office has hired Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe corporate partner Matthieu Grollemund, along with associate Helene Parent.
Grollemund, who works with private equity and hedge fund clients, has worked with the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile on the planned floatation of Formula One by CVC Capital Partners.

Olswang has recruited tax partner Andrew Quayle from Eversheds. Quayle, who joined his previous firm's Manchester base in 1997, will join Olswang's City office. He has put employee share incentive plans and reward arrangements in place for clients that range from FTSE 350 companies to small private companies, and has particular experience in handling work for North American companies.

Lewis Silkin has hired Davenport Lyons head of litigation and intellectual property Adam Glass as a partner in its media brands and technology team.
Glass advises on contentious and non-contentious IP and media law, representing clients predominantly in the media, fashion, retail, and luxury brands sectors.

Previously, Glass worked as senior counsel at News International Newspapers, where he managed a team working across the national titles, and as a barrister for six years at legacy Mitre Court Chambers.

Chadbourne & Parke has hired Sidley Austin banking and finance partner Partha Pal in a boost for the US firm's London office.

While at Sidley, Pal practiced in the firm's New York, London and Singapore offices, advising on banking and structure finance transactions, related restructurings and dispute resolution.

"Strengthening Chadbourne's banking and finance capabilities in London is critical to enhancing our ability to execute emerging-markets transactions governed by English law," said Adrian Mecz, managing partner of Chadbourne's London office.

Field Fisher has hired Eversheds head of capital markets Neil Matthews for its capital markets practice. Matthews has worked at Eversheds since 1989, and was made up in 1996.

His equity capital markets experience includes acting for Abcam, Ilika, May Gurney, Norcon and Plusnet on their initial public offerings, representing Apollo Group in 2009 on its takeover of BPP Holdings and for May Gurney on its recommended takeover by Kier Group this year.

Trowers & Hamlins has appointed a new head of private wealth with the hire of tax specialist Simon Goldring from RadcliffesLeBrasseur, where he has been a partner since 2008 and head of tax and private client since 2009.

Goldring, who is a chartered tax adviser, specialises in advising on wills, trusts, probate processes, powers of attorney and both domicile and tax planning.