Eversheds Sutherland has boosted its banking team in London with the hire of Chris Hastings from Ropes and Gray. His clients include lenders and borrowers in the UK and US and he advises on transactions across leveraged and acquisition financing, fund finance and direct lending. Hastings' move follows the exit of two Ropes finance partners to King & Spalding earlier this month.

Pinsent Masons has hired funds specialist David Young from Maclay Murray & Spens. Young, who will split his time between London and Edinburgh, specialises in fund structuring, formation and investment work for investors and fund managers. At Maclays, Young led the financial services practice in Scotland and established and led the firm's alternative fund practice.

DWF has appointed a private client and tax director in Dubai in anticipation of the introduction of value added tax in the United Arab Emirates from early 2018. Sophia Yazane (pictured above) joins from local boutique M-HQ where she was head of tax. She has previously worked for Baker McKenzie and accountants KPMG and EY.

The firm has also hired banking partner Julie Huddleston in Belfast. She joins from local firm John McKee Solicitors. She has acted for banks such as Ulster Bank, Santander, Bank of Ireland and First Trust Bank. DWF launched in Belfast in December 2016 via a merger with local firm C & H Jefferson.

Sullivan & Cromwell has appointed former European Commission deputy director general Gotz Drauz as of counsel in its Brussels competition practice. He previously led the Commission's merger taskforce before being appointed deputy director general for competition. He joins from the Brussels office of US firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, following competition partner Michael Rosenthal who moved to Sullivan last month to launch Sullivan's Brussels office.

Howard Kennedy has hired corporate partner Jonathan Polin from Dentons. Polin trained at Berwin Leighton Paisner and joined Dentons legacy firm Salans as a partner in 2002. He advises clients on issues such as public and private M&A, and listing on AIM and the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

Taylor Wessing has appointed tax lawyer Graham Samuel-Gibbon as a partner in its London office. He joins from accountancy firm EY, where he was a director in the international tax services department. He trained with Hogan Lovells and spent nearly seven years at Latham & Watkins before moving to EY in 2014. He advises on transactional and non-transactional tax matters, including cross-border tax structuring and risk management.

Mishcon de Reya has hired tax partner Filippo Noseda from Withers, where he was joint head of the firm's wealth planning practice. Noseda is joint qualified in England and Switzerland and is able to advise on trusts and succession planning issues from both a common law and civil law perspective. He will be based in the firm's London office and joins on 19 June.

Hogan Lovells has strengthened its Madrid banking team with the hire of partner Alfredo Barona from DLA Piper. Barona started his career at Clifford Chance, where he spent seven years before moving to DLA Piper, where he made partner in 2012. His practice focuses on acting for lenders and borrowers on financing transactions.

Brown Rudnick has appointed bankruptcy partner Benjamin Klinger as a partner in its London office. His practice includes advising on reorganisations, recovery and turnaround matters for both debtors and creditors. He joins from fellow US firm Sidley Austin.

Haynes and Boone CDG has launched a London corporate practice with the hire of partners Tom Ferns and Nick Foss-Pedersen from Rosenblatt Solicitors. US firm Haynes and Boone opened in London last year, following a merger with local boutique Curtis Davis Garrard.

Shakespeare Martineau has appointed Weightmans' head of wills, tax, trusts and probate Paul Horton as a partner in its Leicester office. His clients include business owners, high-net-worth individuals and premiership footballers.