Pinsent Masons has hired Chris Richardson from big four accountant EY to lead its forensic accounting service. Richardson joins from EY where he was a partner in the financial services risk management team, leading its UK operational risk business. He has more than 20 years' experience in accounting across the UK, the US and Canada.

Linklaters has boosted its financial regulation group with the hire of Clare McMullen from the enforcement division of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). At the FCA she was a manager in the wholesale enforcement team and prior to that, was an associate in the enforcement legal team. Before joining the FCA, she practised at the criminal Bar and prior to qualification she spent four years as a management consultant at Oliver Wyman. She joins Linklaters as a counsel.

Osborne Clarke has also moved to strengthen its financial regulatory team, hiring partner Michael Lewis from Pinsent Masons. He advises clients on new business and product launches, FCA rules and the regulatory aspects of M&A in the financial sector. He spent six years at Pinsents and prior to that worked at legacy Norton Rose, Linklaters and Simmons & Simmons.

Morgan Lewis & Bockius has hired employment lawyer Louise Skinner from Allen & Overy (A&O). She represents clients in dismissal claims, discrimination matters, whistleblowing cases and contractual disputes. She trained at Scottish firm Shepherd and Wedderburn and had stints at legacy Barlow Lyde & Gilbert and Herbert Smith Freehills before joining A&O in 2013, where she was a counsel.

Texas legal giant Vinson & Elkins has strengthened its London office with the double hire of John Dawson from Clifford Chance and Federico Fruhbeck from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Finance partner Dawson focuses on syndicated, club and unitranche financings in the UK and international markets. Fruhbeck, who joins as a counsel, has experience of both M&A and high-yield financings. Prior to joining Simpson Thacher, he was an associate in the Madrid office of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Meanwhile in Germany, US firm Morrison & Foerster has boosted its Berlin office with the addition of real estate partner Florian Ehrich (pictured above). He joins the US firm from German independent Noerr. Ehrich will lead MoFo's German real estate practice. He specialises in complex real estate transactions, large-volume commercial lease agreements and real estate project development.

DWF has also added to its ranks in Germany with the hire of Nils Bing from intellectual property (IP) firm Vossius & Partner. He advises clients on IP litigation with a focus on the food and pharmaceutical sectors. He joins the firm as a partner in its Cologne office.

Clyde & Co has appointed commercial and regulatory disputes lawyer Tim Crockford as a partner in its professional and financial disputes group. Crockford joins from Gowling WLG, where he was a solicitor in the firm's commercial litigation team. Prior to that, he held roles as legal counsel at Vodafone and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Dentons has hired three partners in mainland Europe. Shaohui Zhang joins the firm as head of the China desk in Luxembourg from A&O, where he held the same role. Zhang joins the firm's corporate practice and has a focus on M&A, foreign direct investment and initial public offerings.

Corporate and M&A partner Antonella Brambilla also joins Dentons in the firm's Milan office, where she will focus on the development of the firm's capital markets offering in Italy. She joins from Italian firm Chiomenti, where she was a partner for nine years. She has a focus on public offerings, mergers and corporate governance matters.

Meanwhile in Frankfurt, the firm has hired restructuring and insolvency partner Daniel Fritz who joins from German firm hww hermann wienberg wilhelm, where he was a partner. Fritz focuses on the enforcement and defence of insolvency-related claims and also acts as a "private expert" for the European Commission (EC) on the reform of insolvency legislation. He is currently assisting the EC in drafting a directive on the establishment of a preventative restructuring framework.

In the US, a 17-strong aviation team has moved from Dentons to US firm LeClairRyan. Led by Virginia-based partner Mark Dombroff and New York partner Diane Westwood Wilson, it also includes partners Thomas Almy, Morgan Campbell, James Eastwood, Allan Horowitz and Mark McKinnon. Dombroff and Westwood Wilson's practices focus on advising aviation industry clients after plane crashes.

Litigation funder Burford Capital has appointed New York-based Mark Klein as its new general counsel. He joins Burford following four years as general counsel and chief compliance officer at investment adviser Marketfield Asset Management. Previously, he was briefly general counsel at private equity firm NewGlobe Capital Partners and spent 13 years at investment bank UBS, holding roles including general counsel of infrastructure.