Hogan Lovells has boosted its German finance practice with the hire of a two-partner derivatives team from Mayer Brown, consisting of European capital markets head and global partnership board member Jochen Seitz, and derivatives partner Peter Maier. Hogan Lovells' global finance head Sharon Lewis said that Seitz and Maier's combination of derivatives and regulatory expertise makes them a "unique proposition" within the German market.

Latham & Watkins has added to its finance practice with the hire of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Simeon Rudin in London. Rudin, who joins Latham as a counsel, focuses on acting for banks and insurance companies on matters such as equity and structured credit transactions, structured insurance transactions and regulatory and transactional fintech matters.

Kirkland & Ellis has hired Ropes & Gray funds associate James Board as a partner in London. He will join the firm's investment funds group. Board departs after five years with Ropes, having joined the firm from Baker McKenzie where he was also an associate. The move comes after Kirkland hired London Ropes' investment funds partner Anand Damodaran in August. The same month, it also hired a five-partner investigations and government enforcement team from Ropes, including lawyers from four of the firm's offices in the US, UK and Asia.

Squire Patton Boggs has strengthened its tax practice with the appointment of Liz Pierson as a partner in London. She joins from Clifford Chance, where she was a director in the incentives group. She trained at South African firm Bowmans, before joining Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and then moving in-house to Virgin Media. She advises on all aspects of executive remuneration and incentives for public and private companies in the UK and internationally.

The firm has also hired infrastructure project finance specialist Nick Helm (pictured above) as a partner in Manchester. He was previously a partner at DLA Piper, where he advised on project finance, PPP schemes and infrastructure M&A. The firm's European head of real estate Nick Green said: "Nick Helm is a well respected all-round projects specialist who has advised on some of the country's most complex PFI schemes." His appointment follows that of corporate partner James Fitzgibbon, who joined the firm in Manchester from PwC earlier this month.

Bird & Bird has hired Benedikt Burger as a partner in its Frankfurt dispute resolution practice, who joins from Allen & Overy where he was also a partner. Burger's focus is litigation and international arbitration, specifically representing German investors, international companies and state-owned companies in cross border disputes. Joining with Burger is associate Julia Bittdorf, also from Allen & Overy.

Addleshaw Goddard has hired rail and asset finance specialist Clive Smith as a partner in its London office. He joins from Osborne Clarke where he was a partner advising banks, operators, lessors and manufacturers on asset finance deals in the rail sector. He was previously an associate at DLA Piper and legacy Norton Rose, and spent time in-house at Barclays corporate.

DWF has launched a Paris employment practice with the hire of Mathilde Plenat from Eversheds Sutherland. Plenat, who joins DWF as a partner, was a principle associate at Eversheds with a practice that focuses on employment law within the retail, food and hospitality sectors. She is the firm's fourth partner appointment in Paris since the firm's merger with Heenan Paris earlier this year.

Pinsent Masons has hired Anthony Newton as a partner in its development and investment practice. Newton joins from Hogan Lovells where he was a senior associate in the London real estate group. Particular areas of focus for Newton include the student accommodation sector and the retail industry.

The firm has also hired a partner to lead its insurance and wealth management offering in Dubai. Tom Bicknell joins from Clyde & Co, where he was a legal director in the firm's corporate insurance and financial services team. He was previously an associate at DLA Piper and Al Tamimi and he also spent two years as assistant general counsel of pan-Asian insurance company AIA Group.

Gateley has appointed Steve Asher as a director in its London office to launch a new global mobility service. He joins from accountancy firm Mazars, where he was head of expatriate tax services. He previously spent time at accountancy firms Frank Hirth, BDO and Arthur Anderson. Global mobility covers a mix of employment law, tax and immigration advice for employees on international assignments. In a statement, the firm said that it plans to announce further appointments to the new group shortly.

Hill Dickinson has hired a four-strong construction team from Systech Solicitors in Liverpool. The team includes Brian Quinn, who was a founding partner at Systech and joins as a legal director, and qualified quantity surveyor Nick Connor who was a partner at Systech and joins as a consultant.

The firm has also hired Esther Venning as legal director in its Leeds office. Previously, Venning was a senior associate at DAC Beachcroft. Her focus is advising health and social care providers on commercial, contractual and governance issues including integration projects, joint ventures and shared service arrangements.