Linklaters has targeted Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for the hire of employment partner Timon Grau in Germany. He will split his time between Duesseldorf and Frankfurt and advise clients on matters such as transactions, internal investigations and restructurings. Linklaters Germany senior partner Andreas Steck said: "Timon Grau's considerable experience in various industries and industrial sectors and his in-depth expert knowledge, make him one of the leading employment lawyers of his generation."

The firm has also appointed Matt Peers as its chief operating officer, replacing Peter Hickman who remains global chief financial officer. Peers joined Linklaters as chief information officer (CIO) in 2015 from big four accountant Deloitte where he was CIO for UK and Switzerland. As part of his new role he joins the firm's executive committee. He retains his role as the firm director of technology.

Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy has continued to expand in London with the addition of capital markets partner Rebecca Marques, who will join the firm from Shearman & Sterling. She will make the move alongside Shearman's European and Middle East capital markets head Apostolos Gkoutzinis. The latest hires follow the news earlier this month that Milbank had sealed a deal to take on a four-partner Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft London team led by restructuring star Yushan Ng.

Osborne Clarke (OC) has hired private equity partner Alistair Francis from Squire Patton Boggs, the move follows on from the hire of Squires' UK head of private equity Tim Hewens who joined OC in October last year. The firm's private equity team leader Mark Spinner said: "Having worked with Tim and Alistair on the other side of a number of deals, I know they are an outstanding team and we are really happy to have them both on board."

OC has also hired intellectual property (IP) partner Tamara Quinn from Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP). Dual-qualified as a barrister and solicitor she has 20 years' experience in the IP sector. She previously led BLP's non-contentious IP practice and also advises clients on data protection issues.

Squire Patton Boggs has hired two partners to its London office. The firm has boosted its City ranks with energy partners Peter Wright and Rinku Bhadoria. Wright joins from Simmons & Simmons where he was a partner in the projects team. He relocated to Singapore in 2013 to help launch Simmons' office in the city state. Bhadoria was previously a partner at the European arm of King & Wood Mallesons. Her practice focuses on the financing of international energy and infrastructure projects.

Norton Rose Fulbright has hired oil and gas partner Poupak Anjomshoaa in its London office. Anjomshoaa joins from Egyptian energy company Carbon Holdings where she was general counsel. She has a focus on dispute resolution and transactional work in connection with downstream oil and gas and petrochemical projects.

K&L Gates has boosted its London investigations, enforcement and white collar practice with the appointment of Paul Feldberg as a partner. He joins K&L Gates from Willkie Farr & Gallagher's City base, where he was a counsel. Feldberg's practice focuses on advising and defending companies and individuals in matters relating to criminal fraud, corruption, money laundering, sanctions and insider trading.

Memery Crystal has hired employment partner Stephen Ravenscroft from White & Case, where he was a partner working with UK and international businesses on HR issues. He works with companies and senior executives across a range of industries including banking and finance, natural resources, real estate, media and technology.

Simmons & Simmons has boosted its London employment practice with the hire of partner Fiona Bolton from Eversheds Sutherland. She established and led the specialist financial institutions sector employment team at Eversheds, and her clients include Citi, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Lockton.

The firm has also expanded its Milan office with the hire of a three-lawyer team from Baker McKenzie. Dispute resolution partner Leonardo Giani is set to join the firm to lead its Milan insurance litigation team next month along with two associates.

Weightmans has hired corporate partner Oliver Harker from Reed Smith in London. Harker was promoted to the partnership at Reed Smith in 2017. He trained at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and was also an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell. Last year he acted for miner Gemfields in connection with its takeover by Pallinghurst Resources.

Dentons has appointed Leila Hubeaut (pictured above) as an energy partner in its Paris office. Hubeaut joins from Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) and has a regional focus on North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Iran. She acts on project development, mergers and acquisitions, and joint venture transactions in the energy, mining, hydrocarbon, infrastructure, and telecommunications sectors. She joins alongside senior associate Ergen Ege also from HSF.

The firm has also expanded its Milan office with teams from Allen & Overy (A&O) and local firm Ughi e Nunziante. A&O real estate counsel Carlo Merisio joins the firm as a partner, along with associate Giulia Zanchetta and trainee Carlotta Soli. Merisio assists Italian and international clients on domestic and multi-jurisdictional acquisitions and disposals covering all asset classes and deal structures. Meanwhile, employment partner Davide Boffi has joined Dentons from Italian law firm Ughi e Nunziante along with associate Marco Alessandro Prandelli and trainee Francesca Servadei. Boffi specializes in employment and labor law, as well as in agency contracts.

Finally, the global firm has appointed Marc Fornacciari as managing partner for France. Fornacciari leads the Europe public policy and regulation government group and is co-head of the transportation and infrastructure group. Prior to joining the firm in 2008 he was as a partner at French law firm Jeantet.

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has expanded in Frankfurt with the hire of tax partner Markus Hill from US firm McDermott Will & Emery. He specialises in transaction-related tax advice, particularly in respect to the structuring of private equity transactions. Additionally, he advises on restructuring and financing of companies and groups and the implementation of cross-border structures.

Jones Day has expanded its international footprint with an office opening in Australia and a partner hire in New York. The firm is relocating three partners from its Sydney and Singapore offices to launch a base in Melbourne, with current Sydney head Tim L'Estrange set to lead the new office. He will be joined in the move by Australian IP head Lisa Taliadoros and Singapore energy partner Darren Murphy. The office will initially focus on M&A, energy, IP, restructuring, and disputes, with an emphasis on the financial services, energy, mining, infrastructure, and pharmaceutical sectors. It will be Jones Day's fourth office in Australia and its 43rd worldwide.

Meanwhile, the firm has boosted its New York banking practice with the hire of Ashurst partner Kim Desmarais. Her exit leaves Ashurst with five partners in its New York office and 16 non-partner lawyers. Last year the Anglo-Australian firm restructured its US finance practice, resulting in the departure of all partners with a focus on collateralised loan obligation work.

DWF has appointed three partners in its expanding Paris office. International arbitration partners, Sabrina Ainouz and Jerome Lehucher join from US firm Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle, while corporate partner Carole Arribes arrives from Clyde & Co. Ainouz and Lehucher both have a focus on the energy, construction, telecommunication, agricultural and pharmaceutical sectors. Arribes was with Clydes for just under four years and acts for clients in the energy, retail and IT sectors on M&A deals, joint ventures and shareholder agreements.

The firm has also appointed Laurence Applegate as a corporate partner in its London office. Applegate joins from REN Legal where he was a partner for three years. Before joining REN Legal, he worked as a solicitor at US firms Reed Smith and McDermott Will & Emery.

Kingsley Napley has appointed head of criminal litigation Stephen Parkinson as its new senior partner from 1 May. Parkinson succeeds Jane Keir, a family and divorce lawyer who became the firm's first female senior partner in 2013. Parkinson has been at Kingsley Napley for 15 years with key mandates including advising News Group CEO Rebekah Brooks throughout the phone-hacking investigation and Leveson Inquiry and acting for former prime minister Tony Blair during the Hutton Inquiry.

Travers Smith has appointed Rob Fell as head of its dispute resolution practice succeeding Stephen Paget-Brown after six years in the role. Fell has been a partner at the firm since 2008 having joined from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Fell was the lead partner on the investigations conducted into the Bank of England in relation to FX and liquidity between 2013 and 2017.

Leading Irish firm A&L Goodbody has reappointed its managing partner Julian Yarr for a third four-year term from 1 May 2018. Yarr said: "Looking ahead, we have exciting plans to further develop our business to ensure that we continue to be at the forefront of our market for the benefit of our clients."

Pinsent Masons has strengthened its nascent Madrid office with the hire of TMT partner Paloma Bru from Jones Day. Head of Pinsents' Madrid office Diego Lozano said: "Paloma is a respected technology lawyer whose expertise will play a key role in shaping our TMT practice." Pinsents launched its Madrid office in April with a team of partners from Spanish firm Ramon & Cajal.

Fieldfisher has hired Dentons' former UK head of IP and chair of its global trademark practice group, John Linneker. John has been an equity partner at Dentons since 2005 and was head of the UK IP team until his resignation. Prior to that he was at Taylor Wessing between 1990 and 2005. Linneker acted for Lotus Sports Cars in connection with a dispute with 1 Malaysia Racing over ownership of the Lotus brand in Formula 1.