Fried Frank has continued its London expansion with the hire of Linklaters senior associate Kathryn Cecil (pictured), who joins the US firm as a partner. Cecil acts on a broad range of finance transactions focusing on fund finance and leveraged transactions. At Fried Frank, she will work closely with the firm's asset management team, and her practice will focus on fund financing as well as leveraged and acquisition finance, restructurings and workouts.

King & Spalding has hired a three-lawyer real estate team from Ashurst's Paris base. The US firm has bolstered its base in the French capital after a real estate team left for Dentons last year. Ashurst partner Guillaume Aubatier leads the team joining King & Spalding, which also includes counsel Dorian Scemama and associate Malvina Dahan.

Mishcon de Reya has added Kingsley Napley partner Johanna Walsh to its white-collar and investigations group in London. She spent five years at Kingsley Napley's criminal litigation practice and acts for individuals and corporates in a wide range of criminal proceedings.

Arthur Cox has boosted its aviation practice with two appointments. Rob Murphy has joined as its aviation team co-chair, moving from financier CDB aviation where he was chief operating office and general counsel. Prior to CDB, he was a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

The Irish heavyweight has also hired former associate Laura Cunningham, who rejoins the firm after five years. After leaving the firm in 2014, she joined Freshfields and latterly Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy as an associate. She rejoins Arthur Cox as a partner in its aviation practice.

Hill Dickinson has expanded its London health team with the appointment of two partners. James Lawford Davies and Jamie Foster both join from specialist healthcare law firm Hempsons.

Gleiss Lutz has strengthened its M&A practice with a partner hire from Shearman & Sterling. Andreas Lohdefink joins the German law firm's Frankfurt office, and will focus on financial institutions and insurance companies. Lohdefink had been at Shearman & Sterling's Frankfurt base since 2010, and was made partner in 2014.

Allen & Overy has hired Baker McKenzie real estate partner Rudy Dupont to its Belgium office. Dupont had been a partner at Bakers since 2012, spending his legal career at the international firm. He specialises in domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, urban planning, and environmental issues.

Goodwin has hired Latham & Watkins corporate partner Gregor Klenk to its Frankfurt office. Kenk joins the US firm from Latham after 15 years, where his experience covered M&A, private equity, venture capital and corporate law.

DAC Beachcroft has boosted its Manchester-based national real estate practice with the hire of partner Sally Morris-Smith, who joins from Shepherd & Wedderburn. She also worked at Olswang and Kennedys before joining Shepherd & Wedderburn, where she was a partner for six years.

Dentons has elected new managing partners for Russia and France with the appointments of Alexei Zakharko and Severine Hotellier, respectively. Zakharko is head of Dentons' energy and natural resources practice in Russia and will take responsibility for managing Dentons' Moscow and St Petersburg offices.

Hotellier is currently head of the firm's European insurance group, and has 20 years' experience in insurance litigation and complex, high-stakes matters. She will be responsible for managing Dentons' Paris office – the firm's largest office in continental Europe. Both Zakharko and Hotellier will serve three-year terms until 2021.

Linklaters has appointed longstanding partner Claire Petheram as its new global head of pensions. She replaces Ruth Goldman, who led the practice for 15 years and will continue as a partner in the pensions practice. Petheram specialises in all areas of pension law, including pension scheme mergers and consolidations, investment management issues and funding agreements. She joined Linklaters in 1989 and has been a partner at the firm since 1997.