Photo by Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM K&L Gates has bolstered its Newark office and its hospitality practice through the addition of Wyndham Worldwide Corp.'s former general counsel and three former LeClairRyan bankruptcy attorneys who all work on hospitality matters. Partner Scott McLester spent 18 years at Wyndham Worldwide before the company completed a spinoff to become two publicly traded companies in late May. Partner Daniel Eliades and of counsels David Catuogno and William Waldman each have nearly three decades of experience in the world of restructuring. jumped to LeClairRyan

Catuogno and Waldman were also both part of that move. Catuogno advises creditors, particularly institutional lenders and franchisors in the hospitality industry, in a range of bankruptcy matters. Waldman also concentrates his practice on creditors' rights, including representing financial institutions and players in the hospitality industry.

“We are pleased and excited to have Scott, Dan, Bill, and Dave join the K&L Gates global platform,” La Rocco said in a statement. “Combining Scott's decades of experience leading major hospitality, franchise, and other global enterprises in and through various areas of law with the depth of knowledge and decades of experience that Dan's team has serving franchise and hospitality clients, we greatly enhance our ability to service this industry segment and continue to grow the firm's hospitality practice.”

We're always looking at strategic hires that make sense for the global platform on which we operate," he said. "We don't hire for the sake of hiring."