Global law firm Clyde & Co has today announced the appointment of Lee Astfalck and Wim Cilliers as Partners in its leading Insurance practice in South Africa. They will be based in Johannesburg.

Lee joins from Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) in Johannesburg, where he was a litigation and dispute resolution director and head of risk advisory for South Africa. Wim Cilliers joins from Gildenhuys Malatji (GMI) in Pretoria, where he was a commercial litigation and insurance law director.

With over 18 years’ experience and recognised as a Leading Individual and Notable Practitioner by Legal 500 and Chambers UK, Zoe specialises in advising on complex land law matters, including telecommunications law, restrictive covenants and easements, agricultural and water law, as well as providing the full range of property asset management services to investment landlords and corporate occupiers.  Zoe is based in the firm’s fast growing Reading office and will work with colleagues across England and Wales.

International law firm Bird & Bird today announces the appointment of Lau Normann Jørgensen as a partner in its Commercial practice, with a particular focus on the Tech & Comms sector, in Copenhagen.

James Pak has joined the firm as a partner in the Los Angeles office. Pak is an experienced patent litigator and trial lawyer who has won significant victories in jury trials and U.S. International Trade Commission proceedings. He has represented clients in the wireless telecommunication and automotive industries and in matters relating to Standard Essential Patents and FRAND obligations, earning him a recognition as a leading practitioner in licensing. He is fluent in Korean and works extensively with clients in both Korea and Japan.

Global law firm Clyde & Co today announced a significant boost to its SE Asia Construction Team with the appointment of Jon Howes as joint head of APAC Infrastructure and Sean Hardy as a partner of Clyde & Co Clasis Singapore Ltd. These appointments are part of the firm's strategic objective to capitalise on the growth potential of the construction sector in Asia.

Jon and Sean join from Pinsent Masons MPillay LLP as a formidable team in the SE Asia construction space.

International law firm Pinsent Masons has today announced the appointment of Alexander Shepherd as a Technology, Media and Communications (TMT) partner in its Singapore office.

Alex joins from Bird and Bird where he was a partner in the Technology and Communications team. Alex has been based in Singapore for six years and prior to that he was based in Dubai for seven years where he led the Middle East and Africa TMT practice at Simmons & Simmons.

Davis Polk announced that Adam Kaminsky will join the firm as a partner in the Executive Compensation Group in Washington DC.

Mr. Kaminsky will focus principally on private equity-related matters, including advising on the executive compensation aspects of private equity transactions and portfolio company executive compensation matters.

Global law firm White & Case LLP has expanded its Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice with the addition of Grace Fan-Delatour as a partner in Beijing, along with local partner Shaohui Jiang.

Shearman & Sterling announces the arrival of Max Hua, who joins the firm’s Hong Kong office as a partner.

Max’s practice focuses on public takeovers, private equity, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets (including IPOs on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange) and general corporate regulatory and compliance matters. He previously worked for two leading international law firms in Hong Kong for 11 years and helped to set up the Hong Kong law practice of a major Chinese law firm. A native Mandarin speaker, Max is also fluent in English and Cantonese.

Cooley is continuing its growth in the Asia-Pacific region with the addition of corporate partner Ferish Patel, who will join in Hong Kong. He arrives from Gunderson Dettmer, where he served as head of the firm’s Singapore office. Cooley intends to continue its expansion into Southeast Asia and will pursue setting up a Singapore office to be led by Patel. The opening of such an office will be subject to obtaining regulatory and other approvals.