Baker McKenzie has hired leading capital markets partners Rob Mathews and David Becker to join its growing Corporate Finance practice in London. Both join the Firm from White & Case this month and will play a key role in further developing the Firm's full service leveraged finance practice, together with lateral partner hires Matthew Cox, Haden Henderson, Bevis Metcalfe, Geoff O'Dea, Nick O'Grady and Matthew Smith.

FRANKFURT – McDermott Will & Emery further expands its German practice with the addition of Wilhelm Haarmann as partner in the Firm’s Frankfurt office. Wilhelm Haarmann, who joined the Firm on 2 January, will act at the interface of tax and corporate law as well as in M&A, boardroom matters and arbitration matters.

Morgan Lewis welcomes Shannon Donnelly as a labor and employment partner who assists corporate clients in immigration matters related to the global mobility of key executives and other professionals. Shannon, a Chambers-recognized lawyer who will be resident in Washington, DC, is joined by of counsel Laura Garvin, who will be resident in Miami, and a team of associates and immigration specialists. They arrive from the same global law firm, where Shannon led the Washington office’s immigration and global mobility team.

(Washington, D.C.) – Akin Gump is pleased to announce that Claudius Modesti, former Director of Enforcement at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), has joined Akin Gump as a partner in its white collar defense and government investigations practice in Washington, D.C.

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP continues the expansion of its structured finance and specialty finance and tax and ERISA practices with the addition of David Klass as a partner in the firm’s London office. Klass brings more than 15 years of experience advising on a wide range of tax issues and transactions, particularly those with an international element.

Since 1 January, the Litigation and Arbitration team of Hakim Boularbah (Partner) and Olivier van der Haegen (Counsel) has joined the Litigation & Risk Management department of Loyens & Loeff Belgium, along with four associates.

London – Sidley Austin LLP has announced that Mark Knight has joined the firm as a partner in its London office. He will be a member of Sidley’s global Restructuring practice. Mr. Knight is experienced in leading complex, precedent- setting multijurisdictional restructurings on both the creditor and debtor sides.

Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce that Michael B. Bennett has joined the Litigation Practice Group as a partner in the Houston office expanding the commercial disputes practice with a focus on the energy sector. Before joining Eversheds Sutherland, Mr. Bennett was a partner at Baker Botts.

Chicago—Dentons, the world’s largest law firm, has announced that Eric P. Berlin has joined the Firm as a partner in the Health Care practice and will help to lead the Firm’s team of lawyers representing clients in, and doing business with, the cannabis industry.He will be resident in the Firm’s Chicago office.

International law firm Ashurst has announced the appointment of Nicholas Stretch to lead its incentives team in London.