Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, the global litigation powerhouse, announced that Stephen E. Frank has joined the firm as a partner, resident in the firm’s Boston and New York City offices. A veteran financial crimes prosecutor who served in the Department of Justice for nearly 17 years, Frank joins the firm from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, where he spearheaded the growth of one of the premier white collar units in the country.

Vinson & Elkins announced that it has added Jenny Speck as a Houston-based partner in its Energy Transition and Tax Practices. She advises clients on the qualification for and the monetization of energy transition tax incentives. Speck has worked on a range of renewable projects, including onshore and offshore wind, solar, combined heat and power, biogas property, carbon capture, hydrogen and clean fuel credit projects.

Dr J. Jekkie Kim, a nationally recognized life sciences transactional lawyer has joined WilmerHale as a partner in its Palo Alto office.

“Jekkie joins at an exciting time for our Corporate Life Sciences practices, and we are thrilled to welcome her,” said WilmerHale Managing Partner Anjan Sahni. “Her addition further bolsters a corporate practice that is flourishing both on the West Coast and across the country.”

Claudia Berg, General Counsel at the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK data protection authority, and the former Senior Legal Director for Antitrust at the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA), will be joining Covington's global Antitrust/Competition Practice in London as a partner.

As General Counsel for the ICO since 2021, Claudia leads the ICO’s Legal Service and advises the Information Commissioner, the ICO’s Executive Team and Management Board.

Litigation and trial attorney Cindy Duque Bonilla has joined Holland & Knight's Central Florida Litigation Practice as a partner in Orlando. She was previously a partner with Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial.

Holland & Knight has bolstered its Intellectual Property Group with the additions of Kris Reed and Edward Ted Mayle as partners in Dallas and Denver, respectively. They were previously partners at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton.

Macfarlanes is pleased to announce that Victoria Hills joins the firm as a partner. Victoria joins from Freshfields.

Victoria has extensive private capital experience, specialising in private equity, M&A and joint venture transactions in the real estate and hotels sectors, and she is joining to play a leading role in the development of Macfarlanes’ private equity real assets team.

Eileen Pathiraja has been appointed as partner to lead on construction risks in the London insurance disputes service.

Eileen joins from Beale & Co., bringing extensive experience and a proven track record in the construction insurance sub-sector.

Construction risks is a crucial part of the insurance disputes service, with approximately half of this work led from London. This involves professional indemnity defence for contractors and construction professionals and their insurers, as well as advising insurers on coverage issues.

Mishcon de Reya has announced that Mark Kaye has joined the firm as a Partner in its Employment department, having spent his entire career to date at BCLP and its legacy law firms.

Mark’s focus is on transactional, non-contentious and advisory employment law matters, with a particular emphasis on US-related transactions. His key practice area is working alongside corporate, commercial and real estate colleagues in managing the employment aspects of a wide range of sales, purchases, outsourcings, mergers, takeovers and acquisitions.

National law firm Bevan Brittan has recruited four legal specialists to its growing Energy & Resource Management Group, after seeing a marked rise in new instructions from across these sectors.

New Partner Gemma Glasspole has joined the firm’s Birmingham office from Pinsent Masons, while new London-based Legal Director Tim Kittow arrives from a role as Senior Legal Counsel at Trinzic, a renewables investment and asset management business.