Curtis announced the addition of English barrister Thomas Francis to its London disputes team.

Thomas Francis is an experienced advocate and barrister with broad experience encompassing public law and human rights, public international law and private commercial disputes of all kinds, including commercial litigation and international and investment arbitration. Notable for his international experience, which spans Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, Mr. Francis is bilingual in English and Arabic.

Holland & Knight welcomes Chrystie Holmstrom as a partner in the Corporate – Mid South Practice Group in Nashville. Most recently, Ms. Holmstrom was chief legal officer at Alpine Summit Energy Partners Inc., a U.S.-based energy developer and financial company.

Global law firm White & Case LLP has added funds partner Emmanuel Gutton in Luxembourg.

Baker Botts L.L.P., a leading international technology, energy and life sciences law firm, announced that Chao “Wendy” Wang has joined its Intellectual Property Department as a partner in the Palo Alto office.

Global law firm K&L Gates LLP welcomes Daniel Fayock back to the Corporate M&A practice in Pittsburgh. He rejoins the firm as a partner after spending the past two decades in various in-house positions.

Fayock has extensive experience advising boards of directors and executive teams and managing a broad spectrum of legal and corporate affairs. Most recently, he served as the executive vice president, chief legal officer, and corporate secretary for Arconic Corporation, where he oversaw the numerous areas of legal, ethics, compliance, and government affairs.

Gowling WLG welcomes Jason Kroft as partner and head of the firm’s new Structured Finance and Securitization Group. Based in Toronto, Jason brings over 25 years of experience in structured and specialized finance.

Recognized as the 2024 Toronto “Lawyer of the Year” for Derivatives Law by The Best Lawyers in Canada™, Jason delivers practical and effective counsel to domestic and international clients, enabling them to confidently navigate complex transactions, including in the context of public and private asset securitizations and derivatives products.

Following the recruitment of Mary Serhal at the beginning of the year and the promotion of Marcela Moraru in April, the Paris office of the international law firm Simmons & Simmons has continued its growth by announcing the arrival of a new partner, Abdelaziz Khatab.

Abdelaziz becomes the 32nd partner of the Paris office and will bolster the firm's IP department, particularly its Patent Litigation practice.

Addleshaw Goddard has announced the appointment of Rachel Hill as a Partner in its regional employment practice. Her appointment quickly follows the arrival of Anna Zeitlin from PwC to develop a Fintech practice.

A UK-qualified lawyer, Rachel joins Addleshaw Goddard from Hadef & Partners, where she was instrumental in driving the growth and maturity of the employment practice. With more than 16 years’ experience in both litigation and employment, Rachel has spent the last 10 years in the Middle East providing strategic advice on employment law and immigration procedures.

Mayer Brown announced that Dario J. Frommer has rejoined the firm in Los Angeles as a partner in the Public Policy, Regulatory & Government Affairs practice. With a career in law and government spanning 30 years, Dario is a highly sought-after legal and political advisor for clients in California and Washington DC. He most recently led Akin Gump’s California public law and policy practice.

Haynes and Boone, LLP is pleased to welcome Real Estate Finance Partner Daniel Mallet to the firm’s Orange County office. Mallet joins the firm from Sheppard Mullin, where he worked for the last five years.

Mallet is the seventh partner to join the rapidly growing Orange County office since September, along with Jeff Morton, David Hengstler, Martin Florman, Paul Tobin, Elizabeth Weldon and Kevin Crisp.