Blake Morgan has appointed Oliver Crich as a new partner in its Commercial and Charities team, further strengthening its highly regarded health and social care practice.

Oliver is a public procurement law specialist with particular expertise in the health and social care sector. He has significant experience of leading on a range of major strategic projects that, in addition to engaging public procurement law, often involve complex commercial, contractual and policy issues.

Freshfields announced that Eva Y. Mak has joined the firm as a private capital partner based in the Silicon Valley office. Eva’s practice is focused on the representation of private equity, growth and venture funds and their portfolio companies in large capital, mid-market and growth transactions.

David Hirsch, who recently led the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit (CACU), has joined McGuireWoods’ growing securities enforcement and regulatory counseling practice as a partner in Washington, D.C.

Further strengthening its Chambers Band 1-ranked banking & finance and private credit platforms, Paul Hastings LLP announced that premier finance lawyer Ismael Duran has joined as a partner in New York.

Duran represents financial institutions, direct lenders, corporate borrowers, and financial sponsors in complex bank-syndicated leveraged financings, as well as acquisition, asset-based, bridge, and other commercial lending transactions. Duran joins from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where he was a partner.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP announced that Kerri Durso has joined the firm as a partner in the Finance Group within the Corporate Department, resident in New York. Durso’s practice focuses on broad-based over-the-counter and exchange-traded derivatives and the negotiation of complex derivatives instruments across all major asset classes.

Baker McKenzie announces the further expansion of its global Disputes practice with the addition of Michelle Porter-Wright and Rebecca Thomson, who will both join the Firm’s Johannesburg office as partners on 9 September 2024 from A&O Shearman. Tiffany Gray will also join the Johannesburg office as Director Designate from Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, effective 1 September. These hires are part of the Firm’s strategy to grow its Dispute Resolution capabilities, in line with the increasingly complex needs of clients in key African markets.

Baker McKenzie has announced that Colleen Lee has joined the Firm's Palo Alto office. Colleen's arrival continues the robust growth of Baker McKenzie's global transactional team, which has seen the addition of more than 20 partners in key business markets since the start of 2024. She joins from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Kate Kraus joined Covington’s Los Angeles office as a partner in the firm’s Tax Practice.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP announced that Lindsay Cooper Hayman has joined its San Francisco office as a partner in the Intellectual Property Litigation Group, further deepening the firm’s patent and technology litigation capabilities. Ms. Cooper Hayman will join a robust bench of litigation partners in the office who together offer a holistic range of IP, commercial litigation, and white collar and regulatory defense expertise. Debevoise recently announced that it has signed a lease to double the size of its San Francisco office, which opened in 2021, to accommodate its rapid growth.

Latham & Watkins is pleased to announce that Raghav Bajaj has joined the firm’s Austin office as a partner in the Intellectual Property Litigation Practice and Litigation & Trial Department. Bajaj is a skilled patent litigator whose practice focuses on contested Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings before the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), including inter partes reviews (IPRs), post-grant reviews, and their respective appeals.