John D. Cooke has joined Duane Morris LLP as a partner in the firm’s Trial Practice Group in its Chicago office. Prior to joining Duane Morris, Cooke was an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, where he was a deputy chief in its Criminal Division and a regional director of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces. Admitted to practice in California, Cooke’s admission to Illinois is pending.

Dechert LLP announced the addition of Brian Whaley as a partner in its global finance group, further enhancing the firm’s offerings in private credit finance, securitization and structured and derivative products. Mr. Whaley will be based in the firm’s New York office.

Arrival supplements Davis Polk’s specialty finance practice by establishing a broad-based securitization practice

Davis Polk announced that leading structured finance lawyer Ryan McNaughton has joined the firm as a partner in its Finance practice in New York.

“We are pleased to welcome Ryan to Davis Polk,” said Neil Barr, Davis Polk’s Chair and Managing Partner. “Ryan has broad experience across multiple securitization products. He is an exciting addition to our elite global finance practice as we continue to grow our structured finance capabilities.”

Cleary Gottlieb announced that a team of top-tier IP litigation lawyers has joined the firm as partners across its New York, Washington, D.C., and Bay Area offices.

Clement Naples, Bert Reiser, Giri Pathmanaban, Greg Sobolski and Thomas Yeh have led many of the most high-profile and complex patent and trade secrets cases of the last decade.

DLA Piper announces the appointment of Charles Rix to its International Insurance team.

Joining the firm's London office, Charles brings almost 30 years of industry experience advising leading global insurance companies on complex cross-border M&A transactions, insurance business transfers, business restructurings and regulatory matters. During his career, Charles has been in senior leadership roles at other firms, including Global Head of Insurance and Head of UK M&A.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP announced that Daniel Lopez has joined the Firm as a partner in the San Francisco office, where he will be part of Willkie’s Private Equity Practice Group.

Global law firm K&L Gates LLP welcomes Robert Beste as a partner in its Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice. He joins the firm’s Wilmington office from Smith, Katzenstein & Jenkins LLP.

With nearly 25 years of experience, Beste focuses his extensive trial work on corporate and commercial litigation in Delaware’s state and federal courts. He has advised clients through trial in Delaware’s courts, as well as appellate work in Delaware’s Supreme Court.

Leading global law firm, Baker McKenzie, has hired senior corporate practitioner, Michal Berkner, as a partner in its M&A team in London, further strengthening the Firm’s global transactional expertise and capabilities.

Leading international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has hired Florian Schmidt-Bogatzky as a partner in its Intellectual Property (IP) practice based in the firm's Disputes group in Düsseldorf.

Global law firm Dentons has strengthened its Corporate and M&A practice in Tashkent with the recruitment of partner Fayzulla Khusankhodjaev, who joins effective April 1, 2025.