Akin announced that Skye Smith has joined the firm as a partner in its investment management practice. Smith will begin in the Dallas office and relocate to Abu Dhabi in the coming months. Smith’s addition reinforces the firm’s commitment to growth in the Middle East and strengthens its position as a leading investment management advisor in the Abu Dhabi global market, where sovereign wealth funds manage approximately $1.7 trillion.

National law firm TLT has hired commercial real estate lawyer Neal Bhattacharyya as a partner in its London office, adding to the firm’s capabilities across property investment, real estate development, asset management and insolvency-related real estate matters.

Neal will be based in TLT’s London office. Neal’s appointment comes after a time of expansion for TLT’s real estate practice, marking the addition of a second partner following Colin Brown’s appointment in May.

Taylor Wessing expands its Amsterdam office with a returning face and a future-forward team. With the arrival of partners Rob Hendriks (1 June 2025) and Michiel Boer (1 July 2025), Taylor Wessing continues to grow its corporate strength, building on longstanding relationships and investing in key sectors of cross-border relevance.

International law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP has strengthened its restructuring, special situations and private capital capabilities with the arrival of Alvin Cheung. Alvin will join as a Partner in the Restructuring and Insolvency team and be based in the firm's Hong Kong office.

We are delighted to have expanded our dispute resolution offering with the appointment of Kamal Chauhan to lead and build our regulatory practice.

Bringing with him nearly 20 years’ experience in high-profile, complex regulatory matters across multiple sectors, Kamal has joined the firm from Knights, where he was a partner in the regulatory team. His extensive career also includes senior roles at Harrison Clark Rickerbys, as well as Kennedys, Nabarro and DLA Piper.

Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has announced the hire of three intellectual property (IP) partners and a legal director to its IP team in London.

Joining from Deloitte Legal, partners Rachael Barber and Jeremy Harris and legal director Richard Reeve-Young will arrive at the firm today, with partner Paul Garland following on 9 June.

Hogan Lovells announced that Jill Kelley has joined the firm's Corporate & Finance practice as a partner in the New York office. Kelley joins from the New York Jets, where she was General Counsel and Vice President of Legal Affairs.
James Doyle, Head of the Corporate & Finance practice at Hogan Lovells, said: “Jill further enhances our market-leading sports practice in the United States. In addition to her recent experience in the NFL, she also has considerable experience in sports betting and Native American tribal investment.”

DLA Piper announces it has significantly expanded its presence in Tokyo office with the appointment of an Investment Funds team.

Partners Koji Yamamoto and Yoshiyuki Omori, along with of counsel Wataru Sasaki, associates Hiroki Hosoda and Matthew Shiota, and paralegals Hirokazu Miyamoto and Noriko Narahara join from Withers.

Dentons announces the addition of Evan Sherwood as a partner in its Government Contracts practice in the Washington, DC, office. With extensive experience advising federal contractors on complex government contracting matters, including disputes, compliance and investigations, Sherwood’s arrival enhances the Firm’s ability to offer strategic counsel in navigating these high-stakes, highly regulated areas.

Charles Russell Speechlys announces the appointment of Josh Risso-Gill as Partner in its Real Estate Planning team, based in London.

Josh joins from CMS, where he was a Partner specialising in planning law for 8 years, having previously been a partner at Nabarro. He brings with him more than 25 years of experience in planning, highway, compulsory purchase and listed building issues.