Leading Employment lawyer Tess Lumsdaine has joined Baker McKenzie's Employment Practice as a Partner based in Hong Kong, where she will advise clients on the full spectrum of employment, compensation and mobility issues, as well as assisting clients with employment-related disputes and workplace investigations. Tess joins from Herbert Smith Freehills.

Global law firm Goodwin announced that Eram Khan has joined the firm’s Antitrust & Competition practice as a partner in the London office.

Morgan Lewis continues its success in attracting outstanding former high-level government officials with the addition of Frederick Block, whose 15-year career at the US Securities and Exchange Commission includes most recently managing litigation nationwide as supervisory trial counsel. Fred, who joins as a partner resident in Washington, DC, will focus on SEC enforcement, investigations, litigation, and trials.

Thomas Philippe has joined King & Spalding as a partner in its Corporate, Finance and Investments (CFI) practice group in Paris.

Philippe’s practice focuses on M&A, with an emphasis on the French and European private equity markets and the representation of investment funds and private debt providers. He has broad experience handling small-, mid- and large-cap leveraged buyout and management buyout transactions, as well as the restructuring of LBOs.

King & Spalding has added restructuring lawyer Michael Fishel as a partner in its Corporate, Finance and Investments (CFI) practice group in Houston.

Fishel advises both debtor and creditor clients through complex Chapter 11 restructurings, out-of-court reorganizations and refinancings, and contested business litigation proceedings. He has worked on restructuring matters across a variety of industries and has particular experience in the energy industry.

Gary Feinerman brings extensive experience in commercial, tort, constitutional law, and intellectual property disputes garnered from nearly three decades on the federal bench, in state government, and in private practice.

Mayer Brown announced that former Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan, who also served as the Acting Secretary of State and, most recently, as the US Ambassador to the Russian Federation, returned to the firm as a partner, resident in the Washington DC and New York offices. Ambassador Sullivan will advise clients on issues important to their business operations, including global risk, US sanctions and export controls, international trade disputes and regulation, and foreign investment.

Experienced real estate lawyer Julia Dacre Field has joined Gowling WLG to lead its residential development team in Leeds.

The firm recently announced the strengthening of its national-renowned housing development and regeneration (HDR) practice with the hire of a best-in-class team based in Leeds to better serve its national and northern-based residential development, social provider and regeneration clients.

International law firm Withers has amplified the scale of its services for clients in Texas through the arrival of the Dossey & Jones team, based in the Houston area.

International law firm Bird & Bird appoints tax law expert Dr Rolf Schmich as a partner in its Frankfurt office. With him, his long-term team member Michael Brüggemann, LL.B. joins Bird & Bird as an associate.

Rolf Schmich is a tax lawyer and has been advising clients on German and international tax law for over 20 years. He joins Bird & Bird from SZA Schilling, Zutt & Anschütz, where he had been since May 2010, and since 2013 as a partner. Prior to that, Rolf worked as counsel for the US law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.