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Revolving doors: team hires galore as Stephenson Harwood, Dentons and Clydes all add to their benches

In a busy week for international hires, several firms have made key team hires around the globe, with Stephenson Harwood, Clyde & Co and Milan all making appointments.

In Asia, Stephenson Harwood has appointed two partners from Eversheds, King Tak Fung and Ivan Ng. The duo join the firm’s Hong Kong office, along with five associates. Fung is a trade finance lawyer and Stephenson Harwood says combined with the practice of existing finance partner Mark Reed, the firm will have signifcantly expanded its trade finance capabilities. Ng is a commercial litigator with more than 20 years’ experience.

Meanwhile in Australia, Clyde & Co has hired two partners from Norton Rose Fulbright in a bid to build up its occupational health and safety team. Michael Tooma and Alena Titterton join the firm’s Sydney office along with eight other lawyers. Nooma will lead the firm’s occupational health and safety team across the Asia Pacific. He said in a statement: ‘We were attracted to Clyde & Co’s global platform, particularly in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East, and the strength and reputation of the firm in the aviation, construction and the oil and gas industries. These are industries that have been an area of focus of ours from a health and safety perspective for a number of years.’ The team hire follows Clyde & Co’s appointment of a 30-lawyer team late last year, also in the Sydney office. Before Christmas the firm announced it had picked up five partners in Sydney who joined the firm with another 25 lawyers, all from Lee & Lyons. David Lee and Lucinda Lyons, who founded Lee & Lyons in 2002, joined with partners David Amentas, Michelle Dunne and Christopher Smith.

In London Clyde & Co has made another key hire, employing Ralph Cox from Fasken Martineau where he was head of the London contentious IP group for the last ten years. Cox’s practice focuses on patent litigation, especially in the life sciences sector, and he has expertise in contentious trade mark, passing off and design work.

In the US, Paul Hastings has added international arbitration lawyer Camilo Cardozo as a partner in the firm’s New York office. Cardozo joins from DLA Piper where he was co-chair of the US International Arbitration practice group. Paul Hastings head of international arbitration Joe Profaizer said: ‘Our clients increasingly turn to international arbitration as a preferred means of resolving larger, more complex, multi-party international disputes.’

Dentons hired another 11 lawyers in Milan, following the opening of its office in October last year. The firm has appointed two new partners, Sara Biglieri and Andrea Fiorelli, who will head the firm’s litigation and arbitration group and tax practices respectively. Biglieri was a partner at Studio Rucellai & Raffaelli, where she acted for Italian companies in judicial and arbitration activities and business litigation. Fiorelli was head of the tax department at Norton Rose Fulbright and advises on financial market taxation and fiscal treatment of financial products and Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities. Denton’s Milan managing partner Federico Sutti said: ‘We are extremely pleased to welcome these two well respected partners on board. They will help us to quickly grow our tax and litigation and arbitration practices in Italy, which are integral to Dentons’ full service approach.’

victoria.young@legalease.co.uk