Choate hires three PE partners

• Choate Hall & Stewart appointed Stephen Meredith, Sarah Camougis and Christopher Nelson as private equity partners from Locke Lord. Meredith joins the Boston-headquartered firm’s 50-strong private equity team after 38 years at Locke Lord, where he led teams of lawyers in various corporate transactions. Camougis focuses on private and public companies, private equity and venture capital funds, angel investors and management teams. Nelson focuses his practice on guiding growth equity, venture capital, buyout and other private funds.

• Baker & McKenzie appointed Anne Magee Vaughan counsel of its North American International Commercial practice. Vaughn joins the firm’s Washington, DC office from DLA Piper, where she worked for 16 years on corporate transactional deals. Craig Lilly also joined Baker & McKenzie as partner in its Palo Alto, CA office. Lilly has over 25 years of experience advising on M&A transactions, particularly focusing on private equity and corporate finance.

• Gregg Galardi joined Ropes & Gray as a New York-based partner in the law firm's business restructuring practice. Galardi previously worked as global co-chair of restructuring at DLA Piper for five years. Galardi has worked on a number of high-profile, litigations and settlements including Sabine Oil & Gas Corp and Residential Capital.

• Holland & Knight opened its 25th office in Stamford, CT, staffed by a group of nine lawyers all from Dickstein Shapiro. The office is led by Evan Seideman who will serve as executive partner. Other partners include Martin Clarke, John Flaherty, Thomas Freed, Evan Seideman, Gloria Skigen, and Merrill Ulmer, who all focus on private equity M&A transactions.

• Manchester law firm DWF welcomed Eversheds M&A partner Alasdair Outhwaite to the firm in the same position in its corporate team. Outhwaite worked at Eversheds for 11 years, focusing his practice on private equity transactions for clients such as Endless, North Edge, Phoenix, GCP, LDC and H2.

• Greenberg Traurig hired former Veddor Price partner and shareholder Raymond Bogenrief in the same position. Bogenrief joins the firm’s Chicago office and continues to focus his practice on corporate transactions, particularly leveraged buyouts for private equity funds and domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

• Drinker, Biddle & Reath promoted Justin Watkins to partner in its corporate and securities practice group. After joining the firm in 2005, where he most recently worked as counsel, he will continue to focus his practice on corporate mergers and acquisitions and private equity investments.

• Baker Tilly expanded its services to private equity funds with the hire of Danny Altschul as partner. Altschul joins the accounting and advisory firm’s Chicago office, and has over 20 years of experience advising alternative investment clients.

• Dechert re-appointed Steve Clemens as partner in its International and Domestic Tax Group. Clemens joins the firm’s New York office from Kirkland & Ellis, where he spent 18 years providing tax advice for domestic and cross-border private equity deals. He first joined Dechert in 1995 as an associate.

• DLA Piper hired former QIC corporate lawyer Emma Kendall as partner in its Brisbane office. Kendall was managing legal counsel for institutional investment manager QIC for nearly nine years. She specializes in corporate transactions, covering private equity commercial negotiations, investment structuring and funds management.