Dorsey & Whitney names co-head of PE

· William Dougherty is taking the reins at Simpson Thacher, replacing Pete Ruegger as chairman. 

· Dorsey & Whitney has named Eric Rytter as co-chair of its private equity practice. Rytter, based in New York, will lead the practice alongside his Minnesota-based colleague Chris Bellini.

· London-based private equity deals lawyer Mark Spinner stepped down as head of private equity at Eversheds to join rival UK law firm Osborne Clark. 

· Sidley Austin poached London M&A lawyer Mark Thompson from King & Spalding, where he acted as co-chair of the firm’s private equity practice.

· Brian Hoffmann rejoined McDermott Will & Emery as a New York-based partner. He previously was co-chair of Clifford Chance’s M&A practices in the Americas.

· M&A lawyer James Woolery joined Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, becoming co-chair of the firm’s corporate practice. Woolery was previously co-head of North American M&A at JPMorgan Chase.

· DLA Piper snagged New York private equity transactional lawyer Gregory Ruback from Proskauer Rose. 

· Ross Emmerman left Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg to join the Chicago office of Loeb & Loeb. He specializes in public and private mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, venture capital and private equity financings.

· Claire Hall, who focuses on derivatives and structured finance transactions, has joined the Los Angeles office of DLA Piper. She was previously with White & Case.

· Joining the Miami office of Duane Morris is Leslie Croland, who was previously with Edwards Wildman Palmer. Croland, a technology and life sciences specialist, concentrates his practice on private equity financings, emerging companies, mergers and acquisitions, and securities.

· Douglas Landy joined Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy’s New York office. Landy, a former staff attorney at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, was previously partner at Allen & Overy, where he was head of the firm’s US financial services regulatory practice.

· Texas law firm Locke Lord has expanded its recently opened Hong Kong office by hiring five corporate partners – Balbir Bindra, Wing Cheung, Alfred Lee, Tej Mahil and Matthew Wong – from Cheung & Lee. Together the five lawyers specialize in banking, corporate finance, leveraged finance, multi-jurisdictional mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and private equity investments.

· Chicago-based real estate lawyer Brian Davis has left Kirkland & Ellis to join Mayer Brown. 

· Texas-based tax lawyer Timothy Devetski, who focuses on energy-sector transactions, has joined Sidley Austin’s Houston office. Devetski was previously with Vinson & Elkins. 

· Robert Woll, an Asia fund formation specialist, has joined Deacons in Hong Kong. He was previously chair of WilmerHale's China corporate practice in Beijing. 

· M&A lawyer Stephen Older, a former partner at McDermott Will & Emery,  has joined the New York office of McGuireWoods.

· Jones Day has added Scott Greenberg to its restructuring practice in New York. He previously was with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.

· Denver-based M&A and securities lawyer Whitney Holmes has left Morrison & Foerster to join Dorsey & Whitney. 

Know of any private equity lawyer career moves we might have missed? If so, email PEM editor Nicholas Donato at nicholas.d@peimedia.com.