Kirkland PE star defects to Travers Smith

• Morrison & Foerster bolstered its European and Asian teams with the addition of Christoph Flügel as a new corporate/real estate lawyer in its Berlin office and James Robinson in its Tokyo office as partner in the corporate department.

• Vinson & Elkins promoted of eight lawyers to its partnership, including John Grand, who focuses on private equity mergers and acquisitions.

• Stephen Gillespie joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as a partner in the London office. He was formerly a senior partner in the European debt finance practice in Kirkland & Ellis’ London office.

• Clifford Chance boosted its Singapore-based Asia project finance team with the relocation of Nicholas Wong.

• Law firm Travers Smith hired private equity regulatory specialist Stephanie Biggs from Kirkland & Ellis. Biggs joins Travers Smith as a partner within the financial services and markets department.

• Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher added Matthew Hurlock in the firm’s New York office as a partner. Formerly with Kirkland & Ellis, Hurlock will continue his private equity and mergers and acquisition practice at Gibson Dunn.

• Steven Davis joined law firm Proskauer as a London-based corporate partner with a focus on M&A. He previously led the corporate practice at King & Wood Mallesons.

• In the finalization of one of the biggest law firm mergers of the year, Morgan Lewis added 226 partners and more than 525 other lawyers, legal professionals and staff as part of its acquisition of Bingham McCutchen. The firm now has new offices in Santa Monica, California, and Hartford, Connecticut, as well as an expanded capacity in Asia.

• Law firm Howard Kennedy strengthened its financial regulation and investment funds team with the appointment of financial regulation specialist Daniel Hirschfield.

• Kirkland & Ellis hired private equity/M&A attorney Ryan Harris to the firm’s Chicago office as a partner in the corporate practice group.

• Reed Smith boosted its fledgling private equity real estate practice in London with the hire of two partners from Allen & Overy and Linklaters. Robert Porter, formerly of a lead partner at A&O, advises firms, sovereign funds, property companies and financial institutions, while Luke Mines of Linklaters works on corporate real estate.

• Adam Furber, a Hong Kong-based member of Simpson Thacher’s private funds practice, has been elected to partner. He was previously counsel at the firm.

• David Denechaud and Joe Flack III joined law firm Sidley Austin as Houston-based partners focused on private equity and energy M&A. Both previously worked with Andrews Kurth.

• Hyo Young Kang moved to Ropes & Gray as a Seoul-based corporate partner with a focus on finance and capital markets transactions. He previously was a senior consultant at Linklaters.

• Lowenstein Sandler expanded its executive compensation team for its private equity, hedge fund, venture capital and other clients with the addition of James Gregory as a partner.

• Eversheds appointed funds and real estate tax lawyer Cathryn Vanderspar as the head of its London tax practice.

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