SEC chief counsel joins Ropes & Gray

• Robert Rice, former chief counsel to US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mary Jo White, has joined Ropes & Gray as a partner in the business and securities litigation practice group in New York. Prior to his two years at the SEC, Rice was a managing director and senior in-house counsel at Deutsche Bank AG. 

• Ropes & Gray also brought on David Tittsworth as counsel in its investment management practice in Washington DC. He joins following an 18-year tenure as president and CEO of industry non-profit the Investment Adviser Association.

• Another SEC veteran, Charles Clark, joined Schulte Roth & Zabel as a partner in the Washington, DC office, where he represents hedge funds, private equity firms and venture capital funds in securities-related enforcement proceedings. He previously served as senior counsel, branch chief and assistant director in the Division of Enforcement.

• Howard Rosenblum, former chair of the fund formation and operations practice at DLA Piper, has joined Choate Hall & Stewart as a partner in its private equity group.  Rosenblum, a 35-year veteran of the business, will continue to focus his practice on the formation of and investments by domestic and international private equity funds, and providing general representation to emerging growth companies.

• Hogan Lovellswill grow its Frankfurt team with three hires from Skadden, snagging M&A expert Matthias Jaletzke, along with his colleagues, counsel Hanns Joerg Herwig and associate Joerg Neubauer. Jaletzke, who has worked with such clients as Apax, specializes in takeovers, acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures. All three will start in Hogan’s private equity practice July 1.

• Richard Silfen is rejoining Duane Morris as a partner in the firm’s corporate practice group after a year serving as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary at REIT American Realty Capital Properties. Silfen, who had previously spent seven years at Duane Morris, focuses on M&A, venture capital and private equity transactions.

• Seyfarth Shaw added partner Gabriel Monzon-Cortarelli to the firm’s corporate department in New York. Monzon-Cortarelli joins from Greenberg Traurig, where he was a shareholder in the corporate and securities practice and headed the firm’s Italian desk.

• Ivan Presant and Joseph Cosentino have left their posts at Clifford Chance to join Greenberg Traurigas shareholders in its M&A and private equity practices. They are both based in the firm’s New York office.

• Perkins Coie has expanded its Bay Area corporate finance practice with the additions of Justin Bastian and Nora Gibson. Bastian, who joins from Sidley Austin, is based in the Palo Alto office and serves as chair of the California capital markets practice. Gibson, who joins from Covington & Burling, is based in San Francisco and is a partner.

• Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati appointed Dan Ouyang as a partner in the firm's corporate and securities practice. Formerly a partner at Paul Hastings, she will be based in the firm's Beijing and Hong Kong offices.

• Weil, Gotshal & Manges added Volkmar Bruckner as a partner in the Munich office. Bruckner, who  joins from Latham & Watkins, specializes in private equity and M&A transactions representing German and international clients in cross border buy-outs, carve-outs and joint ventures.

• James Howe has joined Proskauer from Kirkland & Ellis as a partner in the firm’s M&A practice. Howe will work in London alongside Steven Davis, who joined the firm in December from King & Wood Mallesons.

• In related news, Baker & McKenzie and FenXun Partners have become the first international and PRC law firms to enter into a joint operation in the China (Shanghai) Free Trade Zone. Through the joint operation, clients of both firms will have access to integrated advice on international and PRC laws in a number of areas, including private equity and investment funds.