Financial Services Tax Lawyer, Dr. Bert Kimpel, has joined the Taylor Wessing tax team in Dusseldorf as of 1 February 2008. He previously worked as a senior manager at PwC.

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Janne Juusela has been invited to join the partnership at Attorneys at Law Borenius & Kemppinen Ltd.

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Borenius & Kemppinen is one of the leading law firms in Finland. With offices in Helsinki, Espoo and Tampere, it is also one of the country’s largest law firms.

Eversheds has further bolstered its tax team with the appointment of partner Clive Jones. Clive’s appointment follows the recent hires of senior associate Caspar Fox from Freshfields, head of indirect tax Martin Scammell and tax director Lucy Cox, both from Ernst & Young.

Clive joined Eversheds on 4 February from Clifford Chance where he was a senior associate with particular expertise in real estate and finance. At Eversheds, his primary focus will be on the real estate tax side of the practice including real estate finance and funds. Clive recently advised Evans Randall Investment Management on the £452m acquisition of the Rhodium companies and the 515,000 square foot 5 Canada Square office building in Canary Wharf from RBS.

Clive Jones comments:

“Eversheds has a highly regarded tax group renowned for its strength in real estate. I’m looking forward to the challenge of playing a part in helping Eversheds consolidate its position as one of the leading client centred and dynamic international law firms.”

Eversheds’ tax group head Tom Daltry comments:

“Clive’s appointment is a real coup for Eversheds. The tax group has a clear objective to expand the depth and visibility of what is already a nationally and internationally recognised practice as part of its strategic plan. Clive’s talent as a top real estate tax lawyer will support this objective in a significant way.”

Renowned Hong Kong tax litigator, Brian Gilchrist, is to join Clifford Chance from 1 May 2008.

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Sidley Austin LLP announced today that David Hinds will join the firm’s London office as a partner in the tax group. Mr. Hinds will focus on tax matters relating to fund formation and fund-related transactions and will be an essential part of the developing funds practice in the Sidley London office. Mr. Hinds will also focus on tax matters relating to corporate transactions.

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The Times Online reported today that John Rhodes, a leading private client lawyer, has joined The Stonehage Group. The appointment follows Rhodes’ retirement from Macfarlanes. Rhodes spent 40 years at Macfarlanes, rising through the ranks to become head of private client, a role he held from 2000 to 2005. Last year he received a lifetime achievement award from the Society of Trust and Estates Practitioners (STEP).

The Stonehage Group is an international wealth management group advising high net worth families. They have offices in Switzerland, United Kingdom, Jersey, Israel, South Africa, the United States and Australia.

Fenwick & West LLP represented Eaton Corporation (NYSE: ETN) as special tax counsel in its acquisition of Germany-based The Moeller Group, a supplier of components for commercial and residential building applications. The agreed purchase price is EUR 1.55 billion, or $2.23 billion USD. The transaction, expected to close in the first quarter of 2008, is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

The Fenwick & West tax team included partners Jim Fuller and Bart Bassett; and associates Neal Gordon, Victor Ng, Catherine Curtiss, Larissa Neumann, Will Skinner and Amanda Dranginis.

About Fenwick & West
Fenwick & West has achieved a reputation as having one of the nation’s leading domestic and international tax practices. The tax group’s exciting and sophisticated practice stems from its client base. Our tax clients represent every geographic area of the United States, as well as a number of foreign countries, and have included over 100 Fortune 500 companies. The firm was awarded First Tier status by International Tax Review 2008 as one of only eight law firms in the entire U.S. to receive the First Tier rating; Chambers USA 2007 also ranked Fenwick & West first tier in tax for California and nominated the firm for its “Award for Excellence in Corporate Tax” 2007: one of only two nominees outside New York City.

Global law firm Squire, Sanders & Dempsey has announced the addition of two tax experts from Gide Loyrette Nouel: Associates Tomasz Hatylak and Aneta T. Kowalska
Hatylak is highly regarded in the Polish market. Previously head of tax at Gide’s Warsaw office, he is recognised in Chambers Global 2008 as being a leader in his field and one client described working with his team as “an excellent experience…results can always be counted on.” Another client described Hatylak’s advice as “quick and efficient” and “he always does his best to find a solution that fits the client.” He is also recommended in the recently published European Legal Experts 2008.

Hatylak is experienced in all aspects of legal tax advice including VAT, CIT, financial services’ taxation and tax litigation, as well as supervising tax audits and tax planning projects. Clients that Hatylak has advised include Pirelli RE, BNP Paribas, Dalkia SA and Enterprise Investors.

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Blakes), one of Canada’s leading business law firms, has announced 3 new tax partners.

In Montreal: John Leopardi’s practice focuses on domestic and international corporate taxation, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations and financings, private equity investments, and income tax aspects of partnerships, trusts and joint ventures.

In Toronto: Paul Stepak practises primarily in the areas of corporate, partnership and personal income taxation, with a focus on domestic and cross-border income tax planning. Michael Stevenson provides corporate and commercial advice to a broad base of clients, including publicly traded companies, entrepreneurs and private corporations.

In Vancouver: Kevin Zimka practises taxation and business law. While advising on all aspects of income and commodity taxation, Kevin’s focus is on domestic and international corporate taxation and he acts for both public and private corporations.

Blakes has more than 550 lawyers and offices in Canada, the United States, Europe and China.

The Partners of Canadian Law Firm, Miller Thomson LLP, have announced that Gerald D. Courage has been elected Chairman of the firm.

Bringing more than 30 years of legal and management experience to his new role, Gerald D. Courage will lead Miller Thomson through its next stage of growth, building on the professional excellence, high service standards and collegial culture for which the firm has become known. Gerald is a Senior Tax Partner in the Toronto office and, until recently, served as the Chairman of the National Taxation Group.

Gerald has a Commerce degree from the University of Toronto. He is a graduate of Queen’sUniversity Law School and earned his LL.M at Harvard Law School. He advises clients, both domestic and international, on corporateincome tax issues and frequently writes and speaks on Canadian taxation law and tax-related matters.

Miller Thomson LLP, one of Canada’s largest and fastest-growing national law firms, continues to retain and attract leading lawyers with a broad range of business, advocacy, regulatory and specialty practices.