In a substantial boost to its strategy to strengthen further its international mergers and acquisitions practice, global law firm White & Case LLP has significantly raised its profile in the Middle East with the addition of Campbell Steedman as a partner in the Firm’s Abu Dhabi office. Qualified in England, Steedman joins White & Case from Norton Rose LLP, where he was the Middle East Senior Partner, as well as head of its regional corporate finance practice.

Duane Morris LLP is pleased to announce that Jonathan M. Petrakis and J. Colin Knisely have joined the firm’s Trial Practice Group as partners in its Philadelphia office. They join Duane Morris from Deeb Petrakis Blum & Murphy P.C., where Petrakis was the founding member and president.

Herbert Smith advised Apache North Sea Limited, a subsidiary of Houston based Apache Corporation, on its agreement to acquire the North Sea oil & gas assets of Exxon Mobil Corporation’s Mobil North Sea LLC for US$1.75 billion which was signed 21 September 2011.

Hunton & Williams (Thailand) Limited recently represented four financial institutions in a Credit Facilities Agreement of Baht 48,940 million ($1.6 billion) with two subsidiaries under the Wireless Group of the Company, consisting of BFKT (Thailand) Company Limited and Real Future Company Limited.

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the premier provider of legal services to technology, life sciences, and other growth enterprises worldwide, is pleased to announce that it is opening an office in Brussels, Belgium. The office will be led by Michael Rosenthal, previously the managing partner of Hunton & Williams’ Brussels office, who will be joined by Götz Drauz, the former Deputy Director-General for Competition at the European Commission, and former Hunton & Williams partner Paul McGeown, along with a counsel and three associates. The team combines private practice, industry, and high-level government experience and offers a broad spectrum of antitrust and competition services at the European Union and national levels in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The office is expected to open in October.

The global law firm Jones Day announced that Martha Gooding and Michael Stimson have joined the Firm as partners in its Intellectual Property Practice, resident in the Firm’s Irvine Office. Both were most recently partners in the Irvine office of Howrey, where they were members of the firm’s IP Group.