Jones Day senior associate Alex Cull has been hired by Norton Rose for their Singapore office. Cull joins the firm as a partner in their energy team. Through his work at Jones Day, Cull has a decade of experience in the energy industry, specializing in oil and gas project development, M&A and financing throughout Asia. Norton Rose energy and infrastructure partner, Jeff Smith, is excited about what Cull has to offer to the firm and sees this addition as another important step in the growth of the firm’s Asia practice.
Source: www.thelawyer.com

Shipping firm Thomas Cooper & Stibbard will open an office in Paris after hiring a three-partner shipping team from the local office of Reed Smith Richards Butler. Lars Lewis, the former managing partner of Reed Smith’s Paris office, along with Peter Iglikowski and Christophe Hunkeler will make the move next month. Thomas Cooper now has a total of six offices, including those in London, Singapore, Athens, Vancouver and Madrid. The firm also recently hired shipping and insurance specialist Ben Browne from Shaw & Croft for its London office.
Source: www.legalweek.com

Duane Morris opened a six-attorney office in Singapore. New York partner Eduardo Ramos-Gomez will be the managing partner in Singapore, along with five new partners from various international firms. Ramos-Gomez was the Mexican ambassador to Singapore from 1998 to 2001. The new office, now open after a year of planning, will focus on corporate finance, project finance, energy, cross-border transactions, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and telecommunications. Duane Morris also has plans to open two offices in Vietnam (located in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City) in the spring of 2007.
Source: www.law.com