King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is taking steps to rebuild its Paris corporate practice, having hired senior associate Guilain Hippolyte from White & Case. The arrival of private equity specialist Hippolyte, who is joining KWM as a partner, represents the firm’s first hire in Paris since the office was rocked in March by the departure of a highly regarded six-partner private equity team, which joined Goodwin Procter.
The firm has also appointed Paris tax head Sylvie Vansteenkiste as the office’s new managing partner. The previous head, Maxence Bloch, was part of the group that quit for Goodwin Procter. Vansteenkiste is one of the partners who founded KWM’s Paris office in 2001.
