King & Wood Mallesons has announced that former White & Case senior associate Guilain Hippolyte has joined the firm’s corporate practice in Paris. A private equity specialist, Mr Hippolyte is the first new recruit to KWM’s Paris team after the shock departure of six highly-regarded private equity partners from the firm in March. According to a statement from KWM, the hire reflects the firm’s ‘commitment to continue to build [the] Paris office’, adding that it will likely be able to capitalise on Mr Hippolyte’s ‘growing China practice’ by winning new outbound investment work from French clients. The rebuild effort at KWM Paris has also been helped along by the promotion of local tax head Sylvie Vansteenkiste to the role of managing partner for the Paris office. Ms Vansteenkiste replaces Maxence Bloch, one of the founding partners at KWM Paris and former managing partner who departed in March as part of the outgoing private equity team.