Morgan Stanley replaced its former global head of mergers and acquisitions, Gavin MacDonald, who died in December at 47. Robert Kindler takes that role in addition to his duties as a vice chairman focusing on senior client relationships and other initiatives.

Kindler (pictured) joined Morgan Stanley in April 2006 from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., where he was also global head of M&A. He spent six years at J.P. Morgan, and before that, spent two decades at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, specializing in M&A.

Other Morgan M&A appointments include: Michael Boublik, co-head of M&A for the Americas, who becomes chair of M&A, Americas; Mark Eichorn, co-head of M&A for the Americas, now head of M&A, Americas; Michele Colocci, now chairman of M&A for Europe in addition to being deputy head of European investment banking; and Dieter Turowski, now head of M&A for Europe.

Scott Matlock will remain chairman of M&A for Asia. Edward King and Kenji Fujita will also remain in their roles as head of M&A for Asia (ex-Japan) and head of M&A for Japan, respectively.

Credit Suisse Group hired Pierre-Yves Morlat as a managing director in the investment banking division, based in London. He is head of proprietary arbitrage trading for the Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Asia-Pacific regions.

Morlat joined CS from Société Générale SA, where he worked for 17 years. Most recently, he was global head of equity derivatives trading. Before that, he led the global arbitrage team, supervised local equity derivatives platforms in London and worked in volatility trading in Tokyo, Frankfurt and Paris.

At CS, Morlat reports to Bob Jain, New York-based co-head of global securities in the investment banking division.

Roger Hoit joined Moelis & Co. as a managing director in New York, advising financial sponsors. Hoit was a managing director in the global financial sponsors group at Morgan Stanley, where he advised financial sponsors and their portfolio companies on transactions and investment opportunities.

Before joining Morgan Stanley in 2000, Hoit did stints at SG Cowen Securities Corp., Gleacher & Co. and PaineWebber Inc., where he worked in the M&A, merchant banking and corporate finance groups.

Property adviser DTZ Holdings plc recruited Bob Rickert as global chief operating officer and Isaac Krymolowski as global head of consulting and research. Rickert joins from Barclays plc, where he was chief information officer of global retail and commercial banking. Krymolowski was head of strategy and planning at Barclays.

Both will report to CEO Paul Idzik, the former Barclays chief operating officer who was brought on in October to help turn the firm around.

DTZ announced in January that Serkan Bektas will join in the second quarter as global head of capital markets. Bektas was a managing director of U.K. solutions and structured product sales at Barclays Capital. Previously, he was COO in the global investment banking division of Barclays Capital.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP said Michael Scudder Jr., a White House legal adviser in the George W. Bush administration, joined the firm's Chicago office as a litigation partner. Scudder advised the president, National Security Council and senior administration officials on defense, intelligence, legislative and litigation matters. Before that, he provided legal advice on national security matters at the U.S. Department of Justice. From 2002 to 2006, Scudder was an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York.

Separately, Richard Aldrich Jr., a capital markets lawyer, will join Skadden as a partner and head of the São Paulo, Brazil, office. Aldrich, a partner at Shearman & Sterling LLP since 1983, was co-head and founder of that firm's São Paulo office.

Sidley Austin LLP announced that Daniel Price rejoined the firm as a senior partner for global issues and a member of the executive committee. Price served as assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser for International Economic Affairs in the administration of George W. Bush.

Ambassador John Veroneau, most recently deputy U.S. trade representative, joined Covington & Burling LLP's international practice as a partner in Washington.

Also, Bill Wichterman rejoined the firm's government affairs group as a senior legislative adviser. Wichterman, a non-lawyer, returns from the Bush administration, where he was special assistant to the president and deputy director of public liaison at the White House.

Thomas Hyatt is now a partner in the healthcare and nonprofit institutions practices at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP in Washington. Hyatt joins the firm from OberKaler.

In New York, Kathryn Baxter joined the firm as a partner in the insurance regulatory practice. She was a partner with Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP in New York and London.

Also, litigator Charles Newman joined the firm as a partner in St. Louis. The class-action defense specialist comes in from Bryan Cave LLP. Joining with Newman are partners Joel Siegel, residing in Los Angeles, and St. Louis-based Jason Maschmann and Elizabeth Ferrick.