Law firm King & Spalding has hired two new senior counsel, Hannes Welge and Hamid Mamdouh, to its trade practice in Geneva.

Welge was formerly with the European Commission (EC) and is an expert in EU trade remedy law. He most recently served as hearing officer for trade proceedings at the EC. He also founded and chaired the World Trade Organisation technical group on anti-dumping for 12 years and worked as the EU chief negotiator for trade remedy rules in WTO negotiations.

Prior to joining the EC, Welge was a judge at the Hamburg law courts dealing with competition and intellectual property law cases.

Mamdouh, formerly with the WTO, is an expert in development and application of international trade rules to services, including issues affecting the digital economy. He served in the WTO secretariat as director of trade in services and investment division and was secretary to the WTO council for trade in services.

“Recruiting two experts of the pedigree of Hannes and Hamid is a very exciting development for our trade team,” says Steve Orava, chair of the international trade group.

“Their collective, high-level expertise in two organisations as important as the EC and the WTO offers our clients an expanded perspective on the practical business implications of international trade matters.”