UK firm Lovells has boosted its corporate and finance practices in London, Frankfurt and Paris by poaching five partners from the European offices of rival US and UK firms.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has been the worst hit by the Lovells' spending spree, losing corporate transactions specialist Nicholas Parden in London and international corporate and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) partner Katrin Solmecke, who will move from Freshfields' Cologne office to Lovells in Frankfurt.
Gilles de Poix has joined the UK firm in Paris from Hughes, Hubbard & Reed along with another corporate M&A partner from Coudert Frères, Olivier de Précigout. Clifford Chance banking partner and head of the UK firm's London-based French desk Jacques Bertran de Balanda will also join Lovells in Paris.
Hugh Nineham, head of Lovells' corporate practice, said that the wave of partner recruitment in his practice area was motivated by an increase in levels of cross-border work.