Allen & Overy has hired five structured finance lawyers from London-based US law firm Milbank.
The hire comes ahead of Magic Circle Law Firm's merger with New York law firm Shearman & Sterling, which is expected to close in May.
The team is led by partner John Goldfinch, who specializes in advising on secured loan obligations.
A&O said in a statement that the firm also hired Milbank lawyers Adrian Kwok, Peter West, Eleanor Cripps and Alexandra Wells.
read A&O and Sherman offer forgivable financing to retain partners after £3.4bn merger
David Lucking, A&O's global head of international capital markets, said he looked forward to welcoming Mr. Goldfinch to the firm.
“John's appointment will further strengthen our bench as we work with private capital sponsor clients accessing structured capital markets,” he said in a statement.
The hire comes ahead of A&O's partnership with Sherman in a deal to create a $3.4 billion law firm.
Both A&O and Sherman have worked hard to retain key partners for the deal, which was agreed last year.
The companies offer forgivable loans to their partners, which they can continue to provide if they stay with the combined company long enough.
Sherman has seen a large exodus of lawyers over the past 18 months, particularly from its international business.
The four-partner private equity team left the Paris office in September and joined the US law firm Proskauer Rhodes.
Corporate partner George Casey, one of the firm's managing partners, left the firm in January along with corporate partner Heiko Sibek to join Linklaters in New York.
Another recent hire at A&O is Sophie Jermyn, a private equity partner at Akin Gump who joined the firm late last year.
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