Reed Smith has confirmed the hires of 17 King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) partners across London, Paris and Germany, alongside sizeable teams of lawyers, trainees and support staff.

The US firm has added eight partners to its London office, with the hires of financial regulatory partners David Calligan, Tim Dolan, Tamasin Little and Adrian Brown, corporate partners Delphine Currie and Mark Sanders, private equity partner Laura Brunnen and tax partner Gareth Amdor. The new additions take partner count in Reed Smith's City base to around 120.

The partners are followed to Reed Smith by senior private equity counsel Martin Bowen, as well as 10 associates, three trainees, two knowledge management lawyers and two secretaries from KWM's European arm, which went into administration last week.

Meanwhile, in Paris the firm has sealed the hires of KWM competition partners Marc Levy and Natasha Tardif, tax partners Sylvie Vansteenkiste, Fanny Combourieu and Raphael Bera, and corporate and private equity partners Guilain Hippolyte and Pierre-Louis Perin.

Other KWM staff joining Reed Smith in the French capital include tax counsel Gwenael Kropfinger, 10 associates, one jurist, four trainees and four secretaries.

Elsewhere, two partners are joining Reed Smith in Germany – competition partner Tilman Siebert in Munich and litigation partner Francis Bellen in Frankfurt – alongside counsel Michaela Westrup in Munich and two associates.

Reed Smith European and Middle East head Tamara Box told Legal Week: "What really came across was the common clients and common collaborative culture that these different groups managed to foster between themselves. We are very pleased that we can benefit from these strong relationships. "

The news comes after several hundred KWM staff were made redundant at the end of last week, after the legacy SJ Berwin business filed for administration on Tuesday (17 January).

The firm's administrator, Quantuma, last week raised concerns about confidential client information abandoned in partners' offices after they had left for other firms. Former partners were asked to return to put their offices and closed client files in good order, ahead of a deadline for closing the offices at 10 Queen Street Place.

Although the vast majority of KWM partners have now found new homes elsewhere, KWM's China arm has retained a group of more than 30 partners who have agreed to stay on and maintain a Europe, Middle East and Africa presence for the firm in the wake of the administration, including seven partners in London. Partners remaining with the small European operation have now moved into new City premises near St Paul's.

Around 50 members of staff have been kept on by the administrators to help with the process of winding down the legacy SJ Berwin business. The first administrator's report is due to be filed by tomorrow (24 January).