Weil Gotshal & Manges is to close its Budapest office, with a 20-strong team from the office, including two partners, moving to Bird & Bird.

The office will shut on 1 February, with partners David Dederick and Konrad Siegler joining Bird & Bird's existing team in Budapest.

Dederick, the managing partner of Weil's Budapest office, joins Bird & Bird as co-head of Budapest, alongside Bird & Bird's existing office head, Peter Knight.

Dederick has a focus on international and cross-border mergers and acquisitions for clients in the technology, communications, energy and utilities, life sciences and healthcare sectors.

Siegler specialises in banking and finance and acts for Hungarian and international banks, with a focus on mergers and aquisitions, privatisations, bankruptcy and restructuring.

Joining with them are a team of three senior counsel, 10 associates and five trainees. The three senior counsel are Pal Szabo, Ferenc Matrai and Laszlo Nanyista. The team will continue to work closely with Weil to assist their global clients, according to Bird & Bird.

Bird & Bird operates in Hungary as Knight Bird & Bird Iroda, a fully integrated part of the firm's international network. Excluding the team from Weil, the firm has 10 lawyers based in the city, according to the firm's website.

Knight, who also serves as Bird & Bird's international head of dispute resolution, said: "These appointments will allow the combined team to provide deeper and more extensive services across multiple sectors. Strengthening our office in Budapest will benefit our regional strategy within central and eastern Europe."

Last year, Weil became the latest firm to rethink operations in the Middle East when the US firm closed its Dubai office. The office was the firm's sole Middle East base and opened at the beginning of 2009.

Last year, Bird & Bird opened in San Francisco and secured a cooperation agreement with Chinese firm AllBright Law Offices.

A Weil spokesperson said: "Approximately 20 lawyers and most of the staff who are based in our Budapest office will be joining Bird & Bird, effective 1 February, after which time Weil will no longer have an office in Hungary. This decision was amicably discussed with our Budapest office leaders, and we will continue to support the office during a transition period and would look to refer appropriate work to them.

"Over the years, our Budapest office has been involved in milestone transactions in Hungary.  We are very proud of all that our colleagues have achieved, and we know they will continue to accomplish great things.  We thank them for their many contributions to Weil and wish them all the best."