Allen & Overy is adding two federal enforcement partners from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe in Washington, D.C., as the Magic Circle firm continues to pursue growth in the U.S. after ceasing merger discussions with O'Melveny & Myers.

U.S. senior partner Tim House said the hires of Billy Jacobson and Jonathan Lopez, both veterans of the fraud section of the U.S. Department of Justice, reflect a reorientation in the locus of enforcement work.

"Federal criminal enforcement, for our clients, both banks and corporates, continues to shift from a New York base to D.C.," said House, who is based in New York. "The message that was coming through is, to be able to put together a team that has former [assistant U.S. attorneys] in New York is great, but it's also useful, as it is with antitrust enforcement, to have a team that's lived and worked within Main Justice, to tap into their knowledge and background."