DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary has bolstered its City financial regulatory practice with a senior appointment from banking giant Merrill Lynch.

John Ahern joined DLA Piper's London arm on Monday (23 May) after an eight-year spell with Merrill Lynch. He has been a director and senior counsel in the bank's London legal team since 2002.

Ahern, who also previously worked in Clifford Chance's (CC's) financial services regulatory group, joins DLA Piper's non-contentious financial regulatory practice as a partner.

Ahern will work alongside the firm's banking and corporate practices and with Peter Bibby, head of the financial regulatory group.Bibby commented: "Expertise like John's is difficult to find."

In October, DLA Piper hired regulatory partner Eva Heffernan from US firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. Prior to joining Wilmer Cutler, Heffernan was also a director and senior counsel at Merrill Lynch's European arm, which has strong relationships with City advisers CC and Herbert Smith.

Ahern's recruitment is the latest in a series of partner appointments at DLA Piper, with the firm hiring more than 50 partners in its last financial year in Europe and Asia alone.

The firm also this week announced it was recruiting former Royal Bank of Scotland lawyer Mark Chidley and ex-Virgin legal chief Helena Samaha as partners.