"What the hell is Marke Raines doing at Taylor Wessing?" So asks one finance partner after the former Shearman & Sterling partner with a reputation for liking high-profile deals resurfaced as head of securitisation at Taylor Wessing earlier this month. Another normally verbose partner, asked for his reaction, answers: "Surprised."

Such sentiments are understandable. While the decade-long rise of securitisation in Europe shows no sign of abating, the practice area has remained the preserve of a small band of large London and US firms.

Not that Taylor Wessing is alone in entering the market. Lawrence Graham has in recent years made a number of recruits in the area. Considerably more conspicuous has been recent recruitment at Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), which signalled its own ambitions with the hire of Tamara Box from Lovells.

Many finance partners are assuming that Raines in particular, who was also formerly at Allen & Overy, has been hired to focus on servicing Taylor Wessing's corporate client base, rather than building a 'proper' practice with the requisite investment bank mandates. But Raines and Box will be attempting to capitalise on former contacts, using the (debatable) theory that this is a market in which panels can be bypassed.

Previous omens here are mixed, with a mid-market finance practice as polished as DLA struggling to make much headway with arrangers after recruiting two partners from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe back in 2001, while Baker & McKenzie appears to have had more success with last year's Norton Rose raid.

Taylor Wessing and BLP will be able to sell their firms' full-service credentials to complement the practice, which securitisation specialists say gives them one advantage over US firms like Raines' former employer.

For BLP, the rationale is perhaps clearer. The firm will now be hoping to build on deals like its role for The Mall Fund on a £1.06bn commercial mortgage-backed securities issue and banking relationships currently concentrated on Royal Bank of Scotland, Deutsche Bank, Anglo Irish Bank and Barcap.

Box will also be working alongside recently-hired securitisation specialists Paul Severs and Tom Church, who respectively have Clifford Chance and Linklaters on their CVs. While some eyebrows have been raised at the money BLP has put into securitisation, the firm cannot be faulted for being half-hearted.

One partner told Legal Week: "In this market it is a lot easier if you do not have to sell a one-man-and-his-dog operation."

However, both firms will have their work cut out. BLP's respected real estate finance practice – covering tax, trusts and debt experience – by no means delivers the vital capital markets piece of the equation.

'Brand recognition' also remains key in an area in which bankers are renowned for making the safe choice. Veterans of the UK scene still remember how long it took even Linklaters to penetrate the upper echelons of the market to regularly bag the transaction counsel role.

In fairness, Raines, after an unsettled period at Shearman, will be eager to prove that he can flourish outside a magic circle environment. However, rivals will be watching with interest to see if he lasts or takes his dog elsewhere.