Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has strengthened its Paris tax offering following a raid on US rival Shearman & Sterling.

Tax partner Isabelle Chauvet joins the West Coast giant as a partner in the French capital, following the departure last month of Orrick's respected local tax head, Stephane Salou, who moved to Norton Rose.

Chauvet joined Shearman in 1992 from White & Case, becoming a partner in 2000. She advises on tax aspects of M&A transactions, reorganisations and structured finance deals. She specialises in setting up offshore and foreign trust structures, with particular focus on real estate deals and projects work.

Orrick has suffered a number of high-profile departures in recent months in the wake of the firm's failed merger bid with New York outfit Dewey Ballantine, which collapsed in January, with Paris among the offices hit.

In addition to Salou, Raphaele Courtier, another former Paris managing partner, quit Orrick for Bredin Prat, while finance partner Sylvie Perrin joined Ashurst in April.

Rivals have pointed to the firm's 2005 merger with local boutique Rambaud Martel as a factor behind some of the Paris departures.