Hunton & Williams has strengthened its Brussels office with the hire European Commission senior competition official Robert Klotz, the US firm announced today (5 September).

Klotz spent 12 years with the Directorate-General for Competition. He joins Hunton as a partner and will advise clients on European and German regulatory and competition law.

His appointment follows the arrival last year of fellow competition partner Michael Rosenthal, who joined from magic circle law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in March 2006.

Commenting on the hire of Klotz, Hunton competition chief Hewitt Pate said: "Robert's knowledge of German law and his experience with the European Commission will make him a valuable addition to our competition practice."

Hunton has also been growing its domestic practice this year, notably bagging 93 lawyers from defunct Texas firm Jenkens & Gilchrist in April. The bulk of the Jenkens team joined Hunton's Dallas arm, while a five-lawyer team launched a new office for the Virginia outfit in Austin.

Hunton now has nearly 1,000 lawyers worldwide.