Skadden Arps Meagher & Flom has boosted its French practice with the hire of a tax partner from City giant Linklaters.

Philippe Derouin will join Skadden in Paris as a partner next month. He advises clients on tax aspects of a wide range of domestic and international matters, including M&A, corporate restructurings, structured and project finance and tax litigation.

At Skadden he joins a European tax practice that is headquartered in London and also operates in Frankfurt and Vienna.

This appointment marks the third partner hire for Skadden in Europe this year, following the addition of Frankfurt banking partner Johannes Kremer and London restructuring partner Chris Mallon. Both hires came from US rivals, with Kremer switching from Shearman & Sterling and Mallon jumping ship from Weil Gotshal & Manges.

Commenting on the appointment, Skadden executive partner Robert Sheehan said: "Derouin is an established and recognised tax professional who enhances Skadden's European tax practice.

"Combined with existing tax practices in Germany, Austria and the UK and the tax network in other jurisdictions, he expands Skadden's ability to provide sophisticated tax advice to our clients in the European arena."

Recent highlights for the New York giant's Paris office include landing roles advising Arcelor on its $33.8bn (£17.2bn) merger with Mittal; representing Suez on its $48.6bn (£24.8bn) tie-up with Gaz de France; and acting for SCOR on its $2.8bn (£1.43bn) acquisition of Converium.