Covington & Burling has announced the hire of the former head of Herbert Smith's Paris corporate practice, Mike Kingston.

Kingston joins Covington's London arm to head up the Washington DC-based firm's European corporate practice.

Kingston, whose practice covers a range of cross-border transactional work, spent six years in the French capital with Herbert Smith, as well as completing stints in Hong Kong and Singapore.

His appointment brings the number of Covington partners based in the City to 15, although London tax partner David Hinds switched to US rival Sidley Austin earlier this year.

Roger Enock, who took over as managing partner of Covington's London office in March, commented: "Mike is highly regarded for handling a wide range of complex transactions and he brings synergies between his expertise and the firm's existing practice and clients."

Kingston said: "Covington's commitment to quality, client service and a truly collegial atmosphere, together with its world-class reputation and long-established international client relationships, is a compelling story. Combined with the firm's depth in regulated industries, Covington has the key ingredients for success in today's global legal market."

Last year the US firm announced a firm-wide increase in revenues of just over 14% to a new high of $467m (£232m), up from $408m (£202m) in 2006. That included an 11% increase in turnover at the firm's London arm, which billed $30.9m (£15.3m) in 2007.