Linklaters has named a new Paris head of corporate, with Fabrice de La Morandiere taking over from Marc Loy.

Loy, who has headed Linklaters' 55-lawyer corporate team in the French capital for four years, had reached the end of his term.

The group, which has 12 partners, is the largest practice group in the Paris office, which has around 180 lawyers in total.

De La Morandiere has been at Linklaters for eight years, having joined from Ashurst in 2001. Before that he was an associate with Gide Loyrette Nouel, during which time he spent a year on secondment in Allen & Overy's London office.

His practice focuses on M&A, in particular leveraged buyouts of public and private companies.

Commenting on his plans for the Paris corporate group, he said: "The idea is to drive this corporate department in line with the strategy of the firm and particularly in line with the corporate department as a whole. The strategy is clearly to keep our key clients and to focus on premium work."

The news follows Linklaters' appointment of a new head of its Paris capital markets group. Philippe Herbelin has been selected to head up the 15-lawyer team, having assumed the role from Gilles Endreo at the end of his term.