Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has taken its first step towards rebuilding its London office, which was hit by a seven-partner walkout earlier this year.

The New York-based firm has hired Edmond Curtin as a special counsel in its capital markets practice.

Curtin, who is set to join next week (6 July), comes from Credit Suisse, where he was managing director of the London legal and compliance group. He had been with the bank since 1994.

Curtin becomes the fifth special counsel in London, joining four partners and nine associates.

In addition, office managing partner Bob Link splits his time between the City, New York and Hong Kong. Link was appointed to take charge of the office and rebuild it following a stream of partner departures.

In January, a seven-partner team including office head Michelle Duncan handed in their notice to join the London office of US rival Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker.

Their departures resulted in Cadwalader making three lawyers, three paralegals and 10 support staff redundant in February.

The partner walkout, which also saw restructuring litigator Karl Clowry, capital markets partner Conor Downey, real estate finance partner Justin Jowitt, financial services partner Tom O'Riordan and capital markets partners Christian Parker and Charles Roberts leave, had cast doubt on the future of Cadwalader's London offering.

However, the firm insists that it is committed to the market, and Link is believed to be in talks with a number of UK lawyers in his bid to build up the office.