Dechert has strengthened its New York offering with the hire of two new partners from Clifford Chance's (CC's) office in the city.

CC finance partners Stuart Strauss and Richard Horowitz will join the US firm's financial services group.

Strauss has been a partner with CC since 2004 and has a practice focused on US securities law and investment advice. He represents investment companies, independent directors of investment companies, banks and other financial institutions.

Horowitz, who joined CC in 2000 and made partner in 2005, has a client base including mutual funds, hedge funds and investment advisers.

Commenting on the hires, Dechert chairman Bart Winokur said: "With their broad experience, Stuart and Richard are terrific additions to our top-ranked financial services practice. They enjoy high industry profiles and will further enhance our brand as an industry leader in the representation of financial services firms."

The departures are the latest for CC's US practice, after partner headcount in the magic circle firm's New York office fell by 18 between March and July this year – the equivalent of around a quarter of the local practice.

Nine partners left the litigation practice and five departed from corporate, while the securities and capital markets practices were also affected.