Hammonds has bulked up its corporate offering with two new partner hires.

The national law firm has strengthened its Birmingham office with the hire of corporate partner Geoff Perry from local rival Shoosmiths, while the firm has also added to its Leeds corporate team with the hire of finance regulatory partner Paul Anderson from Addleshaw Goddard, where he was a legal director.

Perry joined the Birmingham office as a partner last month with a practice that covers M&A, venture capital, private equity and general corporate advisery and governance work.

Meanwhile, Anderson, who previously served as assistant general counsel at Prudential-Bache, will be responsible for heading Hammonds' non-contentious financial institutions group nationally.

Hammonds corporate head William Downs commented: "We wanted to add to our Birmingham team and Geoff seemed like a good fit. He has hit the ground running. In Leeds, Paul will lead our efforts on financial services nationally, tying together our existing service offering. He is our first partner wholly dedicated to this – we see this as an area for future growth."

Separately, real estate partner Nick Green is set to take over as Birmingham office head on 1 May, replacing Ian Forrest, who is coming to the end of his second three-year term in the role.

Forrest will return to fee-earning work in the pension department but will remain on the firm's board.

Hammonds has been moving to build up its Birmingham office following the departure of a number of senior partners last year.