Latham & Watkins has made its first lateral partner hire in London since October 2008, with the US firm bringing in private equity partner Graeme Ward from Ashurst.

Ward is set to join Latham's City corporate practice over the coming weeks. He will become the seventh private equity partner in London, working as part of a team led by partner Nigel Campion-Smith.

The practice counts the Qatar Investment Authority as one of its key clients, last year advising on deals including a £3.8bn investment in Barclays and the subsequent sale of half its stake.

Ward handed in his notice at Ashurst before Christmas, having become partner in 1997. During his time with the top 10 City firm he managed Ashurst's Frankfurt office between 1997 and 2000. He currently heads the German business group at Ashurst.

Nigel Campion-Smith, Latham's corporate co-chair in London, said: "Latham's involvement in many of Europe's most high-profile corporate transactions is a testament to the platform we have built and the team's strength. Graeme's track record advising companies and their boards, financial institutions and private equity funds in a wide range of commercial matters adds further depth to our practice."

Latham's most recent partner-level recruitment saw restructuring partner Jackson Taylor join from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft and finance lawyer Dan Maze join from Morgan Stanley in 2008.

Ashurst saw a number of partner departures across its network during 2009 with some leaving voluntarily and others at the request of management. Legal Week reported in October that the firm had seen 22 partners leave the limited liability partnership in the 10 months since January – equating to around 10% of its partnership as it stood at the beginning of the current financial year.

However, the firm also made a number of high-profile hires including that of construction partner Ann Minogue from Linklaters and highly-rated restructuring partner Dan Hamilton from White & Case. Latham declined to comment.