Clifford Chance (CC) has bolstered its litigation and dispute resolution offering in Washington DC with the hire of William Wallace from Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy.

Wallace joins CC after nine years as a partner with Milbank and will head up the magic circle firm's US corporate and financial services litigation group.

Prior to joining Milbank, Wallace also led the litigation practice at Morgan Lewis & Bockius and worked in the US Department of Justice in Boston.

His practice focuses on insolvency, fraud and commercial disputes, while he also specialises in trade secret-related litigation.

Commenting on his arrival, US litigation chief Juan Morillo said: "His experience and success make him ideally suited to lead the firm's US corporate and financial services litigation group, which is focused on high stakes commercial disputes expected to go to trial. At the same time, he has a number of attractive corporate relationships that provide us with new opportunities, both in litigation and other practice areas."

The hire of Wallace comes a year after CC brought in former Federal Trade Commission general counsel William Blumenthal as chairman of the firm's US antitrust group.

CC has seen a number of partner departures from its US offices in recent months, including the departure of former global litigation chief Mark Kirsch.

Kirsch left the firm in May last year and joined US rival Gibson Dunn & Crutcher a month later along with fellow litigation partner Joel Cohen.