Ropes & Gray has boosted its City banking capability with the hire of a new partner from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Matthew Cox, who was a counsel at Freshfields, joins the partnership at the US outfit, bringing with him a broad finance practice focused on acquisition leverage and restructuring.

Cox worked closely with Ropes & Gray office heads Maurice Allen and Mike Goetz (pictured) during their time at Freshfields before the duo left last year to launch a London base for the US firm.

Cox was made up to counsel at Freshfields in 2008 alongside 11 other associates, having qualified in New Zealand in 1995.

He will be Ropes' fifth partner in London alongside Allen, Goetz, high-yield specialist Jonathan Bloom and restructuring partner Tony Horspool, who joined last month from Weil Gotshal & Manges.

Allen commented: "We wanted a good junior banking partner and Matt is a strong, robust team player. He gets out there and clients like him. He does a certain amount of restructuring work, which fits well with Tony Horspool, but the fit is more on the private equity side."

Ropes' City arm, which last November was instructed to advise cable group Liberty Global on deal finance for its €3.5bn (£3.1bn) takeover of Germany's Unitymedia, has now turned its intentions to building out its corporate and private equity presence in the City.