Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has made its first lateral partner hire in the City since losing a seven-partner team to Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker in January 2009.

Simmons & Simmons insurance and reinsurance head Jennifer Donohue is set to join the US law firm in April after three years with Simmons, becoming the fifth partner in Cadwalader's London office.

The base is currently led by former firmwide chairman Bob Link, but is set to be taken over by capital markets partner Angus Duncan in the coming months.

Donohue initially qualified as a barrister but went on to requalify as a solicitor in 1992, taking up posts at the Department of Trade and Industry, Nabarro, Barlow Lyde & Gilbert and legacy firm Theodore Goddard before joining Landwell as head of its London insurance group in 2002. She joined Simmons in 2007 after two years with Hogan & Hartson.

She will be the sole insurance partner in Cadwalader's London office, while her hire marks a shift in strategy for the firm as it moves to broaden its practice base away from specialist finance work such as structured finance and derivatives.

Donohue said: "The work I do fits very well with Cadwalader as there has been an enormous convergence of capital markets and insurance in recent times. The insurance industry is facing its biggest challenge for decades, with profound transformation in the market, and clients need these to be handled by a dedicated team."

Since the team departure at the start of last year Cadwalader has yet to rebuild, with capital markets special counsel Edmund Curtin, who joined from Credit Suisse, the only senior hire.