Bird & Bird has bolstered its London corporate group with the double partner hire of Richard Eaton and Struan Penwarden from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe.

The duo is expected to join Bird & Bird's corporate group in London towards the end of the month, having been at Orrick since October 2008.

Eaton (pictured) and Penwarden joined Orrick from the now-dissolved US law firm Heller Ehrman having been there since the beginning of 2007, shortly after the launch of its short-lived UK practice.

Bird & Bird's corporate group primarily works with technology companies and with the new arrivals will house 40 lawyers, including 12 partners in London.

The pair focuses on the growth technology sector, advising companies through venture capital, public offerings and M&A. Eaton told Legal Week: "[Bird & Bird's] international intellectual property practice and the integration of that practice with the corporate team was a big draw for us, as all of our clients need these services. When you add this to the firm's desire to grow the corporate and venture capital practices, it makes this the right move for us to make."

Bird & Bird joint head of UK corporate Neil Blundell commented: "We have been doing an increasing amount of venture work in the last couple of years with the arrival of Angus Miln in 2007 [from Latham & Watkins] and now have a strong reputation in the field. We want to continue to build that line of work out and Richard and Struan's experience, particularly in acting for growth technology and cleantech companies, supports that commitment."

The dual hire comes amid an expansive period for the UK top 15 firm, which has rapidly grown its core technology, media and telecoms practice across Europe in recent years. Revenue at the 200-partner firm rose by 29.6% in 2008-09 to hit £186.3m.