CMS Cameron McKenna has bulked up its private equity practice with the hire of a team of former Linklaters lawyers.

The seven-strong team, which was formerly part of Linklaters' Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) private equity practice, left the magic circle firm in 2007. They will join Camerons in May.

Ted Cominos joins as international head of private equity from private equity firm Ethemba Capital, where he has been a partner since 2007. He will work internationally out of Camerons' London office after initially spending a short time based in the US.

Graham Conlon and Alexandra Florea are to join as partners in the London and Romanian practices respectively. Florea has worked at Ethemba as an investment manager since 2007, while Conlon has been in private practice.

The rest of the team of senior associates and associates will be split between Cameron's London and Romania bases.

Cominos said: "We are very excited to be joining CMS. We believe that the firm and its global platform are a natural fit for our team.

"This is a firm that is well regarded in the market as a leader in private equity and a leader in emerging markets – and we are confident that we can go further faster with CMS as a fully dedicated emerging market private equity team."

Camerons managing partner Duncan Weston said: "We are really delighted to welcome Ted and his team.

"They have a very strong client following among private equity funds based in the City, continental Europe and the US and as noted private equity experts in emerging markets, they bring considerable additional experience to our client offering."

CMS Cameron McKenna on the Legal Week Wiki