Ashurst has secured a boost for its City regulatory practice with the hire of Nabarro financial services regulation head Rob Moulton.

He will join the top 10 UK firm on 1 November as a partner in the financial regulatory group, which is headed by City partner James Perry.

Moulton – who joined Nabarro in 2005 from Linklaters, where he was a consultant – has a practice focused on legal and regulatory risk management matters including Financial Services Authority (FSA) authorisation, client classifications and risk warnings as well as market abuse and FSA enforcement.

The hire comes as part of Ashurst's bid to strengthen financial regulatory capabilities.

Perry commented: "The demand for financial regulatory services will continue to grow for the foreseeable future as a result of the reform that has followed the financial crisis and the more intrusive approach being taken by regulators. Rob's technical excellence and commercial approach is an invaluable addition to our regulatory team."

Ashurst senior partner Charlie Geffen added: "We continue to make significant investment in our regulatory group and Rob's appointment will augment our market-leading credentials. We are confident that he will make a significant contribution towards helping us meet existing and future demand for high quality regulatory advice."

The hire follows the addition of a financial regulatory partner in Ashurst's US practice earlier this year. Margaret Sheehan joined the Washington DC office from Alston & Bird as the first significant lateral appointment after the City firm launched a US structured finance specialist offering last year.