Allen & Overy (A&O) has bolstered its Paris arm with the hire of a tax team from CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre.

Jean-Yves Charriau joined A&O as a partner last week (1 October) from Bureau Francis Lefebvre, where he was also a partner, with a team including counsel Sophie Maurel and associate David Sorel.

Charriau, who specialises in advising real estate companies and foreign funds on their real estate investment transactions, becomes the third partner in the firm's Paris tax practice. He was previously at Bureau Francis Lefebvre for seven years prior to which he spent a decade at Ernst & Young.

Charriau said: "A&O was looking for someone to boost its activity in the real estate sector by adding a dedicated tax practice and it was a perfect opportunity for me to move to a firm with a more global outlook and a strong focus on Islamic finance, which I have been heavily involved in implementing in the French market. We also share a number of clients with each other so it made sense to align our capabilities."

Charriau was involved in the first real estate transactions carried out by Islamic investors in France. He has also worked closely with the Ministry of Finance, creating new regulations adapting French taxation to the requirements of Islamic finance.

A&O bucked the trend of international firms in France this year, seeing revenue grow 2% in its Paris practice to €71.3m (£61.8m) from €69.9m (£60.6m) in 2009.

The office has made a number of hires in recent months, including taking on a six-strong Clifford Chance team led by partner Marcus Billam for its M&A practice in January.