Norton Rose has hired the head of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's Moscow dispute resolution practice, Yaroslav Klimov.

Klimov, who was a counsel at Freshfields, joined Norton Rose on 1 January as a partner and the firm's first Moscow and CIS disputes head. He specialises in general commercial, corporate, regulatory and product liability litigation.

The hire takes the partner count in Norton Rose's Moscow office to seven. Klimov is also set to be joined by an associate from Freshfields.

Klimov said: "The dispute resolution market demonstrated a high degree of stability during the downturn and today we can see a growing demand for contentious services across Russia and the CIS for domestic and international clients as well as an increase in the number of Russia-related cross-border disputes.

Deirdre Walker, the head of Norton Rose's commercial, real estate and disputes practice, commented: "Russia and the CIS are important markets for global clients in our key strengths, particularly financial services, energy, infrastructure and commodities and technology. The addition of Yaroslav and our expanded Moscow-based dispute resolution team will enhance our ability to service our clients looking for litigation and arbitration counsel in Russia."

Klimov's hire follows a number of international appointments at Norton Rose in recent months. Ashurst energy partner Ashley Wright joined the firm's Singapore arm in December 2010, while DLA Piper partner Marc d'Haultfoeuille joined the Paris corporate finance team the same month.

Meanwhile, Freshfields hired Moscow-based Linklaters partner Peter Allen last month for its City debt capital markets practice.