Simmons & Simmons' London corporate practice is to see two partners depart, with Gavin Weir set to leave next month to join White & Case, while US securities partner Daniel Winterfeldt (pictured) quit the firm in December.

Weir will formally leave Simmons at the end of February to become the ninth M&A partner in White & Case's London office. He has been a partner at Simmons since 2006, when he joined from Allen & Overy.

His practice covers international and domestic M&A, public and private takeovers, reorganisations, auctions, corporate governance, initial public offerings and other equity capital markets transactions.

White & Case said the hire came in response to the firm's global growth and the importance of the London office as a transactional hub.

London office head Oliver Brettle said: "It is important to view the growth of the London M&A practice as an integral part of our larger goal to continue to build our strength in English law generally. The firm has seen extensive global growth and London is a key part of our international transactions practice."

Weir is the fourth London partner hire for White & Case within the last month, following the additions of acquisition and bank finance partners Jacqueline Evans and Lee Cullinane from Mayer Brown and that of former Freshfields M&A partner David Crook.

Meanwhile US securities partner Winterfeldt, who also founded the InterLaw Diversity Forum of LGBT networks, left Simmons on 3 December but has yet to announce his next move.

Winterfeldt was one of the corporate responsibility (CR) and diversity partners at Simmons alongside projects partner Richard Dyton; however, Winterfeldt was replaced with non-lawyer CR manager Zainab Kemsley, who joined the firm last year from the Law Society.

The departures come as longstanding Simmons corporate partner Richard May announced his move to the London office of US firm Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson earlier this week (4 January).